S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5357
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 18, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Children and Families
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:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Marchella
Pierce's Law".
S 2. 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:
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 shall also issue guide-
lines 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.
The department shall promulgate regulations to establish standards for
intervention, criteria for case closings, criteria for determining
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08574-01-5
A. 5357 2
whether or not to initiate a child protective proceeding, and criteria
for the formulation of treatment plans and for the delivery of child
protective services including specification of the services to be clas-
sified as child protective services, which shall also apply to any soci-
ety 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 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. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL REQUIRE THAT EVERY CASE-
WORKER, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEE OR ANY PERSON ACTING PURSUANT
TO A CONTRACT FOR SERVICES WITH A LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WHO
HAS CONTACT WITH A CHILD AS PART OF A TREATMENT PLAN OR SUPERVISION AND
MONITORING, TO DOCUMENT EACH SUCH CONTACT WITH A TIME STAMPED PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE FRONT DOOR OF THE RESIDENCE WHERE SUCH CHILD IS DOMICILED DURING
SUCH VISIT OR CONTACT USING A TABLET, CELLULAR PHONE OR COMPARABLE
DEVICE THAT IS GLOBAL POSITIONING SATELLITE DEVICE CAPABLE. SUCH PHOTO-
GRAPH SHALL BE PART OF THE CONFIDENTIAL CASE RECORD FOR SUCH CHILD AND
SHALL BE SUBJECT TO PERIODIC REVIEW BY THE SUPERVISOR OF THE CASE. SUCH
PHOTOGRAPH MUST BE OF SUFFICIENT QUALITY TO CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE FRONT
DOOR OF THE RESIDENCE WHERE THE CHILD IS DOMICILED, AND CONTAIN ACCURATE
DATA WITH REGARD TO THE TIME AND DATE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH. THE SUPERVISING
AUTHORITY SHALL ALSO REQUIRE THAT THE CASEWORKER GEOGRAPHICALLY DOCUMENT
SUCH VISIT UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY ALLOWING FOR THE GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTA-
TION. IF THE PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN OBJECTS TO THE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE
ENTRANCE TO THE RESIDENCE WHERE THE CHILD IS DOMICILED OR FOR THE
GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION OF THE VISIT, THE CASEWORKER SHALL PROVIDE A
FORM, SUPPLIED BY THE CASEWORKER'S AGENCY OF EMPLOYMENT, STATING THAT
THE CASEWORKER CONDUCTED THE VISIT WITH THE CHILD AND VERIFIED THE WELL
BEING OF THE CHILD. SUCH FORM SHALL INDICATE WHICH PROCEDURE OR PROCE-
DURES PRESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION WERE OBJECTED TO AND SHALL BE SIGNED
AND DATED BY BOTH THE CHILD'S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN AND THE CASEWORK-
ER. SUCH FORM SHALL BE UTILIZED AT EACH VISIT WHERE EITHER A PHOTOGRAPH
IS NOT TAKEN OR THE VISIT IS NOT GEOGRAPHICALLY DOCUMENTED. Such regu-
lations REQUIRED UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION 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 3. Section 372 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 4-c to read as follows:
4-C. THE RECORDS MAINTAINED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION BY ANY CASEWORK-
ER, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEE OR AUTHORIZED AGENCY AS DEFINED
IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE OF THIS TITLE WHO HAS CONTACT WITH
A FOSTER CHILD AS PART OF A TREATMENT PLAN OR SUPERVISION AND MONITOR-
ING, SHALL DOCUMENT EACH SUCH CONTACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIRE-
MENTS SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE
OF THIS ARTICLE.
S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.