Bill Text: NY S00902 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires a caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the central registry to leave their name and contact information; prohibits the office of children and family services from releasing information identifying a person who made such a report.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-06 - referred to children and families [S00902 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00902-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         902--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced   by   Sens.  BRISPORT,  BROUK,  CLEARE,  COMRIE,  FERNANDEZ,
          GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  JACKSON,  MYRIE,  RAMOS,  RIVERA,
          SALAZAR,  SEPULVEDA,  SERRANO, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to  the  Committee  on  Children  and
          Families  --  recommitted to the Committee on Children and Families in
          accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in  relation  to  the  adminis-
          tration of the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreat-
          ment

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social
     2  services law, as amended by section 6 of subpart A of part JJ of chapter
     3  56 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (a) The central register shall be capable of receiving telephone calls
     5  alleging child abuse or  maltreatment  and  of  immediately  identifying
     6  prior  reports  of child abuse or maltreatment and capable of monitoring
     7  the provision of child protective service twenty-four hours a day, seven
     8  days a week. To effectuate this purpose, but subject to  the  provisions
     9  of  the  appropriate  local  plan  for the provision of child protective
    10  services, there shall be a single statewide telephone  number  that  all
    11  persons,  whether  mandated by the law or not, may use to make telephone
    12  calls alleging child abuse or  maltreatment  and  that  all  persons  so
    13  authorized  by this title may use for determining the existence of prior
    14  reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a  child.
    15  In  addition  to the single statewide telephone number, there shall be a
    16  special unlisted express telephone  number  and  a  telephone  facsimile
    17  number  for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone calls,
    18  or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03747-06-4
        S. 902--A                           2

     1  commissioner of children and family services, alleging  child  abuse  or
     2  maltreatment, and for use by all persons so authorized by this title for
     3  determining  the  existence  of  prior  reports in order to evaluate the
     4  condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in
     5  such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse
     6  or  maltreatment,  after  utilizing protocols that would reduce implicit
     7  bias from the decision-making process, such  allegations,  the  caller's
     8  name,  the  caller's contact information and any previous reports to the
     9  central registry involving the subject of such report or children  named
    10  in  such report, including any previous report containing allegations of
    11  child abuse and maltreatment alleged to have occurred in other  counties
    12  and  districts in New York state shall be immediately transmitted orally
    13  or electronically by the office of children and family services  to  the
    14  appropriate  local  child  protective  service  for  investigation.  The
    15  inability of the person calling the register  to  identify  the  alleged
    16  perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the
    17  register  to  reject such allegation or fail to transmit such allegation
    18  for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report  concerning
    19  a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a
    20  sibling,  other  children  in  the household, other persons named in the
    21  report or other  pertinent  information,  the  appropriate  local  child
    22  protective  service  shall  be  immediately notified of the fact. If the
    23  report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused child described in
    24  paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section one  thousand
    25  twelve  of  the family court act or sexual abuse of a child or the death
    26  of a child or (ii) suspected maltreatment  which  alleges  any  physical
    27  harm  when the report is made by a person required to report pursuant to
    28  section four hundred thirteen of this title within  six  months  of  any
    29  other  two reports that were indicated, or may still be pending, involv-
    30  ing the same child, sibling, or other children in the household  or  the
    31  subject  of the report, the office of children and family services shall
    32  identify the report as such and note any prior reports when transmitting
    33  the report to the local child protective services for investigation.
    34    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section  422  of  the  social  services  law  is
    35  amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
    36    (d)  A caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment
    37  to the central registry shall be asked for their name and contact infor-
    38  mation. No report shall be  transmitted  to  a  local  child  protective
    39  service  for investigation unless the caller's name and contact informa-
    40  tion is provided.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
    41  other than disclosure to the local child protective service as  required
    42  pursuant  to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, neither the commissioner
    43  nor the central register shall release the name and contact  information
    44  of  a  caller who made a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment
    45  unless ordered by an administrative law judge or a  court  of  competent
    46  jurisdiction;  provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to
    47  individuals  who  are  mandated  to  report  suspected  child  abuse  or
    48  maltreatment  pursuant  to  section four hundred thirteen of this title.
    49  Prior to the entry of any such order, the petitioner or social  services
    50  official  may  move  for  a protective order to withhold the identity of
    51  such individual if such disclosure is likely to  endanger  the  life  or
    52  health  of  the person reporting such suspected child abuse or maltreat-
    53  ment.
    54    § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 422  of  the  social  services  law,  as
    55  amended  by  chapter  434  of  the  laws  of 1989, is amended to read as
    56  follows:
        S. 902--A                           3

     1    7. At any time, a subject of a report and other persons named  in  the
     2  report may receive, upon request, a copy of all information contained in
     3  the central register; provided, however, that the office of children and
     4  family  services  shall not release information identifying a person who
     5  made  a  report  pursuant to section four hundred fourteen of this title
     6  except with that person's permission or pursuant to subdivision  (b)  of
     7  section one thousand thirty-eight of the family court act or pursuant to
     8  section  four  hundred twenty-four-a of this title; and that the commis-
     9  sioner is authorized to prohibit the release of data that would identify
    10  [the person who made the report] persons or who cooperated in  a  subse-
    11  quent investigation or the agency, institution, organization, program or
    12  other  entity  where  such  person  is  employed or with which [he] such
    13  person is associated, which [he] such person reasonably  finds  will  be
    14  detrimental to the safety or interests of such person.
    15    §  4.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
    16  section one of this act shall take effect on the one  hundred  eightieth
    17  day after it shall have become a law.