STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5544
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JACKSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to sex offender
registry checks for youth organization volunteers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
2 378-b to read as follows:
3 § 378-b. Sex offender registry checks for youth organization volun-
4 teers. 1. As used in this section:
5 (a) "Youth organization" means any public or private agency, organ-
6 ization, association or group organized and functioning, in whole or in
7 part, for the purpose of providing youth with the opportunity to
8 participate in supervised activities, including but not limited to
9 sporting, recreational, educational or religious activities. As used
10 herein, "youth organization" shall include only those organizations that
11 use volunteers to supervise youth and exclude institutions which are
12 sanctioned by the state education department to provide educational
13 instruction to youth.
14 (b) "Youth" means a person under the age of eighteen.
15 2. (a) Before any person is permitted to volunteer their services with
16 a youth organization where such person is expected to have direct
17 contact with youth, such youth organization must, by use of the special
18 telephone number described in section one hundred sixty-eight-p of the
19 correction law, request that an inquiry be made of the statewide sex
20 offender registry operated by the division of criminal justice services
21 to determine whether the prospective volunteer is listed in the registry
22 as a person who must register as a sex offender or a sexually violent
23 predator under article six-C of the correction law.
24 (b) No later than January first, two thousand twenty-six, youth organ-
25 izations shall cause to be conducted the statewide sex offender registry
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07498-01-5
A. 5544 2
1 inquiry described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision for all active
2 volunteers of such organization where such volunteer has direct contact
3 with youth. Any subsequent statewide sex offender registry inquiries
4 initiated by such youth organization shall be made at the discretion of
5 the youth organization.
6 3. A youth organization, prior to initiating the statewide sex offen-
7 der registry inquiry described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision
8 two of this section, shall inform the volunteer or person seeking to
9 volunteer their services that such inquiry will be performed. The youth
10 organization shall provide the volunteer or prospective volunteer the
11 opportunity to cease such volunteer services before such inquiry is
12 initiated.
13 4. A youth organization is prohibited from permitting any person
14 determined to be listed in the statewide sex offender registry pursuant
15 to paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision two of this section to volun-
16 teer their services with such organization where such person has or is
17 expected to have direct contact with youth.
18 5. The provisions of article six-C of the correction law which
19 restrict the use and dissemination of information obtained from the
20 statewide sex offender registry shall apply to youth organizations.
21 6. A willful violation of any of the provisions of this section shall
22 subject such organization to a civil penalty of not more than one
23 hundred dollars provided, however, that for a second or subsequent
24 violation the commissioner of the office of children and family services
25 may impose a civil penalty of not more than two hundred dollars.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
