S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3306--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 16, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sens. MAZIARZ, RANZENHOFER, ADDABBO, DeFRANCISCO, FUSCHIL-
LO, GALLIVAN, GOLDEN, GRISANTI, KENNEDY, KRUEGER, LARKIN, LIBOUS,
MARTINS, McDONALD, OPPENHEIMER, PERKINS, ZELDIN -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Children and Families -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring inves-
tigating officials of the department of social services or the office
of children and family services to investigate the homes of children
and adults about whom reports have been filed and requiring such offi-
cials to obtain a supervisor's approval or otherwise requiring such to
apply for a court order allowing access to the home if two or more
such reports have been filed regarding such child or adult and access
thereto has been denied; and to amend the penal law, in relation to
criminalizing the act of denying access to an individual who is the
subject of a report to child or adult protective services
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
"Laura Cummings Law".
S 2. The section heading and opening paragraph of section 421 of the
social services law, as amended by chapter 718 of the laws of 1986, are
amended to read as follows:
Responsibility of the [department] OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY
SERVICES. The [department] OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES
shall:
S 3. Subdivision 3 of section 421 of the social services law, as
amended by chapter 718 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (a) as amended by
chapter 110 of the laws of 1989 and the closing paragraph as amended by
chapter 320 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08593-05-1
S. 3306--A 2
3. promulgate regulations setting forth requirements for the perform-
ance by local social services departments of the duties and powers
imposed and conferred upon them by the provisions of this title and of
article ten of the family court act. Such regulations shall establish
uniform requirements for the investigation of reports of child abuse or
maltreatment under this title. The [department] OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND
FAMILY SERVICES shall also issue guidelines which shall set forth the
circumstances or conditions under which:
(a) personal contact shall be made with the child named in the report
and any other children in the same household, including interviewing
such child or children absent the subject of the report whenever possi-
ble and appropriate;
(b) photographs of visible physical injuries or trauma of children who
may be the victims of abuse or maltreatment shall be taken or arranged
for;
(c) medical examination of a child who may be a victim of abuse or
maltreatment and documentation of findings of such examination, shall be
required[.];
(D) INVESTIGATIONS SHALL BE MADE OF THE HOME OF THE CHILD NAMED IN THE
REPORT, INCLUDING BY THE AUTHORITY OF IMMEDIATE COURT ORDERS OBTAINED
FROM THE FAMILY COURT WHENEVER ACCESS THERETO IS DENIED; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, SUCH GUIDELINES SHALL PRESUME THAT SUCH AN IMMEDIATE COURT
ORDER BE SOUGHT WHEN TWO OR MORE REPORTS ARE MADE IN REFERENCE TO THE
SAME PERSON RELATING TO THE ABUSE OR MALTREATMENT OF A CHILD, INCLUDING
UNFOUNDED AND/OR CLOSED CASES NOT FOUND TO BE MISTAKEN OR FALSE REPORTS,
AND THE LOCAL CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ARE NOT ABLE TO LOCATE THE
SUBJECT CHILD OR HAS BEEN DENIED ACCESS TO THE HOME OR TO THE CHILD
NAMED IN THE REPORT OR TO ANY CHILDREN IN THE HOUSEHOLD. ANY DECISION
NOT TO SEEK SUCH AN ORDER MUST BE REVIEWED BY A SUPERVISOR OF THE SOCIAL
SERVICES DISTRICT AND DOCUMENTED IN THE INVESTIGATION FILE TO DETERMINE
THAT THE FACTORS REQUIRED UNDER SECTION ONE THOUSAND THIRTY-FOUR OF THE
FAMILY COURT ACT DO NOT EXIST.
The [department] OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES shall promul-
gate regulations to establish standards for intervention, criteria for
case closings, criteria for determining whether or not to initiate a
child protective proceeding, and criteria for the formulation of treat-
ment plans and for the delivery of child protective services including
specification of the services to be classified as child protective
services, which shall also apply to any society for the prevention of
cruelty to children which has entered into a currently valid contract
with a local department of social services to investigate child abuse or
maltreatment reports. The [department] OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY
SERVICES shall promulgate regulations establishing minimum standards and
practices for the delivery of child protective services in connection
with monitoring and supervising respondents and their families as
ordered by a family court pursuant to section ten hundred thirty-nine
and paragraphs (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) of subdivision (a) of section
ten hundred fifty-two of the family court act. Such regulations shall
also require local child protective services to comply with notification
requirements of the family court act in connection with such monitoring
and supervisory responsibilities.
