Bill Text: NY A01366 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Prohibits certain enumerated child care facilities from employing or using as volunteers, persons convicted of certain enumerated offenses; also allows the facilities to have access to criminal records of its volunteers and employees and prospective volunteers and employees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to children and families [A01366 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A01366-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1366
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 15, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Children and Families
        AN ACT to amend the social  services  law  and  the  executive  law,  in
          relation to day care for children
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new  section
     2  378-b to read as follows:
     3    §  378-b.  Certificates  and licenses; record access; prohibitions. 1.
     4  Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule  or  regulation  to  the
     5  contrary,  no  license,  permit,  certificate  or  registration shall be
     6  issued by the department or any authorized agency  to  an  applicant  to
     7  operate  a  child  day  care  center, head start day care center program
     8  funded pursuant to title V of the federal economic  opportunity  act  of
     9  1964,  school age child care program, group family day care home, family
    10  day care home, nor  where  granted,  shall  any  such  license,  permit,
    11  certificate  or  registration  be  renewed  for  any such entity, if the
    12  applicant and/or operator thereof shall have been convicted of a violent
    13  felony offense as defined in section 70.02 of the penal  law,  or  shall
    14  have  been  convicted  of a misdemeanor or felony as defined in articles
    15  one hundred twenty, one hundred twenty-five,  one  hundred  thirty,  one
    16  hundred  thirty-five,  two hundred five, two hundred twenty, two hundred
    17  twenty-one, two hundred thirty, two  hundred  thirty-five,  two  hundred
    18  forty-five,  two  hundred  fifty-five,  two  hundred  sixty, two hundred
    19  sixty-three and two hundred sixty-five of the penal law.
    20    2. No such entity shall employ any assistant or employee, nor shall it
    21  accept any person for volunteer activity in any  such  entity,  if  such
    22  assistant,  employee  or  volunteer has been convicted of any offense as
    23  enumerated in subdivision one of this section.   Every such  entity,  as
    24  enumerated  in  subdivision  one of this section,   may obtain, with the
    25  consent of  the  volunteer  or  prospective  volunteer  or  employee  or
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06233-01-9

        A. 1366                             2
     1  prospective  employee  of such entity, the conviction records maintained
     2  by the division of criminal justice services pertaining to  such  volun-
     3  teer  or  prospective  volunteer  or  employee  or prospective employee;
     4  provided,  however,  that conviction records shall be requested only for
     5  volunteers or prospective volunteers, employees or prospective employees
     6  who have direct contact, as determined by  such  entity,  with  children
     7  served  by  such  entity.  The fee for such record shall be paid by such
     8  entity.
     9    3. The conviction record shall be marked "confidential"  upon  receipt
    10  by  the  person  who  has requested such records. Only such person shall
    11  have access to such conviction record, and such conviction record  shall
    12  at  all  times  be  maintained in a secure place in order to insure such
    13  confidentiality. A person  who  wilfully  violates  the  confidentiality
    14  required by this subdivision shall be guilty of a class E felony.
    15    4.  Prior to requesting a conviction record of a volunteer or prospec-
    16  tive volunteer or employee or prospective employee from the division  of
    17  criminal justice services, a representative of such entity  shall inform
    18  any  such  person  who  works  directly  with children in any activities
    19  authorized by such entity  that a request for a  conviction  record  and
    20  review  thereof  is required in order for such person to continue in the
    21  same capacity or for  such  prospective  volunteer  or  employee  to  be
    22  accepted  by  such entity. Such person shall sign a form provided by the
    23  division of criminal justice services stating that such person has  been
    24  informed  of  the  reason for a request for his or her conviction record
    25  and consents to such request. Such form shall accompany each request for
    26  a conviction record made by the person of  such  entity  requesting  the
    27  record.
