Bill Text: NY S03444 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Includes certain employees or volunteers of not-for-profit youth organizations whose primary purpose is to interact with youth through activities, events or gatherings as mandated reporters.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-27 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S03444 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S03444-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3444

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 27, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, the not-for-profit  corporation
          law  and the executive law, in relation to including certain employees
          or volunteers of youth organizations as mandated reporters

          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 1 of section 413 of the social
     2  services  law,  as  amended  by section 7 of part C of chapter 57 of the
     3  laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (a) The following persons and officials  are  required  to  report  or
     5  cause  a  report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
     6  reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming  before  them  in  their
     7  professional  or  official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
     8  when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused  or
     9  maltreated  child  where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person
    10  legally responsible for such child comes before them  in  their  profes-
    11  sional  or  official  capacity and states from personal knowledge facts,
    12  conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an
    13  abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician  assist-
    14  ant;  surgeon;  medical  examiner;  coroner;  dentist; dental hygienist;
    15  osteopath;  optometrist;  chiropractor;  podiatrist;  resident;  intern;
    16  psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni-
    17  cian;  licensed  creative  arts  therapist; licensed marriage and family
    18  therapist; licensed mental  health  counselor;  licensed  psychoanalyst;
    19  licensed  behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant; hospi-
    20  tal personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care  or  treatment
    21  of  persons;  a  Christian  Science practitioner; school official, which
    22  includes but is not limited to school teacher, school  guidance  counse-
    23  lor,  school  psychologist,  school  social worker, school nurse, school
    24  administrator or other school personnel required to hold a  teaching  or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07175-01-5

        S. 3444                             2

     1  administrative  license  or  certificate;  full or part-time compensated
     2  school employee required to hold a temporary coaching license or profes-
     3  sional coaching certificate; social services worker; employee of a publ-
     4  icly-funded  emergency shelter for families with children; director of a
     5  children's overnight camp, summer day camp or traveling summer day camp,
     6  as such camps are defined in section thirteen hundred ninety-two of  the
     7  public  health  law; employee or volunteer of a not-for-profit organiza-
     8  tion with the primary purpose of engaging with youth under  the  age  of
     9  eighteen through activities, events, or gatherings, as designated by the
    10  commissioner  where such employee or volunteer is likely to have regular
    11  and substantial contact with such youth; day care center worker; school-
    12  age child care worker; provider of family  or  group  family  day  care;
    13  employee  or  volunteer in a residential care facility for children that
    14  is licensed, certified or operated by the office of children and  family
    15  services;  or  any other child care or foster care worker; mental health
    16  professional;  substance  abuse  counselor;  alcoholism  counselor;  all
    17  persons  credentialed  by  the office of [alcoholism and substance abuse
    18  services] addiction services and supports; employees, who  are  expected
    19  to  have regular and substantial contact with children, of a health home
    20  or health home care management agency contracting with a health home  as
    21  designated  by  the  department  of  health and authorized under section
    22  three hundred sixty-five-l of this chapter or such employees who provide
    23  home and community based services under a demonstration program pursuant
    24  to section eleven hundred fifteen of the federal social security act who
    25  are expected to have regular  and  substantial  contact  with  children;
    26  peace  officer;  police officer; district attorney or assistant district
    27  attorney; investigator employed in the office of a district attorney; or
    28  other law enforcement official.
    29    § 2.  Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of  section  413  of  the  social
    30  services  law, as amended by chapter 733 of the laws of 2023, is amended
    31  to read as follows:
    32    (a) The following persons and officials  are  required  to  report  or
    33  cause  a  report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
    34  reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming  before  them  in  their
    35  professional  or  official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
    36  when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused  or
    37  maltreated  child  where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person
    38  legally responsible for such child comes before them  in  their  profes-
    39  sional  or  official  capacity and states from personal knowledge facts,
    40  conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an
    41  abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician  assist-
    42  ant;  surgeon;  medical  examiner;  coroner;  dentist; dental hygienist;
    43  osteopath;  optometrist;  chiropractor;  podiatrist;  resident;  intern;
    44  athletic  trainer;  psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emer-
    45  gency medical technician; licensed  creative  arts  therapist;  licensed
    46  marriage   and  family  therapist;  licensed  mental  health  counselor;
    47  licensed psychoanalyst; licensed behavior  analyst;  certified  behavior
    48  analyst assistant; hospital personnel engaged in the admission, examina-
    49  tion,  care  or  treatment of persons; a Christian Science practitioner;
    50  school official, which includes but is not limited  to  school  teacher,
    51  school  guidance  counselor,  school psychologist, school social worker,
    52  school nurse, school administrator or other school personnel required to
    53  hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate; full or  part-
    54  time  compensated  school employee required to hold a temporary coaching
    55  license or professional coaching certificate;  social  services  worker;
    56  employee  of a publicly-funded emergency shelter for families with chil-

