Arroyo, De La Rosa, Galef, Manktelow, McDonough, Simon, Tague, Thiele
 
Amd §§20-a, 153-k, 421, 423 & 426, Soc Serv L
 
Establishes standards for caseloads for child protective services workers; requires the state to pay for one hundred percent of the costs associated with compliance of such caseload standard; makes related provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7581--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JAFFEE, BURKE, D'URSO, CRUZ, REYES, LIFTON,
GLICK, FRONTUS, COLTON, DICKENS, DeSTEFANO, JEAN-PIERRE, COOK, BLAKE,
SCHMITT, PICHARDO, RIVERA, ORTIZ, BARRON, FALL, CROUCH, BRONSON,
STIRPE, PERRY, ENGLEBRIGHT, PALUMBO, STECK, DINOWITZ, RICHARDSON,
HUNTER, D. ROSENTHAL, GIGLIO, WEPRIN, SMITH, RA, EPSTEIN, SAYEGH,
LUPARDO, ABINANTI, MOSLEY, PALMESANO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
ARROYO, DE LA ROSA, GALEF, MANKTELOW, McDONOUGH, SIMON, TAGUE, THIELE
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families --
recommitted to the Committee on Children and Families in accordance
with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to caseload stand-
ards for child protective services workers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 20-a of the social services law, as added by chap-
2 ter 107 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 20-a. Local personnel; limitations on department's power. Notwith-
4 standing any inconsistent provision of this chapter, the board, the
5 commissioner or the department, acting singly or in unison, shall not
6 have the power, directly or indirectly to prescribe the number of
7 persons to be employed in any social services district providing the
8 district complies with the minimum federal standards relating thereto;
9 provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply
10 to the regulations of the office of children and family services estab-
11 lishing caseload standards for child protective services workers promul-
12 gated pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision nine of section four
13 hundred twenty-one of this chapter.
14 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 153-k of the social
15 services law, as added by section 15 of part C of chapter 83 of the laws
16 of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11190-02-0
A. 7581--A 2
1 (a) Expenditures made by social services districts for child protec-
2 tive services, preventive services provided, as applicable, to eligible
3 children and families of children who are in and out of foster care
4 placement, independent living services, aftercare services, and adoption
5 administration and services other than adoption subsidies provided
6 pursuant to article six of this chapter and the regulations of the
7 department of family assistance shall, if approved by the office of
8 children and family services, be subject to sixty-five percent state
9 reimbursement exclusive of any federal funds made available for such
10 purposes, in accordance with the directives of the department of family
11 assistance and subject to the approval of the director of the budget.
12 Provided however, for requirements prescribed in subdivision nine of
13 section four hundred twenty-one of this chapter, such expenditures shall
14 be subject to one hundred percent state reimbursement, provided that
15 local social services districts continue to maintain current expendi-
16 tures related to child protective services at a level equal to or great-
17 er than expenditures for such activities during the fiscal year prior to
18 the effective date of a chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty which
19 amended this paragraph.
20 § 3. Section 421 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
21 subdivision 9 to read as follows:
22 9. promulgate regulations in consultation with local social services
23 districts, relating to caseload standards for child protective services
24 workers. Such standards shall include, but not be limited to: (a) limi-
25 tations on the number of investigations which can be assigned to child
26 protective services workers, provided however, to the extent possible
27 and within amounts appropriated therefore, no more than two initial
28 investigations per week may be assigned per full time equivalent child
29 protective services worker; and (b) guidance as it relates to how such
30 investigations are assigned, taking into consideration the child protec-
31 tive services worker current caseload, as well as the complexity of the
32 particular investigation, if known. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
33 construed to prohibit the office from prescribing local social services
34 districts from establishing caseload standards that are less than what
35 is required in this subdivision.
36 § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 423 of the social
37 services law, as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended
38 to read as follows:
39 (c) The child protective service shall have a sufficient staff, in
40 accordance with the provisions of subdivision nine of section four
41 hundred twenty-one of this title, of sufficient qualifications to
42 fulfill the purposes of this title and be organized in such a way as to
43 maximize the continuity of responsibility, care and service of individ-
44 ual workers toward individual children and families. A social services
45 district shall have flexibility in assigning staff to the child protec-
46 tive service provided that each staff assigned to such service has the
47 staff qualifications and has received the training required by the
48 department regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivisions four and
49 five of section four hundred twenty-one of this title.
50 § 5. Section 426 of the social services law, as amended by section
51 11-a of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
52 follows:
53 § 426. Annual reports. The commissioner shall prepare for inclusion in
54 the annual report required by subdivision (d) of section seventeen of
55 this chapter to be filed with the governor and the legislature prior to
56 December fifteenth of each year, a report on the operations of the state
A. 7581--A 3
1 central register of child abuse and maltreatment and the various local
2 child protective services. The report shall include a full statistical
3 analysis of the reports made to the central register together with a
4 report on the implementation of this title, his or her evaluation of
5 services offered under this chapter and his or her recommendations for
6 additional legislation to fulfill the purposes of this title. Such
7 report shall indicate the number of child abuse and maltreatment reports
8 and cases received by the statewide central register of child abuse and
9 maltreatment by each district in the preceding year, the number of such
10 cases determined to have been indicated and the number of such cases
11 determined to be unfounded by each district in the preceding year, the
12 number of such cases which have not been indicated or unfounded within
13 the time period required by subdivision seven of section four hundred
14 twenty-four of this [article] title by each district in the preceding
15 year [and]. Such report shall also include a monthly accounting by local
16 social services districts, of the total number of child protective
17 services workers [assigned to the child protective service in each
18 district in] with an indication of how many hold a supervisory position,
19 as well as the average number of active cases per child protective
20 services worker, with an indication of how many were in the initial
21 investigation stage at the time the information was collected for the
22 preceding year. Such report shall include, among other information,
23 available demographic information and available information concerning
24 the racial and ethnic characteristics of the family members and persons
25 served by the differential response program pursuant to section four
26 hundred twenty-seven-a of [the social services law] this title, as well
27 as available information concerning the racial and ethnic character-
28 istics of the family members and persons serviced under the traditional
29 child protective services program, in each local social services
30 district in the state.
31 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however sections
32 one, two, three and four of this act shall take effect on the seven
33 hundred thirtieth day after it shall have become a law; provided,
34 further, however that the amendments to section 153-k of the social
35 services law made by section two of this act shall not affect the repeal
36 of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.