Amd §§1017, 1055 & 1089, Fam Ct Act; amd §358-a, Soc Serv L (as proposed in S.6215 & A.7974)
 
Relates to notice of indicated reports of child maltreatment and changes of placement in child protective and voluntary foster care placement and review proceedings.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6951
IN SENATE
January 6, 2020
___________
Introduced by Sen. MONTGOMERY -- read twice and ordered printed, and
when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the family court act and the social services law, in
relation to notice of indicated reports of child maltreatment and
changes of placement in child protective and voluntary foster care
placement and review proceedings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 1017 of the family court act, as
2 added by a chapter of the laws of 2019 amending the family court act and
3 the social services law relating to notice of indicated reports of child
4 maltreatment and changes of placement in child protective and voluntary
5 foster care placement and review proceedings, as proposed in legislative
6 bills numbers S. 6215 and A. 7974, is amended to read as follows:
7 5. In any case in which an order has been issued pursuant to this
8 article remanding or placing a child in the custody of the local social
9 services district, the social services official or authorized agency
10 charged with custody or care of the child shall report any anticipated
11 change in placement to the [attorneys for the parties and the attorney
12 for the child not later than ten days prior to such change in any case
13 in which the child is moved from the foster home or program into which
14 he or she has been placed or in which the foster parents move out of
15 state with the child; provided, however, that where an immediate change
16 of placement on an emergency basis is required, the report shall be
17 transmitted no later than the next business day after such change in
18 placement has been made. The social services official or authorized
19 agency shall also submit a report to the attorneys for the parties and
20 the attorney for the child or include in the placement change report any
21 indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment concerning the child or
22 (if a person or persons caring for the child is or are the subject of
23 the report) another child in the same home within five days of the indi-
24 cation of the report. The official or agency may protect the confiden-
25 tiality of identifying or address information regarding the foster or
26 prospective adoptive parents. Reports regarding indicated reports of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10897-02-0
S. 6951 2
1 child abuse or maltreatment provided pursuant to this subdivision shall
2 include a statement advising recipients that the information in such
3 report of child abuse or maltreatment shall be kept confidential, shall
4 be used only in connection with a proceeding under this article or
5 related proceedings under this act and may not be redisclosed except as
6 necessary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by law.
7 Reports under this paragraph may be transmitted by any appropriate
8 means, including, but not limited to, by electronic means or placement
9 on the record during proceedings in family court] court and the attor-
10 neys for the parties, including the attorney for the child, forthwith,
11 but not later than one business day following either the decision to
12 change the placement or the actual date the placement change occurred,
13 whichever is sooner. Such notice shall indicate the date that the place-
14 ment change is anticipated to occur or the date the placement change
15 occurred, as applicable. Provided, however, if such notice lists an
16 anticipated date for the placement change, the local social services
17 district or authorized agency shall subsequently notify the court and
18 attorneys for the parties, including the attorney for the child, of the
19 date the placement change occurred; such notice shall occur no later
20 than one business day following the placement change.
21 § 2. Subdivision (j) of section 1055 of the family court act, as added
22 by a chapter of the laws of 2019 amending the family court act and the
23 social services law relating to notice of indicated reports of child
24 maltreatment and changes of placement in child protective and voluntary
25 foster care placement and review proceedings, as proposed in legislative
26 bills numbers S. 6215 and A. 7974, is amended to read as follows:
27 (j) In any case in which an order has been issued pursuant to this
28 section placing a child in the custody or care of the commissioner of
29 social services, the social services official or authorized agency
30 charged with custody of the child shall report any anticipated change in
31 placement to the [attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the
32 child not later than ten days prior to such change in any case in which
33 the child is moved from the foster home or program into which he or she
34 has been placed or in which the foster parents move out of state with
35 the child; provided, however, that where an immediate change of place-
36 ment on an emergency basis is required, the report shall be transmitted
37 no later than the next business day after such change in placement has
38 been made. The social services official or authorized agency shall also
39 submit a report to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for
40 the child or include in the placement change report any indicated report
41 of child abuse or maltreatment concerning the child or (if a person or
42 persons caring for the child is or are the subject of the report) anoth-
43 er child in the same home within five days of the indication of the
44 report. The official or agency may protect the confidentiality of iden-
45 tifying or address information regarding the foster or prospective adop-
46 tive parents. Reports regarding indicated reports of child abuse or
47 maltreatment provided pursuant to this subdivision shall include a
48 statement advising recipients that the information in such report of
49 child abuse or maltreatment shall be kept confidential, shall be used
50 only in connection with a proceeding under this article or related
51 proceedings under this act and may not be redisclosed except as neces-
52 sary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by law.
53 Reports under this paragraph may be transmitted by any appropriate
54 means, including, but not limited to, by electronic means or placement
55 on the record during proceedings in family court] court and the attor-
56 neys for the parties, including the attorney for the child, forthwith,
S. 6951 3
1 but not later than one business day following either the decision to
2 change the placement or the actual date the placement change occurred,
3 whichever is sooner. Such notice shall indicate the date that the place-
4 ment change is anticipated to occur or the date the placement change
5 occurred, as applicable. Provided, however, if such notice lists an
6 anticipated date for the placement change, the local social services
7 district or authorized agency shall subsequently notify the court and
8 attorneys for the parties, including the attorney for the child, of the
9 date the placement change occurred; such notice shall occur no later
10 than one business day following the placement change.
