Relates 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 tier II facility or any other shelter providing temporary housing to persons under the age of 18.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6380
SPONSOR: Walker 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 tier II facility or any other
shelter providing temporary housing to persons under the age of 18
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To include among persons and officials that are designated mandated
reporters and required to report or cause to be reported incidents of
child abuse or neglect, employees of a tier II facility or any other
shelter providing temporary housing to persons under the age of eigh-
teen.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill expands the listing of persons and officials
required to report or cause to be reported reasonable suspicion that any
child within their purview is being abused or maltreated.
Section two of the bill sets an effective date of 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 efficient and caring oversight, and trained
providers to ensure a safe haven for defenseless children.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2015-2016: A5253A - Referred to Codes
2017-2018: A6230A - Referred to Children and Families
2019-2020: A6285 - Referred to Children and Families
2021-2022: A4355 - Referred to Children and Families
2023-2024: A314 - Referred to Children and Families
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the
amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the
social services law made by section two of this act shall take effect on
the same date and in the same manner as section 12 of chapter 733 of the
laws of 2023 takes effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6380
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 4, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WALKER -- read once and referred 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 tier II facility or any
other shelter providing temporary housing to persons under the age of
18
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 1 of section 413 of the social
2 services law, as amended by section 7 of part C of chapter 57 of the
3 laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
4 (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or
5 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
6 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their
7 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
8 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or
9 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person
10 legally responsible for such child comes before them in their profes-
11 sional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge facts,
12 conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an
13 abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician assist-
14 ant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygienist;
15 osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern;
16 psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni-
17 cian; licensed creative arts therapist; licensed marriage and family
18 therapist; licensed mental health counselor; licensed psychoanalyst;
19 licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant; hospi-
20 tal personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment
21 of persons; a Christian Science practitioner; school official, which
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04186-01-5
A. 6380 2
1 includes but is not limited to school teacher, school guidance counse-
2 lor, school psychologist, school social worker, school nurse, school
3 administrator or other school personnel required to hold a teaching or
4 administrative license or certificate; full or part-time compensated
5 school employee required to hold a temporary coaching license or profes-
6 sional coaching certificate; social services worker; employee of a publ-
7 icly-funded emergency shelter for families with children; director of a
8 children's overnight camp, summer day camp or traveling summer day camp,
9 as such camps are defined in section thirteen hundred ninety-two of the
10 public health law; day care center worker; school-age child care worker;
11 provider of family or group family day care; employee or volunteer in a
12 residential care facility for children that is licensed, certified or
13 operated by the office of children and family services; or any other
14 child care or foster care worker; mental health professional; substance
15 abuse counselor; alcoholism counselor; all persons credentialed by the
16 office of alcoholism and substance abuse services; employees, who are
17 expected to have regular and substantial contact with children, of a
18 health home or health home care management agency contracting with a
19 health home as designated by the department of health and authorized
20 under section three hundred sixty-five-l of this chapter or such employ-
21 ees who provide home and community based services under a demonstration
22 program pursuant to section eleven hundred fifteen of the federal social
23 security act who are expected to have regular and substantial contact
24 with children; peace officer; police officer; district attorney or
25 assistant district attorney; investigator employed in the office of a
26 district attorney; or other law enforcement official; or any employee of
27 a tier II facility or any other shelter providing temporary housing to
28 persons under the age of eighteen.
29 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social
30 services law, as amended by chapter 733 of the laws of 2023, is
31 amended to read as follows:
32 (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or
33 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
34 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their
35 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
36 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or
37 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person
38 legally responsible for such child comes before them in their profes-
39 sional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge facts,
40 conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an
41 abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician assist-
42 ant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygienist;
43 osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern;
44 athletic trainer; psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emer-
45 gency medical technician; licensed creative arts therapist; licensed
46 marriage and family therapist; licensed mental health counselor;
47 licensed psychoanalyst; licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior
48 analyst assistant; hospital personnel engaged in the admission, examina-
49 tion, care or treatment of persons; a Christian Science practitioner;
50 school official, which includes but is not limited to school teacher,
51 school guidance counselor, school psychologist, school social worker,
52 school nurse, school administrator or other school personnel required to
53 hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate; full or part-
54 time compensated school employee required to hold a temporary coaching
55 license or professional coaching certificate; social services worker;
56 employee of a publicly-funded emergency shelter for families with chil-
A. 6380 3
1 dren; director of a children's overnight camp, summer day camp or trav-
2 eling summer day camp, as such camps are defined in section thirteen
3 hundred ninety-two of the public health law; day care center worker;
4 school-age child care worker; provider of family or group family day
5 care; employee or volunteer in a residential care facility for children
6 that is licensed, certified or operated by the office of children and
7 family services; or any other child care or foster care worker; mental
8 health professional; substance abuse counselor; alcoholism counselor;
9 all persons credentialed by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse
10 services; employees, who are expected to have regular and substantial
11 contact with children, of a health home or health home care management
12 agency contracting with a health home as designated by the department of
13 health and authorized under section three hundred sixty-five-l of this
14 chapter or such employees who provide home and community based services
15 under a demonstration program pursuant to section eleven hundred fifteen
16 of the federal social security act who are expected to have regular and
17 substantial contact with children; peace officer; police officer;
18 district attorney or assistant district attorney; investigator employed
19 in the office of a district attorney; or other law enforcement official;
20 or any employee of a tier II facility or any other shelter providing
21 temporary housing to persons under the age of eighteen.
22 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
23 the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the
24 social services law made by section two of this act shall take effect on
25 the same date and in the same manner as section 12 of chapter 733 of the
26 laws of 2023 takes effect.
