Requires the office of children and family services to transmit, with the allegation of child abuse or neglect, all previous reports and calls to the central registry involving the subject of the report and children named in the report.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7043
IN SENATE
April 21, 2014
___________
Introduced by Sen. GALLIVAN -- 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 transmitting the
history of record of all previous reports and previous calls to the
central register to the appropriate local child protective services
for investigation
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 2 of section 422 of the social
2 services law, as amended by chapter 574 of the laws of 2008, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (a) The central register shall be capable of receiving telephone calls
5 alleging child abuse or maltreatment and of immediately identifying
6 prior reports of child abuse or maltreatment and capable of monitoring
7 the provision of child protective service twenty-four hours a day, seven
8 days a week. To effectuate this purpose, but subject to the provisions
9 of the appropriate local plan for the provision of child protective
10 services, there shall be a single statewide telephone number that all
11 persons, whether mandated by the law or not, may use to make telephone
12 calls alleging child abuse or maltreatment and that all persons so
13 authorized by this title may use for determining the existence of prior
14 reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a child.
15 In addition to the single statewide telephone number, there shall be a
16 special unlisted express telephone number and a telephone facsimile
17 number for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone calls,
18 or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the
19 commissioner, alleging child abuse or maltreatment, and for use by all
20 persons so authorized by this title for determining the existence of
21 prior reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a
22 child. When any allegations contained in such telephone calls could
23 reasonably constitute a report of child abuse or maltreatment, such
24 allegations and the record of all previous reports and calls, including
25 records of calls not accepted for local district investigation, to the
26 central register involving the subject of the report or children named
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14785-02-4
S. 7043 2
1 in the report, including all previous calls that contain allegations of
2 child abuse and maltreatment that are alleged to have occurred in other
3 counties and districts in New York state, shall be immediately transmit-
4 ted orally or electronically by the office of children and family
5 services to the appropriate local child protective service for investi-
6 gation. The inability of the person calling the register to identify the
7 alleged perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause
8 for the register to reject such allegation or fail to transmit such
9 allegation for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report
10 concerning a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or
11 maltreated, a sibling, other children in the household, other persons
12 named in the report or other pertinent information, the appropriate
13 local child protective service shall be immediately notified of the
14 fact[, except as provided in subdivision eleven of this section]. If the
15 report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused child described in
16 paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section one thousand
17 twelve of the family court act or sexual abuse of a child or the death
18 of a child or (ii) suspected maltreatment which alleges any physical
19 harm when the report is made by a person required to report pursuant to
20 section four hundred thirteen of this title within six months of any
21 other two reports that were indicated, or may still be pending, involv-
22 ing the same child, sibling, or other children in the household or the
23 subject of the report, the office of children and family services shall
24 identify the report as such and note any prior reports when transmitting
25 the report to the local child protective services for investigation.
26 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
27 the date on which it shall have become a law.
