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S08374 Summary:

S08374 Actions:

S08374 Committee Votes:

S08374 Floor Votes:

S08374 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8374
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      June 5, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen. PERSAUD -- (at request of the Unified Court System)
          -- 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 judiciary law, in  relation
          to the establishment of a pilot program to provide alternative dispute
          resolution and navigator services in child support matters
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 425 of the family court act, as amended by  chapter
     2  81 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  425.  Agreement  to  support;  pilot program for use of alternative
     4  dispute resolution to obtain agreements to support.  (a) If the  parties
     5  reach  an  agreement  for the support of the child and/or the petitioner
     6  [is brought about], it must be reduced to writing and submitted  to  the
     7  family  court or a support magistrate appointed pursuant to section four
     8  hundred thirty-nine of this act for approval in  accordance  with  para-
     9  graph  (h)  of  subdivision one of section four hundred thirteen of this
    10  article. If the court or support magistrate approves it, the court with-
    11  out further hearing may thereupon enter an order and  findings  of  fact
    12  for  the support of the child and/or the petitioner [by] or the respond-
    13  ent in accordance with the agreement, which shall be  binding  upon  the
    14  [respondent]  parties  and  shall  in  all respects be a valid order and
    15  findings of fact as though made after process had been issued out of the
    16  court. The court record shall show that such order  [was]  and  findings
    17  were made upon agreement.
    18    (b)  The  chief  administrator of the courts shall promulgate rules to
    19  establish and implement a pilot program for the provision of alternative
    20  dispute resolution and navigation services to litigants in child support
    21  matters in the family court. The cost of the pilot program shall be paid
    22  for with state funds appropriated  for  that  purpose  and  may  include
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08941-01-5
        S. 8374                             2
 
     1  federal funds received by the state under title IV-D of the social secu-
     2  rity act.
     3    (i)  The pilot program, which shall be conducted under the auspices of
     4  the community dispute resolution  center  program  pursuant  to  article
     5  twenty-one-A  of  the  judiciary  law,  shall be located in at least two
     6  counties in a city with a population of one million or more, and  in  at
     7  least one other county in the state, and shall be available at no charge
     8  to parties in cases under this article. The program shall be equipped to
     9  provide  services  that  are  culturally sensitive to, and in the native
    10  language of, the litigants in the community.
    11    (ii) At the parties' initial appearance before the court, pursuant  to
    12  section  four  hundred  thirty-three  or subdivision two of section four
    13  hundred fifty-one of this article, in a participating county, the  court
    14  shall  advise  the parties of the availability of the dispute resolution
    15  program and of their right to consult with counsel  during  the  dispute
    16  resolution process. Unless the case is deemed inappropriate for a refer-
    17  ral  to  the  dispute  resolution  program  after a review of records in
    18  accordance with subdivision (e) of section six hundred fifty-one of this
    19  act, the court shall, if the parties consent to participate,  refer  the
    20  matter promptly to the program.
    21    (iii)  Prior  to referring the parties to the program, the court shall
    22  issue a preliminary order of child  support  pursuant  to  section  four
    23  hundred thirty-four of this article unless the petition is for a modifi-
    24  cation  of  an  existing order of support pursuant to subdivision two of
    25  section four hundred fifty-one of this article.
    26    (iv) Prior to referral pursuant to paragraph (iii)  of  this  subdivi-
    27  sion,  the  court  shall  also  issue  an order directing the parties to
    28  provide financial disclosures in accordance with  section  four  hundred
    29  twenty-four-a  of  this part and to bring or transmit the required docu-
    30  ments to the program.
    31    (v) The mediators, neutral  evaluators  or  other  facilitators  shall
    32  receive  training  in accordance with section eight hundred forty-nine-b
    33  of the judiciary law, as well as in  the  legal  requirements  in  child
    34  support  cases,  including, but not limited to, the child support stand-
    35  ards act, possible deviations, requirements regarding medical  insurance
    36  and  costs,  educational  and  child  care expenses, age of majority and
    37  emancipation, shared and joint custody,  grounds  for  modifications  of
    38  child  support  orders  and the consequences of noncompliance with child
    39  support orders.  In order to resolve disputes involving  complex  finan-
    40  cial  issues, the program may, if possible, include among its mediators,
    41  neutral evaluators or other facilitators, individuals with accounting or
    42  other financial qualifications and experience.
    43    (vi) The program shall have the capacity to conduct proceedings  elec-
    44  tronically, where appropriate, as well as in person, for the convenience
    45  of the participants and shall provide a secure means for participants to
    46  submit and exchange relevant documents electronically.
    47    (vii)  If the parties reach an agreement, the program shall refer them
    48  back to the family court in which their case is pending for the court to
    49  allocute the parties and to approve the  agreement  in  accordance  with
    50  subdivision  (a) of this section and paragraph (h) of subdivision one of
    51  section four hundred thirteen of this article. If the program deems  the
    52  referral inappropriate due to its own screening for domestic violence or
    53  for other reasons, or if parties do not reach an agreement or reach only
    54  a  partial  agreement,  the  program shall refer them back to the family
    55  court in which their case is pending for the court  to  proceed  with  a
    56  hearing  under this article. In all cases, the program shall transmit to
        S. 8374                             3
 
