Senate Bill S4315A

                                BILL NUMBER:S4315A

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to direct the commissioner of children and
family services to conduct a study pertaining to child abuse and
neglect fatalities that occur subsequent to a prior open investigation

PURPOSE: The purpose of this bill is study the incidences in New York
State in which child abuse and neglect resulted in a child's death,
explain any commonalities among such incidences, and proffer policy
recommendations to reduce such incidences in the future.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 directs the commissioner of the office of children and
family services, in conjunction with the department of health, to
conduct a study detailing the number of incidences in New York State
in which child abuse and neglect resulted in a child's death were such
child had been the subject of a prior open investigation by the office
of children and family services for maltreatment.

Section 2 provides that the commissioner shall deliver a copy of the
findings and any policy recommendations deemed necessary to the
governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of
the assembly.

Section 3 is the effective date.
              

JUSTIFICATION:  Fatalities among children who are the subject of child
protective service investigations are reaching alarming levels.
According to a 2014 investigation conducted by the Associated Press
(AP), 786 children, between 2008 and 2013, died in the United States
while some form of child protective service assistance or
investigation was rendered. All fifty states and the District of
Columbia were surveyed, and the AP revealed that throughout the
country the reporting of child deaths associated with maltreatment is
considerably lacking. Most of these children are under the age of four
and lost their lives even as child protective agencies obtained
reliable information indicating their dangerous circumstances.  Due to
the dearth of complete information as compiled by the states, the AP
report is considered the most comprehensive data publicly available
related to the deaths of children already being overseen by child
protective services workers. Many cases revealed that states could not
determine the inception of an investigation and whether the child's
death was the result of a reported fatality or rather the child's
death occurred while the investigation was ongoing. In other
instances, states did not have data for the entire six year span of
the study.

In New York, at least two toddlers' deaths since December are being
examined as having prior open investigations by the office of children
and family services for maltreatment at the time of their passing
Mason DeCosmo of Milton, New York, was two years old when he died of a
head and internal injuries late last year. Authorities believe the
injuries may be attributed to his mother's boyfriend, who has been
indicted for Mason's second-degree murder. Mason's mother has also
been charged for failing to protect the child from horrific injury. At
the time of his killing, child protective services had closed their


investigation of child abuse sustained by Mason and his infant
brother. The Poughkeepsie Journal reported that officials at the
Duchess County Child Protective Services Unit determined that the
abuse report was unfounded.

Most recently, a one-year-old Washington County girl died from
injuries she withstood from inside her Kingsbury home. Investigations
related to the death of Kayleigh Mae Cassell are still ongoing,
however early reports indicate that several calls were made to
Washington County Child Protective Services on her behalf prior to her
death. Kayleigh Mae's family members claim that all of the calls,
protective services reports, and police reports relating to Kayleigh
Mae and her siblings' alleged abuse are on file, yet no agency
intervened. Since her passing, Kayleigh Mae's mother's boyfriend has
been arrested and charged with criminal contempt as the sheriff's
office investigates her death.

New York must stand apart in uncovering this penumbra. The lack of
comprehensive data here, and across the country, has made it nearly
impossible to hold accountable those endowed with the responsibility
to keep children safe. The AP investigation revealed that no one can
report with any accuracy the actual number of child fatalities
resulting from abuse or neglect each year. The federal government
estimates an average of 1,650 child deaths annually in recent years,
but the AP believes the actual number is twice as high. This
legislation directs the commissioner of children and family services,
in conjunction with the department of health, to conduct a study
pertaining to child abuse and neglect fatalities that occur subsequent
to a prior open investigation. By compiling this data in New York, we
can survey the responsiveness of child protective service units and
determine how to better manage and ameliorate the agencies entrusted
with protecting for our state's most vulnerable citizens.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately.