S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7581--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                May 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  JAFFEE,  BURKE, D'URSO, CRUZ, REYES, LIFTON,
   GLICK, FRONTUS, COLTON, DICKENS, DeSTEFANO, JEAN-PIERRE, COOK,  BLAKE,
   SCHMITT,  PICHARDO,  RIVERA,  ORTIZ,  BARRON,  FALL,  CROUCH, BRONSON,
   STIRPE, PERRY,  ENGLEBRIGHT,  PALUMBO,  STECK,  DINOWITZ,  RICHARDSON,
   HUNTER,  D. ROSENTHAL,  GIGLIO,  WEPRIN,  SMITH,  RA, EPSTEIN, SAYEGH,
   LUPARDO, ABINANTI, MOSLEY, PALMESANO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
   ARROYO, DE LA ROSA, GALEF, MANKTELOW, McDONOUGH, SIMON, TAGUE,  THIELE
   -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families --
   recommitted  to  the  Committee on Children and Families in accordance
   with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to caseload stand-
   ards for child protective services workers
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 20-a of the social services law, as added by chap-
 ter 107 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
   § 20-a.  Local personnel; limitations on department's power.  Notwith-
 standing any inconsistent provision of  this  chapter,  the  board,  the
 commissioner  or  the  department, acting singly or in unison, shall not
 have the power, directly  or  indirectly  to  prescribe  the  number  of
 persons  to  be  employed  in any social services district providing the
 district complies with the minimum federal standards  relating  thereto;
 PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY
 TO THE REGULATIONS OF THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES  ESTAB-
 LISHING CASELOAD STANDARDS FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS PROMUL-
 GATED  PURSUANT  TO  PARAGRAPH  (A)  OF SUBDIVISION NINE OF SECTION FOUR
 HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section  153-k  of  the  social
 services law, as added by section 15 of part C of chapter 83 of the laws
 of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD11190-02-0

 A. 7581--A                          2
 
   (a)  Expenditures  made by social services districts for child protec-
 tive services, preventive services provided, as applicable, to  eligible
 children  and  families  of  children  who are in and out of foster care
 placement, independent living services, aftercare services, and adoption
 administration  and  services  other  than  adoption  subsidies provided
 pursuant to article six of this  chapter  and  the  regulations  of  the
 department  of  family  assistance  shall,  if approved by the office of
 children and family services, be subject  to  sixty-five  percent  state
 reimbursement  exclusive  of  any  federal funds made available for such
 purposes, in accordance with the directives of the department of  family
 assistance  and  subject  to the approval of the director of the budget.
 PROVIDED HOWEVER, FOR REQUIREMENTS PRESCRIBED  IN  SUBDIVISION  NINE  OF
 SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER, SUCH EXPENDITURES SHALL
 BE  SUBJECT  TO  ONE  HUNDRED PERCENT STATE REIMBURSEMENT, PROVIDED THAT
 LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICTS CONTINUE TO  MAINTAIN  CURRENT  EXPENDI-
 TURES RELATED TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES AT A LEVEL EQUAL TO OR GREAT-
 ER THAN EXPENDITURES FOR SUCH ACTIVITIES DURING THE FISCAL YEAR PRIOR TO
 THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF A CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY WHICH
 AMENDED THIS PARAGRAPH.
   § 3. Section 421 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 9 to read as follows:
   9.  PROMULGATE  REGULATIONS IN CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES
 DISTRICTS, RELATING TO CASELOAD STANDARDS FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE  SERVICES
 WORKERS. SUCH STANDARDS SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:  (A) LIMI-
 TATIONS  ON  THE NUMBER OF INVESTIGATIONS WHICH CAN BE ASSIGNED TO CHILD
 PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS, PROVIDED HOWEVER, TO  THE  EXTENT  POSSIBLE
 AND  WITHIN  AMOUNTS  APPROPRIATED  THEREFORE,  NO MORE THAN TWO INITIAL
 INVESTIGATIONS PER WEEK MAY BE ASSIGNED PER FULL TIME  EQUIVALENT  CHILD
 PROTECTIVE  SERVICES  WORKER; AND (B) GUIDANCE AS IT RELATES TO HOW SUCH
 INVESTIGATIONS ARE ASSIGNED, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE CHILD PROTEC-
 TIVE SERVICES WORKER CURRENT CASELOAD, AS WELL AS THE COMPLEXITY OF  THE
 PARTICULAR INVESTIGATION, IF KNOWN. NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE
 CONSTRUED  TO PROHIBIT THE OFFICE FROM PRESCRIBING LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES
 DISTRICTS FROM ESTABLISHING CASELOAD STANDARDS THAT ARE LESS  THAN  WHAT
 IS REQUIRED IN THIS SUBDIVISION.
   §  4.  Paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision  1 of section 423 of the social
 services law, as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995,  is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (c)  The  child  protective  service shall have a sufficient staff, IN
 ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS  OF  SUBDIVISION  NINE  OF  SECTION  FOUR
 HUNDRED  TWENTY-ONE  OF  THIS  TITLE,  of  sufficient  qualifications to
 fulfill the purposes of this title and be organized in such a way as  to
 maximize  the continuity of responsibility, care and service of individ-
 ual workers toward individual children and families. A  social  services
 district  shall have flexibility in assigning staff to the child protec-
 tive service provided that each staff assigned to such service  has  the
 staff  qualifications  and  has  received  the  training required by the
 department regulations promulgated pursuant  to  subdivisions  four  and
 five of section four hundred twenty-one of this title.
   §  5.  Section  426  of the social services law, as amended by section
 11-a of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 426. Annual reports. The commissioner shall prepare for inclusion in
 the annual report required by subdivision (d) of  section  seventeen  of
 this  chapter to be filed with the governor and the legislature prior to
 December fifteenth of each year, a report on the operations of the state