        S. 3444                             3

     1  dren; director of a children's overnight camp, summer day camp or  trav-
     2  eling  summer  day  camp,  as such camps are defined in section thirteen
     3  hundred ninety-two of the public health law; employee or volunteer of  a
     4  not-for-profit  organization  with  the primary purpose of engaging with
     5  youth under the age of eighteen through  activities,  events,  or  gath-
     6  erings,  as designated by the commissioner where such employee or volun-
     7  teer is likely to have regular and substantial contact with such  youth;
     8  day care center worker; school-age child care worker; provider of family
     9  or  group  family  day care; employee or volunteer in a residential care
    10  facility for children that is licensed, certified  or  operated  by  the
    11  office  of  children  and  family  services;  or any other child care or
    12  foster care worker; mental health professional; substance abuse  counse-
    13  lor;  alcoholism  counselor;  all  persons credentialed by the office of
    14  [alcoholism  and  substance  abuse  services]  addiction  services   and
    15  supports;  employees,  who  are expected to have regular and substantial
    16  contact with children, of a health home or health home  care  management
    17  agency contracting with a health home as designated by the department of
    18  health  and  authorized under section three hundred sixty-five-l of this
    19  chapter or such employees who provide home and community based  services
    20  under a demonstration program pursuant to section eleven hundred fifteen
    21  of  the federal social security act who are expected to have regular and
    22  substantial  contact  with  children;  peace  officer;  police  officer;
    23  district  attorney or assistant district attorney; investigator employed
    24  in the office of a district attorney; or other law enforcement official.
    25    § 3.  Section 404 of the not-for-profit corporation law is amended  by
    26  adding a new paragraph (w) to read as follows:
    27    (w)  Every  certificate of incorporation which includes as the primary
    28  purpose the operation of a corporation where its employees or volunteers
    29  are expected to have regular and substantial contact  with  youth  under
    30  the  age  of eighteen through activities, events, or gatherings and such
    31  corporation has been designated by the office  of  children  and  family
    32  services,  pursuant  to  section  four  hundred  thirteen  of the social
    33  services law, shall have endorsed thereon or annexed thereto  notice  to
    34  the office of children and family services of the incorporation.
    35    §  4. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 111 to read
    36  as follows:
    37    § 111. Notice to certain corporations related  to  reporting  require-
    38  ments.  The secretary of state, in consultation with the office of chil-
    39  dren  and  family  services, shall provide notice to any entity incorpo-
    40  rated pursuant to article four of  the  not-for-profit  corporation  law
    41  prior  to  the  effective date of this section who has since been desig-
    42  nated by the office of children and family services pursuant to  section
    43  four hundred thirteen of the social services law. Upon such notice, such
    44  not-for-profit  corporation  shall  be required to meet the requirements
    45  contained in section four hundred thirteen of the social services law.
    46    § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    47  have become a law; provided, however, that if chapter 733 of the laws of
    48  2023 shall not have taken effect on or before such date then section two
    49  of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as
    50  such  chapter  of the laws of 2023 takes effect.  Effective immediately,
    51  the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
    52  sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
    53  authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
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