Relates to permitting social services officials in an adult protective service investigation access to certain confidential records under the child abuse and maltreatment registry when such official has reasonable cause to believe that such person may be in need of protective services due to the actions of an individual or individuals that had access to such adult when he or she was a child.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7633
SPONSOR: Paulin (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to permitting social services officials investigating whether an adult
is in need of protective services to have access to certain confidential
reports
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: The purpose of this bill is to equip
adult protective services workers with information that will better
enable them to investigate a case of a person who may be in need of
protective services.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one of the bill would add to
the list of entities which may receive records of indicated reports of
child abuse and maltreatment maintained in the Statewide Central Regis-
ter of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR); a social services official
who is investigating a case of a person who may be in need of protective
services. The social services official would have access to such infor-
mation if he or she has reasonable cause to believe that an adult is in
need of protective services due to the actions of a person who had
access to him or her as a child, and such information is necessary to
assist in the investigation.
Section two sets an effective date of immediately.
JUSTIFICATION: Each local social services district is charged with
investigating cases of adults who, due to physical or mental impair-
ments, may be unable to care for themselves. In some cases, these adults
may be in need of protective services due to abuse or neglect on the
part of caretakers who abused or neglected them as children. Currently,
adult protective services workers are unable to access information
regarding abuse or neglect of a child who, due to becoming 18 years old,
has become the subject of an adult protective services rather than child
protective services case. Such information would be critical to an ongo-
ing investigation by establishing patterns which may shed light on the
circumstances in the home. This was the case in the death of Laura
Cummings, a 23 year old developmentally disabled adult who was murdered
by her caretakers in January of 2010. Despite a history of child protec-
tive services involvement with the family, the adult protective services
workers were not privy to information that might have better informed
them of her need for protective services.
This bill would allow a social services official to access information
related to indicated reports of child abuse and neglect if such informa-
tion is necessary to further an adult protective services investigation,
and the social services official has reasonable cause to believe that an
adult may be in need of protective services due to the actions of an
individual who had access to him or her as a child.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediate.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7633
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 11, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, PEOPLES-STOKES, SCARBOROUGH -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to permitting
social services officials investigating whether an adult is in need of
protective services to have access to certain confidential reports
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraphs (y) and (z) of paragraph (A) of subdivision 4
2 of section 422 of the social services law, subparagraph (y) as amended
3 and subparagraph (z) as added by section 1 of part A of chapter 327 of
4 the laws of 2007, are amended and a new subparagraph (aa) is added to
5 read as follows:
6 (y) members of a citizen review panel as established pursuant to
7 section three hundred seventy-one-b of this article; provided, however,
8 members of a citizen review panel shall not disclose to any person or
9 government official any identifying information which the panel has been
10 provided and shall not make public other information unless otherwise
11 authorized by statute; [and]
12 (z) an entity with appropriate legal authority in another state to
13 license, certify or otherwise approve prospective foster and adoptive
14 parents where disclosure of information regarding the prospective foster
15 or adoptive parents and other persons over the age of eighteen residing
16 in the home of such prospective parents is required by paragraph twenty
17 of subdivision (a) of section six hundred seventy-one of title forty-two
18 of the United States code[.]; and
19 (aa) a social services official who is investigating whether an adult
20 is in need of protective services in accordance with the provisions of
21 section four hundred seventy-three of this chapter, when such official
22 has reasonable cause to believe such adult may be in need of protective
23 services due to the conduct of an individual or individuals who had
24 access to such adult when such adult was a child and that such reports
25 and information are needed to further the present investigation.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11521-01-1
