NY State Senate Bill 2019-S5572

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to children and families
May 07, 2019	referred to children and families

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §422, Soc Serv L

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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.

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5572

SPONSOR: MONTGOMERY
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to the administration of the statewide central register of child abuse
and maltreatment

 
PURPOSE:

This bill amends the Social Services Law to replace anonymous reporting
to New York's Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment
(SCR) with confidential reporting whereby reporters provide their name
and contact information when lodging a report of child abuse or
maltreatment. Reporters' safety would still be assured because child
welfare agencies would retain the authority to withhold from the accused
information that identifies a caller. Replacing anonymous reporting with
confidential reporting will deter a significant amount of malicious
reporting, allow child welfare agencies to conduct more effective inves-
tigations and focus resources on the cases that merit them.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

It is well known that allowing anonymous reporting encourages abuse of
the reporting system, leading to harassment and wasted investigation
resources. Domestic violence advocates in particular have voiced concern
that the current system allows perpetrators of domestic violence to
harass ex-partners through anonymously making false reports against
them. Child protective services is required by law to investigate all
these reports, even if they believe they involve intentionally false
allegations. Two short amendments are proposed to Section 2 of the stat-
ute that will require a non-mandated reporter to provide their name and
contact information to the central registry when making a report of
child abuse or maltreatment (mandated reporters are already required to
provide this information). The central registry will provide the repor-
ter's name and contact information to the local child welfare agency
conducting the investigation which will aid the agency in its investi-
gation and act as a deterrent to those who use the central registry as a
tool to harass parents. False reporting of child abuse is not only harm-
ful to parents but often causes emotional harm to children who may be
woken in the middle of the night by child welfare authori ties,
searched, subjected to medical evaluations, and interviewed at home or
in school. At times, children are unnecessarily separated from their
families and placed in foster care during the investigation of inten-
tionally false allegations.

The bill will deter malicious reporting and allow child protective
services to track the number of reports of alleged child abuse and
neglect made by an individual.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Revenue Savings

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately/on the one-hundred eightieth day.

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5572
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                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:
 
   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, THE CALLER'S NAME, CONTACT INFORMA-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD11541-01-9

 S. 5572                             2
 
 TION, and any previous reports to the  central  registry  involving  the
 subject  of  such report or children named 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
 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  call-
 ing  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. 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 indi-
 cated, 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  family services shall identify the report as such and
 note any prior reports when transmitting the report to the  local  child
 protective services for investigation.
   §  2.  Subdivision  2  of  section  422  of the social services law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
   (D) CALLERS MAKING REPORTS OF SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE OR MALTREATMENT TO
 THE CENTRAL REGISTER SHALL BE ASKED FOR THEIR NAME AND CONTACT  INFORMA-
 TION.  NO  REPORT  SHALL  BE ACCEPTED BY THE CENTRAL REGISTER UNLESS THE
 CALLER'S NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION IS PROVIDED.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 section  one  of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth
 day after it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S5572

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Actions

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Velmanette Montgomery

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Actions

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S5572 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments