NY State Senate Bill 2023-S6357A

Senate Bill S6357A

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Allowing for child protective services workers to complete certain required training through distance learning methods

download bill text pdf

Current 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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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 26, 2024	print number 6357a
Mar 26, 2024	amend and recommit to children and families
Jan 03, 2024	referred to children and families returned to senate died in assembly
Jun 08, 2023	referred to children and families delivered to assembly passed senate
May 18, 2023	advanced to third reading
May 17, 2023	2nd report cal.
May 16, 2023	1st report cal.1037
Apr 18, 2023	referred to children and families

Votes

- Jun 8, 2023 - Floor Vote
  S6357A
  
  62
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 8, 2023
      
      aye (62)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Ashby
      
      Bailey
      
      Borrello
      
      Breslin
      
      Brisport
      
      Brouk
      
      Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick
      
      Chu
      
      Cleare
      
      Comrie
      
      Felder
      
      Fernandez
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gonzalez
      
      Gounardes
      
      Griffo
      
      Harckham
      
      Helming
      
      Hinchey
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Mannion
      
      Martinez
      
      Martins
      
      Mattera
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Murray
      
      Myrie
      
      O'Mara
      
      Oberacker
      
      Ortt
      
      Palumbo
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rhoads
      
      Rivera
      
      Rolison
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Scarcella-Spanton
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stec
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Thomas
      
      Walczyk
      
      Webb
      
      Weber
      
      Weik
      
      excused (1)
      
      Cooney
  May 16, 2023 - Children And Families Committee Vote
  S6357A
  
  7
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Children And Families Committee Vote: May 16, 2023
      
      aye (7)
      
      Ashby
      
      Bailey
      
      Brisport
      
      Brouk
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Persaud
      
      Rolison

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2023-S6357 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7341
Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §421, Soc Serv L

2023-S6357 - Summary

Allows for child protective services workers to complete the required training on the fundamentals of child protection through distance learning methods beginning April 1, 2024.

2023-S6357 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6357

SPONSOR: MANNION
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to allowing for
child protective services workers to complete certain required training
through distance learning methods

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to allow persons hired by a child protective
service to complete necessary training requirements through a distance
learning method.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would amend section 421 of the Social Services
Law by requiring that, on or after April 1, 2024, the training require-
ments for persons hired by a local child protective service, excluding
the annual in-service training requirement, may be completed through a
distance learning method.

Section 2 of this bill would amend section 423 of the Social Services
Law to allow a local department of social services to submit a request
to fulfill training requirements through a distance learning method.

Section 3 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take
effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In December 2021, a fire consumed a small home in Granby, Oswego County,
and took the lives of a mother and her 13-year-old son. For more than a
year before the incident, the mother had been isolated in her home With
her two sons; her mental health declined as her children did not attend
school, trash built up inside the house, and the family ran out of heat-
ing oil. Despite multiple calls to Child Protective Services (CPS) from
family members, caseworkers failed to address the maltreatment of the
children. This neglect from CPS was only followed by the house fire that
claimed these two lives.

In 2021, 56,760 children experienced abuse or maltreatment in New York
State, a number that has increased in the past decade. Most of these
cases can be attributed to neglect, while others involve emotional,
physical, or sexual abuse. This trend is concerning, as more and more
children are at risk of suffering abuse or maltreatment. In many cases,
this leads to mental trauma, sickness, injuries, or even death. Further-
more, Oswego County has the second highest rate of child abuse in the
State. In the past eight years, 24 children have died due to abuse in
Oswego County.

In the midst of this crisis, CPS workers are facing additional burdens.
Case workers typically work 40-50 hours a week and handle more than 10
cases at a time, which can lead to lack of productivity due to burnout.
On top of this, a significant number of recruited case workers decline
the job due to a state-mandated training in Albany that lasts several
weeks.