S 4. Subdivision 6-a of section 424 of the social services law, as
added by chapter 740 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
6-a. upon receipt of such report and commencement of the appropriate
investigation, where the child protective service is not able to locate
the child or has been denied access to the home or denied access to the
S. 3306--A 3
child named in the report or to any children in the household, and where
the child protective investigator has cause to believe a child or chil-
dren's life or health may be in danger immediately advise the parent or
person legally responsible for the child's care or with whom the child
is residing that, when denied sufficient access to the child or other
children in the home, the child protective investigator may contact the
family court to seek an immediate court order to gain access to the home
and/or the child named in the report or any children in the household
without further notice and that while such request is being made to such
court, law enforcement may be contacted and if contacted shall respond
and shall remain where the child or children are or are believed to be
present; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT WHEN TWO OR MORE REPORTS ARE MADE IN
REFERENCE TO THE SAME PERSON RELATING TO THE ABUSE OR MALTREATMENT OF A
CHILD, INCLUDING UNFOUNDED AND/OR CLOSED CASES NOT FOUND TO BE MISTAKEN
OR FALSE REPORTS, AND THE CHILD PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATOR IS NOT ABLE TO
LOCATE THE SUBJECT CHILD OR HAS BEEN DENIED ACCESS TO THE HOME OR TO THE
CHILD NAMED IN THE REPORT OR TO ANY CHILDREN IN THE HOUSEHOLD, THE CHILD
PROTECTIVE INVESTIGATOR SHOULD CONTACT THE FAMILY COURT TO SEEK SUCH AN
IMMEDIATE COURT ORDER, AND ANY DECISION NOT TO SEEK SUCH AN ORDER MUST
BE REVIEWED BY A SUPERVISOR OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT AND DOCU-
MENTED IN THE INVESTIGATION FILE TO DETERMINE THAT THE FACTORS REQUIRED
UNDER SECTION ONE THOUSAND THIRTY-FOUR OF THE FAMILY COURT ACT DO NOT
EXIST;
S 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 473 of the social
services law, as amended by chapter 395 of the laws of 1995, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) receiving and investigating reports of seriously impaired individ-
uals who may be in need of protection; WHICH INVESTIGATIONS SHALL
INCLUDE INVESTIGATION OF THE HOME OF AN IMPAIRED INDIVIDUAL NAMED IN THE
REPORT, INCLUDING BY THE AUTHORITY OF IMMEDIATE COURT ORDERS WHENEVER
ACCESS THERETO IS DENIED AS SET FORTH IN SECTION FOUR HUNDRED
SEVENTY-THREE-A OF THIS ARTICLE;
S 6. Section 473-c of the social services law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
3-A. WHEN TWO OR MORE REPORTS ARE MADE IN REFERENCE TO THE SAME PERSON
RELATING TO THE ABUSE OR MALTREATMENT OF AN ADULT PURSUANT TO THIS ARTI-
CLE, OR OF SUCH PERSON AS A CHILD PURSUANT TO ARTICLE SIX OF THIS CHAP-
TER, INCLUDING UNFOUNDED AND/OR CLOSED CASES NOT FOUND TO BE MISTAKEN OR
FALSE REPORTS, AND THE SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICIAL IS NOT ABLE TO LOCATE
THE SUBJECT ADULT OR HAS BEEN DENIED ACCESS TO THE HOME OR TO THE ADULT
NAMED IN THE REPORT, THE SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICIAL SHALL SEEK AN IMMEDI-
ATE COURT ORDER AS DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION. ANY DECISION NOT TO SEEK
SUCH AN ORDER MUST BE REVIEWED BY A SUPERVISOR OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES
DISTRICT AND DOCUMENTED IN THE INVESTIGATION FILE TO DETERMINE THAT THE
FACTORS REQUIRED UNDER SECTION ONE THOUSAND THIRTY-FOUR OF THE FAMILY
COURT ACT DO NOT EXIST.
