Bill Text: NY A07375 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Grants local social services districts access to criminal history information when acting within the scope of their duties under the social services law or the family court act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to children and families [A07375 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A07375-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7375
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     April 29, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Children and Families
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  executive  law  and the social services law, in
          relation to access  to  court  databases  for  local  social  services
          districts
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 835 of the executive law, as sepa-
     2  rately amended by chapters 14 and 155 of the laws of 2012, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    9. "Qualified agencies" means courts in the unified court system,  the
     5  administrative  board of the judicial conference, probation departments,
     6  sheriffs' offices, district attorneys' offices, the state department  of
     7  corrections  and  community supervision, the department of correction of
     8  any municipality, the financial frauds and consumer protection  unit  of
     9  the  state  department of financial services, the office of professional
    10  medical conduct of the state department of health for  the  purposes  of
    11  section  two hundred thirty of the public health law, the [child protec-
    12  tive services unit of a] local social services district when [conducting
    13  an investigation pursuant to subdivision six  of  section  four  hundred
    14  twenty-four  of  the social services law] acting within the scope of its
    15  duties pursuant to the social services law or the family court act,  the
    16  office  of Medicaid inspector general, the temporary state commission of
    17  investigation, police forces and departments having  responsibility  for
    18  enforcement  of  the  general  criminal  laws of the state, the Onondaga
    19  County Center for Forensic Sciences Laboratory when  acting  within  the
    20  scope  of  its  law  enforcement  duties  and  the  division of forensic
    21  services of the Nassau county  medical  examiner's  office  when  acting
    22  within the scope of its law enforcement duties.
    23    §  2.  Subdivision  6  of  section  398  of the social services law is
    24  amended by adding a new paragraph (q) to read as follows:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01035-01-9
        A. 7375                             2
     1    (q) Investigate the criminal background of any person of or  over  the
     2  age of eighteen who resides or is proposed to reside with or in the same
     3  home  as  a  child  who is the subject of a court proceeding pursuant to
     4  article three, six, seven, ten, ten-A or ten-C of the family court  act.
     5  For  the  purpose  of these investigations, and subject to the rules and
     6  regulations of the division of criminal justice services,  local  social
     7  services  districts  may, acting through persons specifically designated
     8  by the commissioner of the local social services  district,  access  and
     9  receive  records maintained by the division of criminal justice services
    10  pursuant to subdivision six of section eight hundred thirty-seven of the
    11  executive law.
    12    § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 6  of  section  424  of  the  social
    13  services  law, as amended by chapter 281 of the laws of 2017, is amended
    14  to read as follows:
    15    (c) subject to rules and  regulations  of  the  division  of  criminal
    16  justice  services, a manager of the child protective services unit, or a
    17  person with law enforcement background who is specifically designated by
    18  the commissioner of the local social services district for this purpose,
    19  shall have access to conviction records maintained by state law enforce-
    20  ment agencies pertaining to persons of or over the age of eighteen years
    21  who (1) are currently residing in the residence  of  any  child  who  is
    22  alleged  to be or suspected of being abused, maltreated, or neglected or
    23  who is proposed to live with such child, or (2) are named in any  report
    24  of  suspected or alleged child abuse, maltreatment, or neglect; provided
    25  that nothing in this subdivision shall be  construed  to  contradict  or
    26  modify section one thousand forty-six of the family court act. Any crim-
    27  inal  history  record  provided  by  the  division  of  criminal justice
    28  services, and any summary of the criminal history record provided by the
    29  office of children and family services to the child protective  services
    30  unit  of  a local social services district pursuant to this subdivision,
    31  shall be kept confidential and shall not be made  available  for  public
    32  inspection.  Child protective services units shall not indicate a report
    33  solely based upon the existence of a conviction record;
    34    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.