 A. 7581--A                          3
 
 central register of child abuse and maltreatment and the  various  local
 child  protective  services. The report shall include a full statistical
 analysis of the reports made to the central  register  together  with  a
 report  on  the  implementation  of this title, his or her evaluation of
 services offered under this chapter and his or her  recommendations  for
 additional  legislation  to  fulfill  the  purposes  of this title. Such
 report shall indicate the number of child abuse and maltreatment reports
 and cases received by the statewide central register of child abuse  and
 maltreatment  by each district in the preceding year, the number of such
 cases determined to have been indicated and the  number  of  such  cases
 determined  to  be unfounded by each district in the preceding year, the
 number of such cases which have not been indicated or  unfounded  within
 the  time  period  required by subdivision seven of section four hundred
 twenty-four of this [article] TITLE by each district  in  the  preceding
 year [and]. SUCH REPORT SHALL ALSO INCLUDE A MONTHLY ACCOUNTING BY LOCAL
 SOCIAL  SERVICES  DISTRICTS,  OF  the  TOTAL  number of CHILD PROTECTIVE
 SERVICES workers [assigned to  the  child  protective  service  in  each
 district in] WITH AN INDICATION OF HOW MANY HOLD A SUPERVISORY POSITION,
 AS  WELL  AS  THE  AVERAGE  NUMBER  OF ACTIVE CASES PER CHILD PROTECTIVE
 SERVICES WORKER, WITH AN INDICATION OF HOW  MANY  WERE  IN  THE  INITIAL
 INVESTIGATION  STAGE  AT  THE TIME THE INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED FOR the
 preceding year. Such report  shall  include,  among  other  information,
 available  demographic  information and available information concerning
 the racial and ethnic characteristics of the family members and  persons
 served  by  the  differential  response program pursuant to section four
 hundred twenty-seven-a of [the social services law] THIS TITLE, as  well
 as  available  information  concerning  the racial and ethnic character-
 istics of the family members and persons serviced under the  traditional
 child  protective  services  program,  in  each  local  social  services
 district in the state.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however sections
 one, two, three and four of this act shall  take  effect  on  the  seven
 hundred  thirtieth  day  after  it  shall  have  become a law; provided,
 further, however that the amendments to  section  153-k  of  the  social
 services law made by section two of this act shall not affect the repeal
 of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.