Bill Text: NY S05494 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the office of child advocate to ensure the protection and promotion of legal rights for youth in programs and facilities under OCFS.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S05494 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S05494-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5494 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 3, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MONTGOMERY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the establishment of the office of the child advocate The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 19-I 2 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 19-I 4 OFFICE OF THE CHILD ADVOCATE 5 Section 533. Office of the child advocate; creation. 6 534. Definitions. 7 535. The child advocate. 8 536. Duties of the child advocate. 9 537. Powers of the office of the child advocate. 10 538. Duty to maintain confidentiality. 11 539. Additional provisions. 12 § 533. Office of the child advocate; creation. There is hereby created 13 in the executive department, an office of the child advocate, which 14 shall: 15 1. examine, evaluate and report to the governor and the legislature 16 on: 17 (a) systemic issues in publicly funded programs overseen by the office 18 of children and family services; and 19 (b) multi-systemic issues that children in the care, custody or guar- 20 dianship of the office of children and family services or local social 21 services districts, and the family of such children, experience in 22 accessing needed services across systems; and 23 2. advocate for, and report to the governor and the legislature on 24 suggested statutory, regulatory or policy changes aimed at improving 25 outcomes and services for children and families in New York state. 26 § 534. Definitions. As used in this article: 27 1. "Child" or "children" means: 28 (a) a person, or persons under the age of eighteen; or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11470-01-9S. 5494 2 1 (b) a person or persons under the age of twenty-one who has been 2 placed into the care, custody, or guardianship of the office of children 3 and family services or a local social services district, pursuant to 4 article three, seven, or ten of the family court act, or sections three 5 hundred fifty-eight-a, three hundred eighty-three-c, three hundred 6 eighty-four-a or three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law. 7 2. "Child advocate" means the person appointed pursuant to subdivision 8 one of section five hundred thirty-five of this article to direct and 9 oversee the activities of the office of the child advocate. 10 § 535. The child advocate. 1. The child advocate shall be an individ- 11 ual with at least five years experience in the general subject area of 12 either child welfare, juvenile justice or childhood behavioral health, 13 who shall be appointed by the governor upon the advice and consent of 14 the senate for a term of five years. The child advocate shall continue 15 to hold such position until his or her successor is appointed, but may 16 be removed from his or her position if the governor shall determine that 17 such child advocate has abused his or her rights, powers, or duties 18 established pursuant to this article or that he or she has willfully 19 failed to carry out the duties required by this article. The child advo- 20 cate shall report to the governor, who shall fix the compensation of the 21 child advocate within amounts appropriated therefor. 22 2. The child advocate may hire or appoint persons as may be deemed 23 necessary to carry out the duties of the office of the child advocate. 24 The duties of persons employed or appointed by the child advocate shall 25 be performed under the advice and supervision of the child advocate. 26 Persons employed or appointed by the office of the child advocate shall 27 be individuals with expertise in the areas of child welfare, juvenile 28 justice, childhood behavioral health, foster care, preventive services, 29 or child care, as evidenced by expertise in the field, practice, advoca- 30 cy or by academic background, the level and sufficiency of which shall 31 be determined by the child advocate. The child advocate shall fix the 32 compensation of persons employed or appointed by the office of the child 33 advocate within amounts appropriated therefor. 34 § 536. Duties of the child advocate. 1. The child advocate shall: 35 (a) examine, evaluate and report to the governor and the legislature 36 on systemic issues in publicly funded programs overseen by the office of 37 children and family services and local social services districts, 38 including but not limited to, child welfare, juvenile justice, foster 39 care, child protective, child care and preventive services; 40 (b) examine, evaluate and report to the governor and the legislature 41 on multi-systemic issues that children in the care, custody or guardian- 42 ship of the office of children and family services or local social 43 services districts, families of children, experience in accessing needed 44 services across systems; 45 (c) monitor the implementation of the policies, regulations and stat- 46 utes of state agencies which may be applicable to the legal rights of 47 children in the care, custody, or guardianship of the office of children 48 and family services or a local social services district, or the family 49 of such children; 50 (d) monitor the implementation of policies, regulations and statutes 51 which may have an impact on publicly funded programs overseen by the 52 office of children and family services, including but not limited to, 53 child welfare, juvenile justice, foster care, child protective, child 54 care and preventive services; and 55 (e) recommend changes in state policies, statutes and regulations 56 concerning children in the care, custody, or guardianship of the officeS. 5494 3 1 of children and family services or local social services districts and 2 the families of such children; and 3 (f) recommend changes in state policies, statutes, and regulations 4 concerning publicly funded programs that service children and families 5 including, juvenile justice, foster care, child care, child welfare 6 programs, and preventive services, administered by the office of chil- 7 dren and family services or local social services districts; 8 (g) take appropriate actions aimed at promotion of the rights, safety, 9 well-being, and best interest of children in New York state, including, 10 but not limited to, undertaking legislative advocacy, conducting public 11 hearings and making proposals for administrative or systemic reform; 12 (h) provide administrative supervision and oversight to the office of 13 the child advocate and devote full-time to the duties of his or her 14 office; and 15 (i) report to the governor and the legislature as needed, but not less 16 than twice per year. Such report shall include but not be limited to: 17 (A) information concerning the number and types of reviews or evalu- 18 ation conducted by the office of the child advocate; and 19 (B) any recommendations by the child advocate for legislative, regula- 20 tory, or public policy changes. 