     1  the court all financial disclosure documents that have been provided  in
     2  accordance with section four hundred twenty-four-a of this part.
     3    (viii)  In  addition  to or in lieu of alternative dispute resolution,
     4  including in cases in which an agreement is  not  reached,  the  program
     5  shall provide navigation services to the participants, including but not
     6  limited  to information regarding family court procedures, the objection
     7  process, child support enforcement services available through the  local
     8  department  of  social  services,  employment-related  or  job  training
     9  programs in the jurisdiction, and  consequences  of  noncompliance  with
    10  child support orders. The program shall also provide assistance to liti-
    11  gants  in  preparation  for  the court appearance including, among other
    12  services, in organizing and transmitting required financial disclosures.
    13  Additionally, staff of the pilot program providing  navigation  services
    14  may  be  located  on-site  at  the  family  court  in the pilot counties
    15  selected pursuant to paragraph (i)  of  this  subdivision  in  order  to
    16  provide  assistance  in  arranging  the  initial  referral appointments,
    17  including ascertaining language access or other needs, and in explaining
    18  what documents are required to be brought or transmitted to the program.
    19    § 2. Subdivision 1 and paragraph (d) of subdivision 4 of section 849-b
    20  of the judiciary law, as added by chapter 847 of the laws of  1981,  are
    21  amended to read as follows:
    22    1. There is hereby established the community dispute resolution center
    23  program,  to  be  administered and supervised under the direction of the
    24  chief administrator of the courts, to provide  funds  pursuant  to  this
    25  article  for  the  establishment  and  continuance of dispute resolution
    26  centers on the basis of need in neighborhoods, and to provide funds  for
    27  the  establishment  and  implementation of a pilot program in accordance
    28  with subdivision (b) of section four hundred twenty-five of  the  family
    29  court act.
    30    (d) it provides that during or at the conclusion of the dispute resol-
    31  ution  process  there  shall  be a written agreement or decision setting
    32  forth the settlement of the issues and future responsibilities  of  each
    33  party  and that such agreement or decision shall be available to a court
    34  which has adjourned a pending action pursuant to section 170.55  of  the
    35  criminal  procedure  law  or,  in the case of written agreements reached
    36  pursuant to the pilot program established pursuant to subdivision (b) of
    37  section four hundred twenty-five of the  family  court  act,  that  such
    38  agreement shall be submitted to the family court for approval in accord-
    39  ance with such section;
    40    §  3.  Subdivision 2 of section 849-d of the judiciary law, as amended
    41  by chapter 451 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
    42    2. [The] Except as provided in section four hundred twenty-five of the
    43  family court act, the state share of the cost  of  any  center  approved
    44  under  this  section shall include a basic grant of up to forty thousand
    45  dollars for each county served by the center and may  include  an  addi-
    46  tional  amount  not exceeding fifty per centum of the difference between
    47  the approved estimated cost of the program and the basic grant.
    48    § 4. This act shall take effect on  the  two  hundred  seventieth  day
    49  after  it  shall  have  become  a  law. Effective immediately, the chief
    50  administrator of the courts is authorized to promulgate any rules and/or
    51  protocols necessary for implementation of the provisions of this act  on
    52  or before such effective date.