    28    5.  After  being informed of the requirement for such entity to obtain
    29  his or her conviction record and before such person gives consent to the
    30  provision of such record to such entity, a person may have access to his
    31  or her conviction record as  maintained  by  the  division  of  criminal
    32  justice  services  pursuant  to  the  procedures  of such division. Such
    33  person shall be provided with all necessary information regarding access
    34  to such records by a representative of such entity.  Such  person  shall
    35  also  be provided by such division with information regarding procedures
    36  for such person to verify the accuracy  of  such  records.  Such  person
    37  shall  notify  such  entity if he or she wishes to have access to his or
    38  her conviction record prior to giving consent to such  entity's  request
    39  for such record.
    40    6.  A prospective volunteer or employee may withdraw from the applica-
    41  tion process, whether or not he or she has had  access  to  his  or  her
    42  conviction  record  and  whether or not such record has been received by
    43  such entity, without prejudice. If the conviction record of such  person
    44  has  been  received by such entity, the person designated by such entity
    45  to have access to conviction records shall destroy such  record  if  the
    46  prospective  volunteer  or employee is not hired and/or accepted by such
    47  entity or withdraws from the application process.
    48    7. The conviction record of such a person shall be  destroyed  by  the
    49  person  designated  by  such entity to have access to conviction records
    50  when such volunteer or employee no longer has direct contact with  chil-
    51  dren served by such entity.
    52    8. The provisions of this section shall not, however, be applicable to
    53  any  person who has a minor child under the care and supervision of such
    54  entity where he or she volunteers or is employed or seeks employment.
    55    9. The division of criminal justice  services  shall  respond  to  any
    56  request for a conviction record which is accompanied by a form signed by

        A. 1366                             3
     1  the  subject  of such request consenting to the provision of such record
     2  made pursuant to this section within fourteen days after such inquiry is
     3  received.  The commissioner of such division shall promulgate rules  and
     4  regulations  providing  for  a  hearing   for a prospective volunteer or
     5  volunteer or employee or prospective employee before representatives  of
     6  such  division and the department for purposes of verifying the accuracy
     7  of his or her conviction record and for access by such persons to perti-
     8  nent documents related thereto.
     9    10. For purposes of this section, "conviction record" shall  mean  any
    10  record  maintained  by  the  division  of  criminal  justice services of
    11  convictions of a crime in violation of the penal law or any other law of
    12  another jurisdiction which, if committed in this state, would constitute
    13  a crime.
    14    § 2. Subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law,  as  amended
    15  by chapter 561 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
    16    8-a.  Charge a fee when, pursuant to statute or the regulations of the
    17  division, it conducts a search  of  its  criminal  history  records  and
    18  returns  a  report thereon in connection with an application for employ-
    19  ment or for a license or permit or returns a conviction  report  thereon
    20  as  required  by  section  three  hundred  seventy-eight-b of the social
    21  services law.  The division shall adopt and  may,  from  time  to  time,
    22  amend  a  schedule  of such fees which shall be in amounts determined by
    23  the division to be reasonably related to the  cost  of  conducting  such
    24  searches  and returning reports thereon but, in no event, shall any such
    25  fee exceed twenty-five dollars and  an  additional  surcharge  of  fifty
    26  dollars.  The comptroller is hereby authorized to deposit such fees into
    27  the general fund, provided, however, that the  monies  received  by  the
    28  division  of  criminal  justice  services  for payment of the additional
    29  surcharge shall be deposited in equal amounts to the general fund and to
    30  the fingerprint identification and technology  account.  Notwithstanding
    31  the  foregoing,  the  division  shall  not request or accept any fee for
    32  searching its records and supplying a criminal history  report  pursuant
    33  to  section two hundred fifty-one-b of the general business law relating
    34  to participating in flight instruction  at  any  aeronautical  facility,
    35  flight school or institution of higher learning.
    36    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    37  it  shall  have become a law provided, however, that the commissioner of
    38  the division of criminal justice services  shall  promulgate  rules  and
    39  regulations  prior  to  such  effective  date necessary to implement the
    40  provisions of this act.
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