Bill Text: NY S00574 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires child protective services to document home visits as part of a treatment plan, supervision and monitoring, pursuant to a court order, or on an emergency basis with photographs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES [S00574 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S00574-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 574 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 9, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KENNEDY, BRESLIN, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring child protective services to document home visits with photographs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Marchella 2 Pierce's Law". 3 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 421 of the social services law, as 4 amended by chapter 718 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (a) as amended by 5 chapter 110 of the laws of 1989 and the closing paragraph as amended by 6 chapter 320 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows: 7 3. promulgate regulations setting forth requirements for the perform- 8 ance by local social services departments of the duties and powers 9 imposed and conferred upon them by the provisions of this title and of 10 article ten of the family court act. Such regulations shall establish 11 uniform requirements for the investigation of reports of child abuse or 12 maltreatment under this title. The department shall also issue guide- 13 lines which shall set forth the circumstances or conditions under which: 14 (a) personal contact shall be made with the child named in the report 15 and any other children in the same household, including interviewing 16 such child or children absent the subject of the report whenever possi- 17 ble and appropriate; 18 (b) photographs of visible physical injuries or trauma of children who 19 may be the victims of abuse or maltreatment shall be taken or arranged 20 for; 21 (c) medical examination of a child who may be a victim of abuse or 22 maltreatment and documentation of findings of such examination, shall be 23 required. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02609-01-9S. 574 2 1 The department shall promulgate regulations to establish standards for 2 intervention, criteria for case closings, criteria for determining 3 whether or not to initiate a child protective proceeding, and criteria 4 for the formulation of treatment plans and for the delivery of child 5 protective services including specification of the services to be clas- 6 sified as child protective services, which shall also apply to any soci- 7 ety for the prevention of cruelty to children which has entered into a 8 currently valid contract with a local department of social services to 9 investigate child abuse or maltreatment reports. The department shall 10 promulgate regulations establishing minimum standards and practices for 11 the delivery of child protective services in connection with monitoring 12 and supervising respondents and their families as ordered by a family 13 court pursuant to section ten hundred thirty-nine and paragraphs (i), 14 (iii), (iv) and (v) of subdivision (a) of section ten hundred fifty-two 15 of the family court act. The department shall require that every case- 16 worker, child protective services employee or any person acting pursuant 17 to a contract for services with a local social services department who 18 has contact with a child as part of a treatment plan or supervision and 19 monitoring, document each such contact with a photograph taken of the 20 child during such visit or contact. Such photograph shall be part of the 21 confidential case record for such child and shall be subject to periodic 22 review by the supervisor of the case. Such photograph must be of suffi- 23 cient quality to clearly identify the child, and contain accurate data 24 with regard to the time and date of the photograph. Where the parent or 25 legal guardian of the child objects to the caseworker taking a photo- 26 graph of the child during the visit, the caseworker shall provide a 27 form, supplied by the caseworker's agency of employment, stating that 28 the caseworker conducted the visit with the child and verified the well 29 being of the child. Such form shall be signed and dated by both the 30 child's parent or legal guardian and the caseworker at each visit where 31 a photograph is not taken. Such regulations shall also require local 32 child protective services to comply with notification requirements of 33 the family court act in connection with such monitoring and supervisory 34 responsibilities. 35 § 3. Section 372 of the social services law is amended by adding a new 36 subdivision 4-c to read as follows: 37 4-c. The records maintained pursuant to this section by any casework- 38 er, child protective services employee or authorized agency as defined 39 in section three hundred seventy-one of this title who has contact with 40 a foster child as part of a treatment plan or supervision and monitor- 41 ing, shall document each such contact with a photograph taken of the 42 child during such visit or contact consistent with the requirements set 43 forth in subdivision three of section four hundred twenty-one of this 44 article. 45 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
