NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4141

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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 03, 2025	referred to children and families

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§413 & 488, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S7951
2015-2016: S3977
2017-2018: S2427, S8678
2019-2020: S1488, S4154
2021-2022: S1486, S4678
2023-2024: S240, S5699

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Expands the persons responsible for reporting cases of suspected child abuse to include employees, volunteers, or agents of any corporate entity having an agreement with a municipality as a homeless shelter provider and the development of procedures related thereto.

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4141

SPONSOR: PARKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to expanding the
persons responsible for reporting cases of suspected child abuse to
include employees, volunteers, or agents of any corporate entity having
an agreement with a municipality as a homeless shelter provider and the
development of procedures related thereto

 
PURPOSE:

To include among persons and officials required to report or cause to be
reported, employees, volunteers, and agents of any corporate entity
having a contractual agreement with a municipality as a homeless shelter
provider to be deemed a trained mandatory reporter.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social
services law, as amended by section 7 of part C of chapter 57 of the

laws of 2018, is amended.

Section 2: Subdivision 5-a of section 488 of the social services law, as
amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 2014, is amended.

Section 3: Section 413 of the social services law is amended by adding a
new subdivision 6.

Section 4: This act shall take effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recently the incidents of abuse and/or maltreatment of children appear
to have increased dramatically and are ancillary to incidents of domes-
tic violence. One in every four women will experience domestic violence
in her lifetime and the children who witness these events will attempt
to intervene and eventually become the victims of child abuse or detri-
mental neglect at a rate of 30%- 60%. It is estimated that the majority
of these incidents take place in the privacy of a family's home, but
when these incidents take place . under the aegis of municipal public
programs, it is the responsibility of the municipality to require effi-
cient and caring oversight, and trained providers to ensure a safe haven
for defenseless children.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-24: S5699-Referred to Children and Families

2021-22: S4678 - Referred to Children and Families

2019-20: S.4154- Referred to Children and Families

2017-18: S.2427- referred to Children and Families

2015-16: S.3977- Referred to Children and Families

2013-14: S.7951- Referred to Rules
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4141
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 3, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- 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  expanding  the
   persons  responsible  for  reporting cases of suspected child abuse to
   include employees, volunteers,  or  agents  of  any  corporate  entity
   having an agreement with a municipality as a homeless shelter provider
   and the development of procedures related thereto
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social
 services law, as amended by chapter 733 of the laws of 2023, is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (a)  The  following  persons  and  officials are required to report or
 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when  they  have
 reasonable  cause  to  suspect  that a child coming before them in their
 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated  child,  or
 when  they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or
 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian or  other  person
 legally  responsible  for  such child comes before them in their profes-
 sional or official capacity and states from  personal  knowledge  facts,
 conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an
 abused  or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician assist-
 ant; surgeon; medical  examiner;  coroner;  dentist;  dental  hygienist;
 osteopath;  optometrist;  chiropractor;  podiatrist;  resident;  intern;
 psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni-
 cian; licensed creative arts therapist;  licensed  marriage  and  family
 therapist;  licensed  mental  health  counselor; licensed psychoanalyst;
 licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant;  hospi-
 tal  personnel  engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment
 of persons; a Christian Science  practitioner;  school  official,  which
 includes  but  is not limited to school teacher, school guidance counse-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07723-01-5

