Senate Bill S3937

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3937

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 23, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  FELDER -- 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 reports of child
  abuse or maltreatment

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social
services  law, as amended by chapter 357 of the laws of 2014, is amended
to read as follows:
  (a) The central register shall be capable of receiving telephone calls
alleging child abuse or  maltreatment  and  of  immediately  identifying
prior  reports  of child abuse or maltreatment and capable of monitoring
the provision of child protective service twenty-four hours a day, seven
days a week. To effectuate this purpose, but subject to  the  provisions
of  the  appropriate  local  plan  for the provision of child protective
services, there shall be a single statewide telephone  number  that  all
persons,  whether  mandated by the law or not, may use to make telephone
calls alleging child abuse or  maltreatment  and  that  all  persons  so
authorized  by this title may use for determining the existence of prior
reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a  child.
In  addition  to the single statewide telephone number, there shall be a
special unlisted express telephone  number  and  a  telephone  facsimile
number  for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone calls,
or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the
commissioner of children and family services, alleging  child  abuse  or
maltreatment, and for use by all persons so authorized by this title for
determining  the  existence  of  prior  reports in order to evaluate the
condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in
such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse
or maltreatment, such  allegations  and  any  previous  reports  to  the
central  registry involving the subject of such report or children named

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07689-01-5
              

S. 3937                             2

in such report, including any previous report containing allegations  of
child  abuse and maltreatment alleged to have occurred in other counties
and districts in [New York] THE state shall be  immediately  transmitted
orally  or  electronically by the office of children and family services
to the appropriate local child protective service for investigation. The
inability of the person calling the register  to  identify  the  alleged
perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the
register  to  reject such allegation or fail to transmit such allegation
for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report  concerning
a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a
sibling,  other  children  in  the household, other persons named in the
report or other  pertinent  information,  the  appropriate  local  child
protective  service  shall  be  immediately  notified of the fact.   THE
PERSON CALLING SHALL BE ASKED IF THEY HAVE A REASONABLE  SUSPICION  THAT
THE  PERSON  OR  PERSONS ALLEGED TO BE ABUSING OR MALTREATING A CHILD OR
CHILDREN IS OR ARE ON PROBATION OR PAROLE. IN THE CASE THAT  THE  PERSON
CALLING  HAS  SUCH  A  REASONABLE  SUSPICION,  SUCH INFORMATION SHALL BE
INCLUDED IN  THE  REPORT  TRANSMITTED  TO  THE  LOCAL  CHILD  PROTECTIVE
SERVICE.  If  the  report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused
child described in paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of  subdivision  (e)  of
section one thousand twelve of the family court act or sexual abuse of a
child  or  the  death  of  a  child or (ii) suspected maltreatment which
alleges any physical harm when the report is made by a  person  required
to report pursuant to section four hundred thirteen of this title within
six months of any other two reports that were indicated, or may still be
pending,  involving  the  same  child, sibling, or other children in the
household or the subject of the report, the office of children and fami-
ly services shall identify the report as such and note any prior reports
when transmitting the report to the local child protective services  for
investigation.
  S 2. Subparagraph (k) of paragraph (A) of subdivision 4 of section 422
of  the  social  services law, as amended by section 153 of subpart B of
part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
  (k) a probation service OR THE STATE BOARD OF  PAROLE  WHERE  A  CHILD
PROTECTIVE  SERVICE HAS REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE SUBJECT OF THE REPORT
IS OR MAY BE ON PROBATION OR  PAROLE,  OR  IF  A  PROBATION  SERVICE  IS
conducting  an  investigation  pursuant  to  article  three  or seven or
section six hundred fifty-three of the family court act where  there  is
reason  to suspect the child or the child's sibling may have been abused
or maltreated and such child  or  sibling,  parent,  guardian  or  other
person  legally  responsible for the child is a person named in an indi-
cated report of child abuse or maltreatment and that such information is
necessary for the making of a determination  or  recommendation  to  the
court;  or  a  probation  service  regarding  a  person about whom it is
conducting an investigation pursuant to article three hundred ninety  of
the  criminal procedure law, or a probation service or the department of
corrections and community supervision regarding a  person  to  whom  the
service or department is providing supervision pursuant to article sixty
of  the  penal  law  or  article  eight of the correction law, where the
subject of investigation or supervision has been convicted of  a  felony
under article one hundred twenty, one hundred twenty-five or one hundred
thirty-five  of the penal law or any felony or misdemeanor under article
one hundred thirty, two hundred thirty-five, two hundred forty-five, two
hundred sixty or two hundred sixty-three of the penal law, or  has  been
indicted  for  any such felony and, as a result, has been convicted of a
crime under the penal law, where the service or department requests  the

S. 3937                             3

information  upon  a certification that such information is necessary to
conduct its investigation, that there is  reasonable  cause  to  believe
that  the  subject  of  an  investigation is the subject of an indicated
report  and  that there is reasonable cause to believe that such records
are necessary to the investigation  by  the  probation  service  or  the
department,  provided,  however,  that  only  indicated reports shall be
furnished pursuant to this subdivision;
  S 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 6  of  section  424  of  the  social
services  law, as amended by chapter 602 of the laws of 2008, is amended
to read as follows:
  (a) upon receipt of such report, commence  or  cause  the  appropriate
society  for  the  prevention of cruelty to children to commence, within
twenty-four hours, an appropriate investigation which shall  include  an
evaluation  of  the environment of the child named in the report and any
other children in the same home and a determination of the risk to  such
children if they continue to remain in the existing home environment, as
well as a determination of the nature, extent and cause of any condition
enumerated in such report and the name, age and condition of other chil-
dren  in the home, and, after seeing to the safety of the child or chil-
dren, forthwith notify the subjects of  the  report  and  other  persons
named  in the report in writing of the existence of the report and their
respective rights pursuant to this title in regard to amendment.  IF  AT
ANY TIME DURING SUCH INVESTIGATION, THERE IS REASONABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE
THE  SUBJECT  OF THE REPORT IS ON PROBATION OR PAROLE, THE CHILD PROTEC-
TIVE SERVICE SHALL PROVIDE NOTICE TO THE APPROPRIATE  PROBATION  SERVICE
OR  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF  PAROLE  OF  THE EXISTENCE OF SUCH REPORT, AND
PROVIDE A COPY THEREOF AND THE  STATUS  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION  TO  SUCH
SERVICE OR BOARD.
  S  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law.