Bill Text: NY A02965 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to sharing reports of child abuse with agency charged with care, custody, or guardianship of child.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-6)

Status: (Passed) 2017-09-12 - signed chap.281 [A02965 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A02965-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2965
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 23, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of A. PAULIN, JAFFEE, SIMON, ZEBROWSKI, GALEF, OTIS,
          TITONE, SEAWRIGHT, GOTTFRIED,  ROSENTHAL,  COOK,  BRABENEC,  LAWRENCE,
          McDONOUGH,  MURRAY, RAIA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BUCHWALD --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families
        AN ACT to amend the social  services  law,  in  relation  to  forwarding
          reports  of  abuse  to  the  social services district charged with the
          care, custody, or guardianship of the child
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 424 of the social services law, as
     2  amended  by  chapter  602  of  the  laws  of 2008, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    6. (a) upon receipt of such report, commence or cause the  appropriate
     5  society  for  the  prevention of cruelty to children to commence, within
     6  twenty-four hours, an appropriate investigation which shall  include  an
     7  evaluation  of  the environment of the child named in the report and any
     8  other children in the same home and a determination of the risk to  such
     9  children if they continue to remain in the existing home environment, as
    10  well as a determination of the nature, extent and cause of any condition
    11  enumerated in such report and the name, age and condition of other chil-
    12  dren  in the home, and, after seeing to the safety of the child or chil-
    13  dren, forthwith notify the subjects of  the  report  and  other  persons
    14  named  in the report in writing of the existence of the report and their
    15  respective rights pursuant to this title in regard to amendment[.];
    16    (b) ascertain whether the child named in the report or any other child
    17  in the same home is in the care, custody or guardianship of  an  author-
    18  ized  agency.  Where  such  authorized agency is not the social services
    19  district in which the home is located, the report shall be forwarded  as
    20  soon as possible to such authorized agency and any other social services
    21  district  charged with the care, custody or guardianship of the child or
    22  other children in the home. Such  authorized  agency  and  local  social
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07479-01-7
        A. 2965                             2
     1  services  district  shall  also be notified as to whether such report is
     2  indicated or unfounded in accordance  with  subdivision  seven  of  this
     3  section.  Nothing in this subdivision shall require such social services
     4  district  to  investigate  or  participate  in the investigation of such
     5  report;
     6    (c) subject to rules and  regulations  of  the  division  of  criminal
     7  justice  services, a manager of the child protective services unit, or a
     8  person with law enforcement background who is specifically designated by
     9  the commissioner of the local social services district for this purpose,
    10  shall have access to conviction records maintained by state law enforce-
    11  ment agencies pertaining to persons of or over the age of eighteen years
    12  who (1) are currently residing in the residence  of  any  child  who  is
    13  alleged  to be or suspected of being abused, maltreated, or neglected or
    14  (2) are named in  any  report  of  suspected  or  alleged  child  abuse,
    15  maltreatment,  or  neglect;  provided  that  nothing in this subdivision
    16  shall be construed to contradict or modify section one  thousand  forty-
    17  six of the family court act. Any criminal history record provided by the
    18  division  of  criminal justice services, and any summary of the criminal
    19  history record provided by the office of children and family services to
    20  the child protective services unit of a local social  services  district
    21  pursuant  to  this subdivision, shall be kept confidential and shall not
    22  be made available for public  inspection.    Child  protective  services
    23  units  shall  not indicate a report solely based upon the existence of a
    24  conviction record;
    25    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.