Galef, Quart, Epstein, Simon, Gottfried, Ashby, McDonough, Montesano, Clark
MLTSPNSR
Amd §422, Soc Serv L
Requires a caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the central registry to leave their name and contact information; prohibits the office of children and family services from releasing information identifying a person who made such a report.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7879A
SPONSOR: Hevesi TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the adminis-
tration of the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreat-
ment
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To improve reporting to New York's Statewide Central Register of Child
Abuse and Mistreatment (SCR) by replacing anonymous reporting 'with
confidential reporting.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends section 422(a) (2) of the social services
law, as amended by chapter 357 of the laws of 2014 to provide that when
a call is made to the SCR by any person making an allegation that could
reasonably constitute a report of child abuse or maltreatment, the call-
er's name and contact information shall be included in the information
transmitted to OCFS and to the appropriate local child protective
service.
Section two of the bill amends section 422(2) of the social services law
by adding a new paragraph (d) to provide that a caller making a report
of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the SCR shall be asked for
their name and contact information and that no report shall be transmit-
ted to a local child protective service for investigation unless the
caller's name and contact information is provided.
Section three of the bill amends section 422(7) of the social services
law, as amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 1989, to prohibit the
office of children and family services from releasing information iden-
tifying a person who made a report when the subject of the report or
other persons named in the report request a copy of the record.
Provided however, the office shall release such information when the
caller gives their permission or pursuant to a demand for discovery for
an article 10 proceeding or for purposes of a fair hearing initiated by
the responded related to amending their record on the SCR.
Section four of the bill is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Anonymous reporting to the SCR is a flawed and unnecessary policy that
harms thousands of New York families each year. Parents placed under
investigation because of an anonymous report are more than twice as
likely to be cleared of any wrongdoing as are parents investigated
because of other report types. (1) This extremely high error rate has
real consequences: over 10,000 New York families a year - mostly fami-
lies of color - have endured lengthy, invasive and traumatic investi-
gations on the basis of anonymous reports, all to eventually be absolved
of wrongdoing.(2) The majority of people who call the state hotline to
report suspected abuse or neglect are mandated reporters, who are
required to give their name and contact information. However, an ordi-
nary person who calls is not currently required to do so. State law
requires child protective services to conduct an extensive investigation
of every allegation of child abuse or neglect, whether or not there is
any evidence for the claim, and even if the report is clearly part of a
pattern of harassment.
If enacted, this bill will significantly reduce the number of inten-
tionally false calls to the state's central register by requiring that
every caller provide their name and contact information when making a
report to the hotline. This information would be kept confidential from
the public and from the person accused of abuse or neglect, while allow-
ing child welfare investigators to conduct a full and more reliable
investigation. This simple and common-sense solution will protect call-
ers' privacy by maintaining the confidentiality of individuals making
reports while discouraging maliciously false reports. It will help
shield families from unwarranted investigations and improve the accura-
cy, efficiency, and integrity of child welfare investigations.
Confidential reporting accomplishes the same privacy goals as anonymous
reporting while greatly reducing the risk of intentionally false
reports.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that section
one of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law. 1 NYU Family Defense Clinic citing Chil-
dren's Bureau, Admin. for Children & Families, U.S. Dep't of Health &
Human Servs., National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Child File
(2019), https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/datasets/ dataset-de-
tails.cfm?ID=237. In 2018, only 14% of anonymous reports were substanti-
ated after an initial investigation, compared with 30% of all other
report types.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7879--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 28, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, GALEF -- 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 the adminis-
tration of the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreat-
ment
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social
2 services law, as amended by section 6 of subpart A of part JJ of chapter
3 56 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
4 (a) The central register shall be capable of receiving telephone calls
5 alleging child abuse or maltreatment and of immediately identifying
6 prior reports of child abuse or maltreatment and capable of monitoring
7 the provision of child protective service twenty-four hours a day, seven
8 days a week. To effectuate this purpose, but subject to the provisions
9 of the appropriate local plan for the provision of child protective
10 services, there shall be a single statewide telephone number that all
11 persons, whether mandated by the law or not, may use to make telephone
12 calls alleging child abuse or maltreatment and that all persons so
13 authorized by this title may use for determining the existence of prior
14 reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a child.
15 In addition to the single statewide telephone number, there shall be a
16 special unlisted express telephone number and a telephone facsimile
17 number for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone calls,
18 or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the
19 commissioner of children and family services, alleging child abuse or
20 maltreatment, and for use by all persons so authorized by this title for
21 determining the existence of prior reports in order to evaluate the
22 condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in
23 such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse
24 or maltreatment, after utilizing protocols that would reduce implicit
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11465-02-2
A. 7879--A 2
1 bias from the decision-making process, such allegations, the caller's
2 name, the caller's contact information and any previous reports to the
3 central registry involving the subject of such report or children named
4 in such report, including any previous report containing allegations of
5 child abuse and maltreatment alleged to have occurred in other counties
6 and districts in New York state shall be immediately transmitted orally
7 or electronically by the office of children and family services to the
8 appropriate local child protective service for investigation. The
9 inability of the person calling the register to identify the alleged
10 perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the
11 register to reject such allegation or fail to transmit such allegation
12 for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report concerning
13 a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a
14 sibling, other children in the household, other persons named in the
15 report or other pertinent information, the appropriate local child
16 protective service shall be immediately notified of the fact. If the
17 report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused child described in
18 paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section one thousand
19 twelve of the family court act or sexual abuse of a child or the death
20 of a child or (ii) suspected maltreatment which alleges any physical
21 harm when the report is made by a person required to report pursuant to
22 section four hundred thirteen of this title within six months of any
23 other two reports that were indicated, or may still be pending, involv-
24 ing the same child, sibling, or other children in the household or the
25 subject of the report, the office of children and family services shall
26 identify the report as such and note any prior reports when transmitting
27 the report to the local child protective services for investigation.
28 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social services law is
29 amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
30 (d) A caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment
31 to the central registry shall be asked for their name and contact infor-
32 mation. No report shall be transmitted to a local child protective
33 service for investigation unless the caller's name and contact informa-
34 tion is provided.
35 § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 422 of the social services law, as
36 amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as
37 follows:
38 7. At any time, a subject of a report and other persons named in the
39 report may receive, upon request, a copy of all information contained in
40 the central register; provided, however, that the office of children and
41 family services shall not release information identifying a person who
42 made a report pursuant to section four hundred fourteen of this title
43 except with that person's permission or pursuant to subdivision (b) of
44 section one thousand thirty-eight of the family court act or pursuant to
45 section four hundred twenty-four-a of this title; and that the commis-
46 sioner is authorized to prohibit the release of data that would identify
47 [the person who made the report] persons or who cooperated in a subse-
48 quent investigation or the agency, institution, organization, program or
49 other entity where such person is employed or with which he or she is
50 associated, which he or she reasonably finds will be detrimental to the
51 safety or interests of such person.
52 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
53 section one of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth
54 day after it shall have become a law.
