Bill Text: NY S05572 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the administration of the statewide central register of child abuse; requires callers making reports of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to provide their name and contact information.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S05572 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S05572-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5572 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 7, 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 social services law, in relation to the adminis- tration of the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreat- ment The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social 2 services law, as amended by chapter 357 of the laws of 2014, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 (a) The central register shall be capable of receiving telephone calls 5 alleging child abuse or maltreatment and of immediately identifying 6 prior reports of child abuse or maltreatment and capable of monitoring 7 the provision of child protective service twenty-four hours a day, seven 8 days a week. To effectuate this purpose, but subject to the provisions 9 of the appropriate local plan for the provision of child protective 10 services, there shall be a single statewide telephone number that all 11 persons, whether mandated by the law or not, may use to make telephone 12 calls alleging child abuse or maltreatment and that all persons so 13 authorized by this title may use for determining the existence of prior 14 reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a child. 15 In addition to the single statewide telephone number, there shall be a 16 special unlisted express telephone number and a telephone facsimile 17 number for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone calls, 18 or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the 19 commissioner of children and family services, alleging child abuse or 20 maltreatment, and for use by all persons so authorized by this title for 21 determining the existence of prior reports in order to evaluate the 22 condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in 23 such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse 24 or maltreatment, such allegations, the caller's name, contact informa- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11541-01-9S. 5572 2 1 tion, and any previous reports to the central registry involving the 2 subject of such report or children named in such report, including any 3 previous report containing allegations of child abuse and maltreatment 4 alleged to have occurred in other counties and districts in New York 5 state shall be immediately transmitted orally or electronically by the 6 office of children and family services to the appropriate local child 7 protective service for investigation. The inability of the person call- 8 ing the register to identify the alleged perpetrator shall, in no 9 circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the register to reject such 10 allegation or fail to transmit such allegation for investigation. If the 11 records indicate a previous report concerning a subject of the report, 12 the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a sibling, other children 13 in the household, other persons named in the report or other pertinent 14 information, the appropriate local child protective service shall be 15 immediately notified of the fact. If the report involves either (i) an 16 allegation of an abused child described in paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) 17 of subdivision (e) of section one thousand twelve of the family court 18 act or sexual abuse of a child or the death of a child or (ii) suspected 19 maltreatment which alleges any physical harm when the report is made by 20 a person required to report pursuant to section four hundred thirteen of 21 this title within six months of any other two reports that were indi- 22 cated, or may still be pending, involving the same child, sibling, or 23 other children in the household or the subject of the report, the office 24 of children and family services shall identify the report as such and 25 note any prior reports when transmitting the report to the local child 26 protective services for investigation. 27 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social services law is 28 amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows: 29 (d) Callers making reports of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to 30 the central register shall be asked for their name and contact informa- 31 tion. No report shall be accepted by the central register unless the 32 caller's name and contact information is provided. 33 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 34 section one of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth 35 day after it shall have become a law.