New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) announced passage of legislation he supported to help prevent child abuse by improving reporting as well as providing more resources for parents and school personnel.

Improving education for mandated reporters

The Assembly’s legislation would require that mandated reporters receive additional training and coursework regarding identification of child abuse or maltreatment every three years (A.2887-B).

“Any abuse that children endure is unacceptable,” said Assemblyman Thiele. “These bills would help provide people who are mandated to report abuse with the information they need to better identify cases of child abuse. This essential information could help save a child’s life.”

The Assembly also passed a bill that would add full- or part-time compensated school personnel who hold a temporary coaching license or professional coaching certificate to the list of mandated reporters of suspected child abuse (A.421-C). This legislation would require two hours of coursework or training for coaching personnel on identifying and reporting child abuse and maltreatment.

“Increasing the number of required reporters in our schools can help identify more situations of suspected child abuse,” said Thiele. “Improving the training mandated reporters receive will help school teachers, assistants and coaches reduce the maltreatment and abuse our children may encounter.”

Better tracking and reporting of incidents

Currently, the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is required to detail the circumstances surrounding the death of a child, but is not required to provide local social services districts the opportunity to comment on specific cases. That’s why the Assembly passed legislation to ensure local social services districts are included in this process, helping to shed light on the causes of these incidents and how they can be prevented (A.9702).

Additionally, the Assembly passed a bill that would require OCFS to provide previous reports of child abuse and neglect to local child protective service agencies. This would enable child protective services to conduct more thorough investigations by ensuring they have access to any previous reports of abuse upfront. This change is especially vital in cases of recurring abuse (A.1987-A).

“Every child deserves a safe, nurturing and healthy environment during childhood,” said Assemblyman Thiele. “This legislation will help child protective services keep track of abuse cases, helping get children out of harm’s way before it’s too late.”

The Assembly also passed legislation that would direct local social services districts to prepare annual reports detailing average caseload – on a per-month, per-employee basis – for child protective services employees. In following years, the report would need to include comparative data for up to five years, if available. The annual report would then be made available for the public on the OCFS website (A.9873).

“We must do more to prevent child abuse and maltreatment. These measures will help put a stop to this deplorable crime,” said Thiele.

Support and guidance for new parents

To further strengthen child protective measures, the Assembly passed legislation that would require hospitals and birthing centers to provide leaflets on safe and unsafe sleeping practices. It would also require hospitals and birthing centers to recommend new parents watch a video presentation on unsafe and safe sleeping practices for newborns (A.9701). This information would help keep infants safe and could help prevent health complications or even death, added Thiele.