This bill would allow recruited case workers for Child Protective
Services to complete their training requirements, excluding the annual
in-service training requirement, virtually, rather than in Albany.
Allowing virtual training would remove the geographic and financial
barrier that prevents many potential workers from joining local social
services departments. This bill would increase accessibility to CPS,
creating the potential for more case workers to join the agency. A high-
er number of case workers could address a greater caseload and protect
the well-being and lives of countless children across the State.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S6357 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6357
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 18, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MANNION -- 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  allowing  for
   child  protective services workers to complete certain required train-
   ing through distance learning methods

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 421 of the social
 services  law, as amended by chapter 525 of the laws of 2006, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (b) promulgate regulations setting forth training  requirements  which
 shall  specify,  among  other  things, that all persons hired by a child
 protective service on or after April first, nineteen hundred  eighty-six
 shall  have satisfactorily completed a course approved by the department
 within the first three months of  employment,  in  the  fundamentals  of
 child  protection,  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ON OR AFTER APRIL FIRST, TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-FOUR,  SUCH  COURSE  MAY  BE  SATISFACTORILY  COMPLETED
 THROUGH DISTANCE LEARNING METHODS WHICH EVINCE THAT ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE
 IN  ATTENDANCE  FOR THE DURATION OF THE COURSE AND ARE ABLE TO ASK QUES-
 TIONS OF THE  INSTRUCTOR,  EXCLUDING  THE  ANNUAL  IN  SERVICE  TRAINING
 REQUIREMENT.  Such  course  shall include at least basic training in the
 principles and techniques  of  investigations,  including  relationships
 with  other  investigative bodies, legal issues in child protection, and
 methods of remediation, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Such  regu-
 lations  shall also specify that all persons employed by a child protec-
 tive service on or after December first, two thousand six  shall  satis-
 factorily complete six hours of annual in service training, beginning in
 their  second  year of employment. Such annual in service training shall
 include, but is not limited to, review of the protocols for  identifica-
 tion and investigation of child abuse and maltreatment, any developments
 in  legal,  treatment  and  prevention  issues  in child protection, and
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10845-02-3

 S. 6357                             2
 
 review and analysis of field experiences of  child  protective  services
 workers.
   §  2.  Subdivision  1  of  section  423  of the social services law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows:
   (F) EVERY LOCAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES MAY PREPARE  AND  SUBMIT
 TO  THE  COMMISSIONER,  INCLUDING  THE DETERMINATION MENTIONED HEREIN, A
 REQUEST TO FULFILL THE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, AS SPECIFIED BY  PARAGRAPH
 (B)  OF  SUBDIVISION  FIVE  OF  SECTION  FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS
 TITLE, THROUGH DISTANCE LEARNING METHODS,  UPON  A  DETERMINATION  BY  A
 LOCAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES THAT THE USE OF SUCH DISTANCE LEARN-
 ING  METHODS  SHALL  BE BENEFICIAL TO THE PERFORMANCE OF THOSE FUNCTIONS
 ASSIGNED BY THIS TITLE TO THE CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICE, PROVIDED, HOWEV-
 ER, THAT SUCH DISTANCE LEARNING METHODS SHALL NOT BE USED FOR THE ANNUAL
 IN SERVICE TRAINING REQUIREMENT.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2023-S6357A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7341
Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §421, Soc Serv L

2023-S6357A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows for child protective services workers to complete the required training on the fundamentals of child protection through distance learning methods beginning April 1, 2024.

2023-S6357A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6357A

SPONSOR: MANNION
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to allowing for
child protective services workers to complete certain required training
through distance learning methods

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to allow persons hired by a child protective
service to complete necessary training requirements through a distance
learning method.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would amend section 421 of the Social Services
Law by allowing the training requirements for persons hired by a local
child protective service, excluding the annual in-service training
requirement, to be completed through a distance learning method on or
after April 1, 2024, as authorized by an adopted County law, ordinance

or resolution.

Section 2 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take
effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In December 2021, a fire consumed a small home in Granby, Oswego County,
and took the lives of a mother and her 13-year-old son. For more than a
year before the incident, the mother had been isolated in her home with
her two sons; her mental health declined as her children did not attend
school, trash built up inside the house, and the family ran out of heat-
ing oil. Despite multiple calls to Child Protective Services (CPS) from
family members, caseworkers failed to address the maltreatment of the
children. This neglect from CPS was only followed by the house fire that
claimed these two lives.

