Grants local social services districts access to criminal history information when acting within the scope of their duties under the social services law or the family court act.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4155
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the social services law, in
relation to access to court databases for local social services
districts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 835 of the executive law, as sepa-
2 rately amended by chapters 14 and 155 of the laws of 2012, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 9. "Qualified agencies" means courts in the unified court system, the
5 administrative board of the judicial conference, probation departments,
6 sheriffs' offices, district attorneys' offices, the state department of
7 corrections and community supervision, the department of correction of
8 any municipality, the financial frauds and consumer protection unit of
9 the state department of financial services, the office of professional
10 medical conduct of the state department of health for the purposes of
11 section two hundred thirty of the public health law, the [child protec-
12 tive services unit of a] local social services district when [conducting
13 an investigation pursuant to subdivision six of section four hundred
14 twenty-four of the social services law] acting within the scope of its
15 duties pursuant to the social services law or the family court act, the
16 office of Medicaid inspector general, the temporary state commission of
17 investigation, police forces and departments having responsibility for
18 enforcement of the general criminal laws of the state, the Onondaga
19 County Center for Forensic Sciences Laboratory when acting within the
20 scope of its law enforcement duties and the division of forensic
21 services of the Nassau county medical examiner's office when acting
22 within the scope of its law enforcement duties.
23 § 2. Subdivision 6 of section 398 of the social services law is
24 amended by adding a new paragraph (q) to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02464-01-7
S. 4155 2
1 (q) Investigate the criminal background of any person of or over the
2 age of eighteen who resides or is proposed to reside with or in the same
3 home as a child who is the subject of a court proceeding pursuant to
4 article three, six, seven, ten, ten-A or ten-C of the family court act.
5 For the purpose of these investigations, and subject to the rules and
6 regulations of the division of criminal justice services, local social
7 services districts may, acting through persons specifically designated
8 by the commissioner of the local social services district, access and
9 receive records maintained by the division of criminal justice services
10 pursuant to subdivision six of section eight hundred thirty-seven of the
11 executive law.
12 § 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 6 of section 424 of the social
13 services law, as amended by chapter 602 of the laws of 2008, is amended
14 to read as follows:
15 (b) subject to rules and regulations of the division of criminal
16 justice services, a manager of the child protective services unit, or a
17 person with law enforcement background who is specifically designated by
18 the commissioner of the local social services district for this purpose,
19 shall have access to [conviction] records maintained by state law
20 enforcement agencies pertaining to persons of or over the age of eigh-
21 teen years who (1) are currently residing in the residence of any child
22 who is alleged to be or suspected of being abused, maltreated, or
23 neglected or who is proposed to live with such child, or (2) are named
24 in any report of suspected or alleged child abuse, maltreatment, or
25 neglect; provided that nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to
26 contradict or modify section one thousand forty-six of the family court
27 act. Any criminal history record provided by the division of criminal
28 justice services, and any summary of the criminal history record
29 provided by the office of children and family services to the child
30 protective services unit of a local social services district pursuant to
31 this subdivision, shall be kept confidential and shall not be made
32 available for public inspection. Child protective services units shall
33 not indicate a report solely based upon the existence of a conviction
34 record;
35 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.