S 7. Subparagraphs (y) and (z) of paragraph (A) of subdivision 4 of
section 422 of the social services law, subparagraph (y) as amended and
subparagraph (z) as added by section 1 of part A of chapter 327 of the
laws of 2007, are amended and a new subparagraph (aa) is added to read
as follows:
(y) members of a citizen review panel as established pursuant to
section three hundred seventy-one-b of this article; provided, however,
members of a citizen review panel shall not disclose to any person or
government official any identifying information which the panel has been
S. 3306--A 4
provided and shall not make public other information unless otherwise
authorized by statute; [and]
(z) an entity with appropriate legal authority in another state to
license, certify or otherwise approve prospective foster and adoptive
parents where disclosure of information regarding the prospective foster
or adoptive parents and other persons over the age of eighteen residing
in the home of such prospective parents is required by paragraph twenty
of subdivision (a) of section six hundred seventy-one of title forty-two
of the United States code[.]; AND
(AA) A SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICIAL WHO IS INVESTIGATING WHETHER AN ADULT
IS IN NEED OF PROTECTIVE SERVICES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF
SECTION FOUR HUNDRED SEVENTY-THREE OF THIS CHAPTER, AND WHEN SUCH OFFI-
CIAL HAS REASONABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE THAT SUCH PERSON MAY BE IN NEED OF
PROTECTIVE SERVICES DUE TO THE ACTIONS OF AN INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS
THAT HAD ACCESS TO SUCH ADULT WHEN HE OR SHE WAS A CHILD, AND SUCH ADULT
EITHER CURRENTLY RESIDES WITH SUCH INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS, OR DID SO
WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH, INFORMATION IS LIMITED
TO VERIFICATION BY THE CITY OR COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES COMMISSIONER THAT
THERE WAS OR WAS NOT AN INDICATED REPORT OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT
INVOLVING SUCH ADULT AND SUCH INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS.
S 8. Paragraphs (B), (C) and (D) of subdivision 4 of section 422 of
the social services law, as amended by chapter 677 of the laws of 1985,
are amended to read as follows:
(B) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law to the contrary,
a city or county social services commissioner may withhold, in whole or
in part, the release of any information which he or she is authorized to
make available to persons or agencies identified in subparagraphs (a),
(k), [(l),] (m), (n)[,] AND (o)[, (p) and (q)] of paragraph (A) of this
subdivision if such commissioner determines that such information is not
related to the purposes for which such information is requested or when
such disclosure will be detrimental to the child named in the report.
(C) A city or county social services commissioner who denies access by
persons or agencies identified in subparagraphs (a), (k), [(l),] (m),
(n)[,] AND (o)[, (p) and (q)] of paragraph (A) of this subdivision to
records, reports or other information or parts thereof maintained by
such commissioner in accordance with this title shall, within ten days
from the date of receipt of the request fully explain in writing to the
person requesting the records, reports or other information the reasons
for the denial.
(D) A person or agency identified in subparagraphs (a), (k), [(l),]
(m), (n)[,] AND (o)[, (p) and (q)] of paragraph (A) of this subdivision
who is denied access to records, reports or other information or parts
thereof maintained by a local department pursuant to this title may
bring a proceeding for review of such denial pursuant to article seven-
ty-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
S 9. Section 195.05 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 269 of the
laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
S 195.05 Obstructing governmental administration in the second degree.
A person is guilty of obstructing governmental administration IN THE
SECOND DEGREE when he OR SHE intentionally obstructs, impairs or
perverts the administration of law or other governmental function or
prevents or attempts to prevent a public servant from performing an
official function[,]:
1. by means of intimidation, physical force or interference, or by
means of any independently unlawful act[, or];
S. 3306--A 5
2. by means of interfering, whether or not physical force is involved,
with radio, telephone, television or other telecommunications systems
owned or operated by the state, or a county, city, town, village, fire
district or emergency medical service [or];
3. by means of releasing a dangerous animal under circumstances evinc-
ing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct governmental adminis-
tration; OR
4. BY, WITH INTENT TO CONCEAL ABUSE AND/OR NEGLECT, DENYING OR
ATTEMPTING TO DENY AN INVESTIGATION OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES OR OF
ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES, ACCESS TO INTERVIEW AN ALLEGED VICTIM.
Obstructing governmental administration IN THE SECOND DEGREE is a
class A misdemeanor.
S 10. This act shall take effect immediately.