11 § 3. Clause (H) of subparagraph (vii) of paragraph 2 of subdivision
12 (d) of section 1089 of the family court act, as added by a chapter of
13 the laws of 2019 amending the family court act and the social services
14 law relating to notice of indicated reports of child maltreatment and
15 changes of placement in child protective and voluntary foster care
16 placement and review proceedings, as proposed in legislative bills
17 numbers S. 6215 and A. 7974, is amended to read as follows:
18 (H) a direction that the social services official or authorized agency
19 charged with care and custody or guardianship and custody of the child,
20 as applicable, report any anticipated change in placement to the [attor-
21 neys for the parties and the attorney for the child not later than ten
22 days prior to such change in any case in which the child is moved from
23 the foster home or program into which he or she has been placed or in
24 which the foster parents move out of state with the child; provided,
25 however, that where an immediate change of placement on an emergency
26 basis is required, the report shall be transmitted no later than the
27 next business day after such change in placement has been made. The
28 social services official or authorized agency shall also submit a report
29 to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child or
30 include in the placement change report any indicated report of child
31 abuse or maltreatment concerning the child or (if a person or persons
32 caring for the child is or are the subject of the report) another child
33 in the same home within five days of the indication of the report. The
34 official or agency may protect the confidentiality of identifying or
35 address information regarding the foster or prospective adoptive
36 parents. Reports under this paragraph shall not be sent to attorneys for
37 birth parents whose parental rights have been terminated or who have
38 surrendered their child or children. Reports regarding indicated reports
39 of child abuse or maltreatment provided pursuant to this subdivision
40 shall include a statement advising recipients that the information in
41 such report of child abuse or maltreatment shall be kept confidential,
42 shall be used only in connection with a proceeding under this article or
43 related proceedings under this act and may not be redisclosed except as
44 necessary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by law.
45 Reports under this paragraph may be transmitted by any appropriate means
46 including, but not limited to, by electronic means or placement on the
47 record during proceedings in family court] court and the attorneys for
48 the parties, including the attorney for the child, forthwith, but not
49 later than one business day following either the decision to change the
50 placement or the actual date the placement change occurred, whichever is
51 sooner. Such notice shall indicate the date that the placement change is
52 anticipated to occur or the date the placement change occurred, as
53 applicable. Provided, however, if such notice lists an anticipated date
54 for the placement change, the local social services district or author-
55 ized agency shall subsequently notify the court and attorneys for the
56 parties, including the attorney for the child, of the date the placement
S. 6951 4
1 change occurred; such notice shall occur no later than one business day
2 following the placement change; and
3 § 4. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 3 of section 358-a of the social
4 services law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2019 amending the
5 family court act and the social services law relating to notice of indi-
6 cated reports of child maltreatment and changes of placement in child
7 protective and voluntary foster care placement and review proceedings,
8 as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 6215 and A. 7974, is amended
9 to read as follows:
10 (g) In any case in which an order has been issued pursuant to this
11 section approving a foster care placement instrument, the social
12 services official or authorized agency charged with custody or care of
13 the child shall report any anticipated change in placement to the
14 [attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child not later than
15 ten days prior to such change in any case in which the child is moved
16 from the foster home or program into which he or she has been placed or
17 in which the foster parents move out of state with the child; provided,
18 however, that where an immediate change of placement on an emergency
19 basis is required, the report shall be transmitted no later than the
20 next business day after such change in placement has been made. The
21 social services official or authorized agency shall also submit a report
22 to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child or
23 include in the placement change report any indicated report of child
24 abuse or maltreatment concerning the child or (if a person or persons
25 caring for the child is or are the subject of the report) another child
26 in the same home within five days of the indication of the report. The
27 official or agency may protect the confidentiality of identifying or
28 address information regarding the foster or prospective adoptive
29 parents. Reports regarding indicated reports of child abuse or
30 maltreatment provided pursuant to this subdivision shall include a
31 statement advising recipients that the information in such report of
32 child abuse or maltreatment shall be kept confidential, shall be used
33 only in connection with a proceeding under this section or related
34 proceedings under the family court act and may not be redisclosed except
35 as necessary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by
36 law. Reports under this paragraph may be transmitted by any appropriate
37 means including, but not limited to, by electronic means or placement on
38 the record during proceedings in family court] court and the attorneys
39 for the parties, including the attorney for the child, forthwith, but
40 not later than one business day following either the decision to change
41 the placement or the actual date the placement change occurred, whichev-
42 er is sooner. Such notice shall indicate the date that the placement
43 change is anticipated to occur or the date the placement change
44 occurred, as applicable. Provided, however, if such notice lists an
45 anticipated date for the placement change, the local social services
46 district or authorized agency shall subsequently notify the court and
47 attorneys for the parties, including the attorney for the child, of the
48 date the placement change occurred; such notice shall occur no later
49 than one business day following the placement change.
50 § 5. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
51 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2019 amending the family court act
52 and the social services law relating to notice of indicated reports of
53 child maltreatment and changes of placement in child protective and
54 voluntary foster care placement and review proceedings, as proposed in
55 legislative bills numbers S. 6215 and A. 7974, takes effect.