 S. 4141                             2
 
 lor, school psychologist, school social  worker,  school  nurse,  school
 administrator  or  other school personnel required to hold a teaching or
 administrative license or certificate;  full  or  part-time  compensated
 school employee required to hold a temporary coaching license or profes-
 sional coaching certificate; social services worker; employee of a publ-
 icly-funded  emergency shelter for families with children; director of a
 children's overnight camp, summer day camp or traveling summer day camp,
 as such camps are defined in section thirteen hundred ninety-two of  the
 public health law; day care center worker; school-age child care worker;
 provider  of family or group family day care; employee or volunteer in a
 residential care facility for children that is  licensed,  certified  or
 operated  by  the  office  of children and family services; or any other
 child care or foster care worker; mental health professional;  substance
 abuse  counselor;  alcoholism counselor; all persons credentialed by the
 office of  [alcoholism  and  substance  abuse]  ADDICTION  services  AND
 SUPPORTS;  employees,  who  are expected to have regular and substantial
 contact with children, of a health home or health home  care  management
 agency contracting with a health home as designated by the department of
 health  and  authorized under section three hundred sixty-five-l of this
 chapter or such employees who provide home and community based  services
 under a demonstration program pursuant to section eleven hundred fifteen
 of  the federal social security act who are expected to have regular and
 substantial  contact  with  children;  peace  officer;  police  officer;
 district  attorney or assistant district attorney; investigator employed
 in the office of a district attorney; or other law enforcement official;
 OR EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, OR AGENTS OF ANY CORPORATE  ENTITY  HAVING  AN
 AGREEMENT WITH A MUNICIPALITY AS A HOMELESS SHELTER PROVIDER.
   §  2.  Subdivision  5-a  of section 488 of the social services law, as
 amended by chapter 205 of the laws  of  2014,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   5-a.  "Human  services professional" shall mean any: physician; regis-
 tered physician assistant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner;  dentist;
 dental  hygienist;  osteopath;  optometrist;  chiropractor;  podiatrist;
 resident; intern; psychologist;  registered  nurse;  licensed  practical
 nurse;  nurse practitioner; social worker; emergency medical technician;
 licensed creative arts therapist; licensed marriage  and  family  thera-
 pist; licensed mental health counselor; licensed psychoanalyst; licensed
 behavior   analyst;   certified  behavior  analyst  assistant;  licensed
 speech/language pathologist or audiologist; licensed physical therapist;
 licensed occupational  therapist;  hospital  personnel  engaged  in  the
 admission,  examination, care or treatment of persons; Christian Science
 practitioner; school official, which includes  but  is  not  limited  to
 school  teacher,  school guidance counselor, school psychologist, school
 social worker,  school  nurse,  school  administrator  or  other  school
 personnel  required  to  hold  a  teaching  or administrative license or
 certificate; full or part-time compensated school employee  required  to
 hold  a temporary coaching license or professional coaching certificate;
 social services worker; any other child  care  or  foster  care  worker;
 mental  health professional; person credentialed by the office of [alco-
 holism and substance abuse] ADDICTION services AND SUPPORTS; peace offi-
 cer; police officer; district attorney or assistant  district  attorney;
 investigator employed in the office of a district attorney; or other law
 enforcement  official; EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS AND AGENTS OF ANY CORPORATE
 AGENT HAVING AN AGREEMENT WITH A  MUNICIPALITY  AS  A  HOMELESS  SHELTER
 PROVIDER.
 S. 4141                             3
 
   § 3. Section 413 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 7 to read as follows:
   7. ANY PERSON, INSTITUTION OR CORPORATE AGENT HAVING AN AGREEMENT WITH
 A  MUNICIPALITY AS A HOMELESS SHELTER PROVIDER WHICH EMPLOYS PERSONS WHO
 ARE MANDATED TO REPORT SUSPECTED INCIDENTS OF CHILD ABUSE  OR  MALTREAT-
 MENT PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL DEVELOP, MAINTAIN
 AND  DISSEMINATE  WRITTEN POLICIES AND PROCEDURES PURSUANT TO THIS TITLE
 AND APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF  ARTICLE  TEN  OF  THE  FAMILY  COURT  ACT,
 REGARDING  THE  MANDATORY REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT, REPORTING
 PROCEDURES AND OBLIGATIONS OF PERSONS REQUIRED TO REPORT, PROVISIONS FOR
 TAKING A CHILD INTO PROTECTIVE CUSTODY, MANDATORY REPORTING  OF  DEATHS,
 IMMUNITY  FROM  LIABILITY,  PENALTIES  FOR  FAILURE TO REPORT, AND OBLI-
 GATIONS FOR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES AND PROCEDURES NECESSARY TO  SAFE-
 GUARD  THE  LIFE OR HEALTH OF THE CHILD; AND ESTABLISH, AND IMPLEMENT ON
 AN ONGOING BASIS, A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ALL CURRENT AND  NEW  EMPLOYEES
 REGARDING  THE  POLICIES  AND  PROCEDURES  ESTABLISHED  PURSUANT TO THIS
 SUBDIVISION.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 if  chapter  733  of  the laws of 2023 shall not have taken effect on or
 before such date then section one of this act shall take effect  on  the
 same  date  and  in the same manner as such chapter of the laws of 2023,
 takes effect.

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Senate Bill S4141

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Actions

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Kevin S. Parker

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Actions

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4141 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments