Enacts provisions relating to the reporting of child abuse; delineates what persons are required to report cases of suspected child abuse to law enforcement agencies; protects the sanctity of the confessional; defines members of the clergy and religious institution for purposes of this legislation.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3526
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RYAN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the reporting of
child abuse
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social services law, as
2 amended by chapter 366 of the laws of 2008 and paragraphs (a) and (c) as
3 amended by section 3 of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is
4 amended to read as follows:
5 1. (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or
6 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
7 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their
8 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
9 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or
10 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person
11 legally responsible for such child comes before them in their profes-
12 sional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge facts,
13 conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an
14 abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician assist-
15 ant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygienist;
16 osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern;
17 psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni-
18 cian; licensed creative arts therapist; licensed marriage and family
19 therapist; licensed mental health counselor; licensed psychoanalyst;
20 hospital personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care or treat-
21 ment of persons; member of the clergy; a Christian Science practitioner;
22 school official, which includes but is not limited to school teacher,
23 school guidance counselor, school psychologist, school social worker,
24 school nurse, school administrator or other school personnel required to
25 hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate; social
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05825-01-3
A. 3526 2
1 services worker; director of a children's overnight camp, summer day
2 camp or traveling summer day camp, as such camps are defined in section
3 thirteen hundred ninety-two of the public health law; day care center
4 worker; school-age child care worker; provider of family or group family
5 day care; or any other child care or foster care worker; mental health
6 professional; substance abuse counselor; alcoholism counselor; all
7 persons credentialed by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse
8 services; peace officer; police officer; district attorney or assistant
9 district attorney; investigator employed in the office of a district
10 attorney; or other law enforcement official.
11 (b) Whenever such person is required to report under this title in his
12 or her capacity as a member of the staff of a medical or other public or
13 private institution, school, facility or agency, he or she shall make
14 the report as required by this title and immediately notify the person
15 in charge of such institution, school, facility or agency, or his or her
16 designated agent. Such person in charge, or the designated agent of such
17 person, shall be responsible for all subsequent administration necessi-
18 tated by the report. Any report shall include the name, title and
19 contact information for every staff person of the institution who is
20 believed to have direct knowledge of the allegations in the report.
21 Nothing in this section or title is intended to require more than one
22 report from any such institution, school or agency.
23 (c) A medical or other public or private institution, school, facility
24 or agency shall not take any retaliatory personnel action, as such term
25 is defined in paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section seven hundred
26 forty of the labor law, against an employee because such employee
27 believes that he or she has reasonable cause to suspect that a child is
28 an abused or maltreated child and that employee therefore makes a report
29 in accordance with this title. No school, school official, child care
30 provider, foster care provider, residential care facility provider,
31 hospital, medical institution provider or mental health facility provid-
32 er shall impose any conditions, including prior approval or prior
33 notification, upon a member of their staff specifically required to
34 report under this title. At the time of the making of a report, or at
35 any time thereafter, such person or official may exercise the right to
36 request, pursuant to paragraph (A) of subdivision four of section four
37 hundred twenty-two of this title, the findings of an investigation made
38 pursuant to this title.
39 (d) Social services workers are required to report or cause a report
40 to be made in accordance with this title when they have reasonable cause
41 to suspect that a child is an abused or maltreated child where a person
42 comes before them in their professional or official capacity and states
43 from personal knowledge facts, conditions or circumstances which, if
44 correct, would render the child an abused or maltreated child.
45 (e) Unless the person confessing or confiding waives the privilege, a
46 member of the clergy, or other minister of any religion or duly accred-
47 ited Christian Science practitioner, shall not be required to make a
48 report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision if the
49 confession or confidence was made to him or her in his or her profes-
50 sional character as spiritual advisor.
51 (f) When a member of the clergy has reasonable cause to suspect that a
52 child is an abused or maltreated child based upon any information
53 received other than through a confession or confidence made pursuant to
54 paragraph (e) of this subdivision, then such member of the clergy shall
55 promptly make a report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision
56 notwithstanding the fact that he or she may have also received a report
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1 of abuse or maltreatment through a confession or confidence made pursu-
2 ant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision.
3 (g) The provisions of paragraph (e) of this subdivision shall not be
4 deemed to exempt a member of the clergy from any other requirements of
5 law to prevent the perpetrator from committing additional acts of abuse.
6 (h) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "member of the cler-
7 gy" shall have the same definition as the term "clergyman" as set forth
8 in section two of the religious corporations law and shall also include
9 any person responsible for supervising a member of the clergy of a reli-
10 gious institution or responsible for the administration of a religious
11 institution.
12 (i) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "religious institu-
13 tion" shall mean a religious corporation created to enable its members
14 to meet for divine worship or other religious observances or a congre-
15 gation, society, or other assemblage of persons who are accustomed to
16 statedly meet for divine worship or other religious observances, without
17 having been incorporated for that purpose, as provided in section two of
18 the religious corporations law.
19 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
20 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to paragraphs
21 (a) and (c) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social services law
22 made by section one of this act shall take effect on the same date and
23 in the same manner as section 3 of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of
24 2012, takes effect.
