Requires child protective services to document every home visit or contact with the child as part of a treatment plan, supervision and monitoring, with photographs of the child.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5175
SPONSOR: Tannousis TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring child
protective services to document home visits with photographs
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::
To provide greater accountability and safety regarding caseworker visits
to children in the child protective services and foster care system.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1 of the bill provides that this bill shall be known and cited
as "Marchella Pierce's Law." Section 2 amends section 421(3) of the
Social Services Law, which relates to the regulations that the Depart-
ment of Social Services is required to promulgate concerning the inves-
tigation of child abuse. This section of the bill requires the Depart-
ment of Social Services to promulgate additional regulations to require
caseworkers to perform certain paperwork in connection with their visi-
tation of children' under protective Supervision. Specifically, the
regulations must require each caseworker to document each such visit
with a written report detailing the apparent physical and emotional
condition of the child.
Section 2 of the bill further requires the Department of Social Services
for the'accurate and timely tiling of this documentation in confidential
case records, including safeguards to prevent the manipulation of these
records. Section 3 of the bill adds a new subdivision 4-c to section 372
of the Social Services Law to provide that the documentation described
in section 2 of the bill shall also be kept and filed by caseworkers
involved in the supervision or monitoring of foster children. Section 4
provides that this bill shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION::
Our child protective services system was designed to afford protection
through monitoring of abused or neglected children or children at risk
from abuse and neglect. Trained caseworkers are required to make routine
visits to such children in their homes or in the foster care system to
ensure that their protection. Sadly, even under the watch of CPS, chil-
dren "fall through the cracks," resulting in substantial harm and some-
times death.
A 2012 case involving the death of Marchella Pierce, a medically fragile
child in Brooklyn, highlighted the lack of adequate safeguards in the
supervision of at risk children. Prosecutors charged the Administration
of Children's Services (ACS) caseworker in Marchella's death, alleging
that he 'should have noticed the child's injuries and malnourishment and
that he changed records after her death to make it seem like he visited
her family when he did not make the visits for months leading up to her
death - months in which she was starved and abused by her mother. In
many ways; Marchella's case resembles the tragedy of Nixmary Brown, a
seven year-old Brooklyn girl killed by her mother and stepfather in 2006
while she was being monitored by ACS.
These cases highlight the need for legislation to provide closer over-
sight of child protective caseworkers. Specifically, legislation is
needed to ensure that the very small minority of caseworkers who fail to
live up to the high professional standards of child protective agencies
do not allow neglected and abused children to suffer. This bill achieves
at goal by requiring the Department of Social Services to issue addi-
tional regulations requiring caseworkers to document every contact they
have with a child under agency supervision. Such documentation shall
consist of a description of the child's apparent physical and emotional
condition. This bill also requires regulations to be promulgated requir-
ing the timely and accurate filing of such documentation in case files,
as well as safeguards to prevent the manipulation of case files-such as
was alleged to have occurred in Marchella Pierce's case.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
2021-2022 A6898 Referred to Children and Families
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS::
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This bill shall apply immediately and shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5175
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 3, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TANNOUSIS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring child
protective services to document home visits with photographs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Marchella
2 Pierce's Law".
3 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 421 of the social services law, as
4 amended by chapter 718 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (a) as amended by
5 chapter 110 of the laws of 1989 and the closing paragraph as amended by
6 chapter 320 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
7 3. promulgate regulations setting forth requirements for the perform-
8 ance by local social services departments of the duties and powers
9 imposed and conferred upon them by the provisions of this title and of
10 article ten of the family court act. Such regulations shall establish
11 uniform requirements for the investigation of reports of child abuse or
12 maltreatment under this title. The department shall also issue guide-
13 lines which shall set forth the circumstances or conditions under which:
14 (a) personal contact shall be made with the child named in the report
15 and any other children in the same household, including interviewing
16 such child or children absent the subject of the report whenever possi-
17 ble and appropriate;
18 (b) photographs of visible physical injuries or trauma of children who
19 may be the victims of abuse or maltreatment shall be taken or arranged
20 for;
21 (c) medical examination of a child who may be a victim of abuse or
22 maltreatment and documentation of findings of such examination, shall be
23 required.
24 The department shall promulgate regulations to establish standards for
25 intervention, criteria for case closings, criteria for determining
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05084-01-3
A. 5175 2
1 whether or not to initiate a child protective proceeding, and criteria
2 for the formulation of treatment plans and for the delivery of child
3 protective services including specification of the services to be clas-
4 sified as child protective services, which shall also apply to any soci-
5 ety for the prevention of cruelty to children which has entered into a
6 currently valid contract with a local department of social services to
7 investigate child abuse or maltreatment reports. The department shall
8 promulgate regulations establishing minimum standards and practices for
9 the delivery of child protective services in connection with monitoring
10 and supervising respondents and their families as ordered by a family
11 court pursuant to section ten hundred thirty-nine and paragraphs (i),
12 (iii), (iv) and (v) of subdivision (a) of section ten hundred fifty-two
13 of the family court act. The department shall require that every case-
14 worker, child protective services employee or any person acting pursuant
15 to a contract for services with a local social services department who
16 has contact with a child as part of a treatment plan or supervision and
17 monitoring, document each such contact with a photograph taken of the
18 child during such visit or contact using a tablet or comparable device.
19 Such photograph shall be part of the confidential case record for such
20 child and shall be subject to periodic review by the supervisor of the
21 case. Such photograph must be of sufficient quality to clearly identify
22 the child, and contain accurate data with regard to the time and date of
23 the photograph. The supervising authority may require, to the extent
24 practicable, that the caseworker utilize technology allowing for the
25 geographic documentation of said visit. Such regulations required under
26 this subdivision shall also require local child protective services to
27 comply with notification requirements of the family court act in
28 connection with such monitoring and supervisory responsibilities.
29 § 3. Section 372 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
30 subdivision 4-c to read as follows:
31 4-c. The records maintained pursuant to this section by any casework-
32 er, child protective services employee or authorized agency as defined
33 in section three hundred seventy-one of this title who has contact with
34 a foster child as part of a treatment plan or supervision and monitor-
35 ing, shall document each such contact with a photograph taken of the
36 child during such visit or contact consistent with the requirements set
37 forth in subdivision three of section four hundred twenty-one of this
38 article.
39 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
