S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
456
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, MEEKS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Children and Families
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:
(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
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01535-01-5
A. 456 2
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-FIVE
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) LIMITATIONS ON THE NUMBER OF INVESTIGATIONS WHICH CAN BE ASSIGNED
TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS, PROVIDED HOWEVER, TO THE EXTENT
POSSIBLE AND WITHIN AMOUNTS APPROPRIATED THEREFOR, 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 PROTECTIVE 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 ESTABLISH-
ING 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
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] SUCH COMMIS-
SIONER'S evaluation of services offered under this chapter and [his or
her] SUCH COMMISSIONER'S recommendations for additional legislation to
fulfill the purposes of this title. Such report shall indicate the
A. 456 3
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 AVER-
AGE 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 informa-
tion and available information concerning the racial and ethnic charac-
teristics 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 characteristics 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.