Relates to expanding the persons responsible for reporting cases of suspected child abuse to include employees, volunteers, or agents of any corporate entity having an agreement with a municipality as a tier II facility or any other shelter providing temporary housing to persons under the age of 18.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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9782
IN SENATE
April 6, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to expanding the
persons responsible for reporting cases of suspected child abuse to
include employees, volunteers, or agents of any corporate entity
having an agreement with a municipality as a tier II facility or any
other shelter providing temporary housing to persons under the age of
18
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social
2 services law, as amended by chapter 733 of the laws of 2023, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or
5 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
6 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their
7 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
8 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or
9 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person
10 legally responsible for such child comes before them in their profes-
11 sional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge facts,
12 conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an
13 abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician assist-
14 ant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygienist;
15 osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern;
16 athletic trainer; psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emer-
17 gency medical technician; licensed creative arts therapist; licensed
18 marriage and family therapist; licensed mental health counselor;
19 licensed psychoanalyst; licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior
20 analyst assistant; hospital personnel engaged in the admission, examina-
21 tion, care or treatment of persons; 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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04186-03-6
S. 9782 2
1 hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate; full or part-
2 time compensated school employee required to hold a temporary coaching
3 license or professional coaching certificate; social services worker;
4 employee of a publicly-funded emergency shelter for families with chil-
5 dren; director of a children's overnight camp, summer day camp or trav-
6 eling summer day camp, as such camps are defined in section thirteen
7 hundred ninety-two of the public health law; day care center worker;
8 school-age child care worker; provider of family or group family day
9 care; employee or volunteer in a residential care facility for children
10 that is licensed, certified or operated by the office of children and
11 family services; or any other child care or foster care worker; mental
12 health professional; substance abuse counselor; alcoholism counselor;
13 all persons credentialed by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse
14 services; employees, who are expected to have regular and substantial
15 contact with children, of a health home or health home care management
16 agency contracting with a health home as designated by the department of
17 health and authorized under section three hundred sixty-five-l of this
18 chapter or such employees who provide home and community based services
19 under a demonstration program pursuant to section eleven hundred fifteen
20 of the federal social security act who are expected to have regular and
21 substantial contact with children; peace officer; police officer;
22 district attorney or assistant district attorney; investigator employed
23 in the office of a district attorney; or other law enforcement official;
24 or any employee of a tier II facility or any other shelter providing
25 temporary housing to persons under the age of eighteen.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