21 2. If after examination pursuant to subdivision one of this section, 22 the child advocate identifies a systemic problem in how services are 23 provided to children in the care, custody, or guardianship of the office 24 of children and family services or a local social services district, by 25 the office of children and family services, or a local social services 26 district, or any public or private entity which contracts with the 27 office of children and family services or a local social services 28 district to provide services to such children, the child advocate shall 29 provide such office, district, agency or entity a written report outlin- 30 ing the findings and recommendations of the child advocate. 31 (a) An office, district, agency or entity named in a report by the 32 child advocate as described in this subdivision shall have the option to 33 respond in writing to the child advocate's findings, provided however 34 that such written response must be issued within ninety days of such 35 office, district, agency or entity's receipt of the applicable report by 36 the child advocate. 37 (b) Within thirty days after the receipt of a response from an office, 38 district, agency or entity as described in this subdivision, the child 39 advocate shall issue such response, and the report issued by the child 40 advocate pursuant to this subdivision, to the governor and the legisla- 41 ture. 42 (c) If a response or a written request for an additional thirty days 43 with an explanation is not received by the child advocate within ninety 44 days from the date that the child advocate sent such report to such 45 office, district, agency or entity, the child advocate shall provide 46 such report to the governor and the legislature with a notice stating 47 that such office, district, agency or entity failed to issue a timely 48 written response to the report by the child advocate. 49 § 537. Powers of the office of the child advocate. Notwithstanding any 50 provision of law or regulation to the contrary, the office of the child 51 advocate shall have access to, including the right to inspect and copy, 52 any records necessary to carry out its rights, powers and duties pursu- 53 ant to this article. 54 § 538. Duty to maintain confidentiality. All records of the office of 55 the child advocate pertaining to the fulfillment of the child advocate's 56 rights, powers and duties pursuant to this article, and all recordsS. 5494 4 1 obtained by the child advocate shall be kept confidential, provided 2 however, that limited information contained in such records may be 3 released by the child advocate, if appropriate, and upon approval of the 4 child advocate, so long as the information to be released would not 5 identify the child or children the child advocate was serving, or the 6 names of the parents or siblings of such child or children. 7 § 539. Additional provisions. 1. The state shall protect and hold 8 harmless any person employed or appointed by the child advocate, from 9 financial loss and expense, including legal fees and costs, if any, 10 arising out of any claim, demand or suit for damages resulting from acts 11 or omissions committed in the discharge of his or her rights, powers and 12 duties within the scope of his or her employment or appointment which 13 may constitute negligence but which acts are not wanton, malicious or 14 grossly negligent as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. 15 2. No state or local agency, department, office, or entity shall 16 discharge, or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against, any 17 person who in good faith makes a complaint to, or cooperates with, the 18 child advocate in a review or evaluation conducted by the child advo- 19 cate. No employee of any state or local department or office or of any 20 private entity shall retaliate against any person who makes a complaint 21 to, or who cooperates with the office of the child advocate in a review 22 or evaluation conducted by the office of the child advocate. 23 3. The office of the child advocate may apply for and accept grants, 24 gifts and bequests of funds from private individuals and foundations for 25 the purpose of carrying out systematic studies under this article. The 26 funds shall be expended in accordance with the provisions of such grant, 27 gift or bequest. 28 4. The child advocate shall take all possible actions including, but 29 not limited to, conducting programs of public education, undertaking 30 legislative advocacy and making proposals for administrative correction 31 or systemic reform and formal legal action, in order to secure and 32 ensure the legal, civil and special rights of children. 33 5. The child advocate shall take the appropriate steps to make the 34 existence and availability of the child advocate widely known, by appro- 35 priate and active means, to children and adults. 36 6. The child advocate shall create informational materials for chil- 37 dren regarding the rights of children when they are in foster care, 38 detention centers, facilities operated by the office of children and 39 family services, jails, or prisons and the methods and assistance avail- 40 able to enforce those rights. 41 § 2. Subdivision 16 of section 501 of the executive law, as renumbered 42 by chapter 170 of the laws of 1994, is renumbered subdivision 17 and a 43 new subdivision 16 is added to read as follows: 44 16. The commissioner of the office of children and family services 45 shall promulgate regulations requiring that no services or programs 46 under the jurisdiction of the office of children and family services 47 shall restrict or prohibit access to records or individuals to the 48 office of the child advocate upon request, unless the disclosure of such 49 records are otherwise prohibited by federal law or regulation. 50 § 3. This act shall take effect on April 1, 2021. Effective immediate- 51 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation 52 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 53 authorized to be made and completed on or before the effective date.