In 2021, 56,760 children experienced abuse or maltreatment in New York
State, a number that has increased in the past decade. Most of these
cases can be attributed to neglect, while others involve emotional,
physical, or sexual abuse. This trend is concerning, as more and more
children are at risk of suffering abuse or maltreatment. In many cases,
this leads to mental trauma, sickness, injuries, or even death.
Furthermore, Oswego County has the second highest rate of child abuse in
the State. In the past eight years, 24 children have died due to abuse
in Oswego County.

In the midst of this crisis, CPS workers are facing additional burdens.
Case workers typically work 40-50 hours a week and handle more than 10
cases at a time, which can lead to lack of productivity due to burnout.
On top of this, a significant number of recruited case workers decline
the job due to a state-mandated training in Albany that lasts several
weeks.

This bill would allow recruited case workers for Child Protective
Services to complete their training requirements, excluding the annual
in-service training requirement, through distance learning methods,
i.e., virtually, rather than in person. Allowing virtual training would
remove the geographic and financial barrier that prevents many potential
workers from joining local social services departments. This bill would
increase accessibility to the CPS profession, creating the potential for
more case workers to join the agency. A higher number of case workers
could address a greater caseload and protect the well-being and lives of
countless children across the State.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S6357A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6357--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 18, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. MANNION, BORRELLO, COMRIE, FERNANDEZ, ROLISON, WEBER
   -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
   the Committee on Children and Families -- recommitted to the Committee
   on  Children  and Families in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
   committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
   recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the social services law, in relation to allowing for
   child protective services workers to complete certain required  train-
   ing through distance learning methods
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 421 of the social
 services law, as amended by chapter 525 of the laws of 2006, is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (b)  promulgate  regulations setting forth training requirements which
 shall specify, among other things, that all persons  hired  by  a  child
 protective  service on or after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six
 shall have satisfactorily completed a course approved by the  department
 within  the  first  three  months  of employment, in the fundamentals of
 child protection, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ON OR AFTER APRIL  FIRST,  TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-FOUR,  SUCH  COURSE  MAY  BE  SATISFACTORILY  COMPLETED
 THROUGH DISTANCE LEARNING METHODS WHICH EVINCE THAT ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE
 IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE DURATION OF THE COURSE AND ARE ABLE TO  ASK  QUES-
 TIONS  OF  THE  INSTRUCTOR.  EACH  COUNTY SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO ADOPT A
 LOCAL LAW, ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION TO PROVIDE FOR A LOCAL DEPARTMENT  OF
 SOCIAL  SERVICES TO FULFILL THE TRAINING REQUIREMENT ESTABLISHED BY THIS
 PARAGRAPH THROUGH A DISTANCE LEARNING METHOD, EXCLUDING  THE  ANNUAL  IN
 SERVICE  TRAINING  REQUIREMENT. Such course shall include at least basic
 training in the principles and techniques of  investigations,  including
 relationships  with  other  investigative  bodies, legal issues in child
 protection,  and  methods  of  remediation,  diagnosis,  treatment   and
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10845-04-3

 S. 6357--A                          2
 
 prevention.  Such  regulations  shall  also  specify  that  all  persons
 employed by a child protective service on or after December  first,  two
 thousand  six  shall  satisfactorily  complete  six  hours  of annual in
 service  training,  beginning  in  their second year of employment. Such
 annual in service training shall include, but is not limited to,  review
 of the protocols for identification and investigation of child abuse and
 maltreatment, any developments in legal, treatment and prevention issues
 in  child  protection,  and  review and analysis of field experiences of
 child protective services workers.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S6357A

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Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2023-S6357 - Details

2023-S6357 - Summary

2023-S6357 - Sponsor Memo

2023-S6357 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2023-S6357A (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S6357A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S6357A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S6357A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments