As the newly appointed Chair of the Assembly Committee on Children and Families, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D, Scarsdale) is pleased to announce that her bill (A.7633) to allow Adult Protective Services (APS) to view records from Child Protective Services (CPS) passed the Assembly today.

Assemblywoman Paulin has long been an advocate for protecting the safety of New York’s vulnerable populations. As Chair of the Committee on Children and Families, she looks forward to continuing her efforts to ensure that protective systems are functioning properly and providing adequate services to those in need.

The bill is in response into an investigation regarding the circumstances surrounding the murder of Niagara County resident Laura Cummings by her mother in 2010. Cummings was developmentally disabled and reports were lodged with APD that she was being abused. APS caseworkers, however, were unable to view a long history of reports lodged with CPS when Cummings was a minor. These records would have given APS caseworkers a clearer picture of the safety concerns present in the Cummings home and may have altered their response to the newly filed reports.

A companion bill (A.5458a), sponsored by Assemblyman Scarborough (D, Queens), also passed the Assembly today. This bill institutes a documentation process for APS caseworkers who are denied access to a home following reports of potential abuse. After two consecutive denials, caseworkers will be required to discuss the need to obtain a court order to enter the home with their supervisor and document the results of that discussion in the case file.

Both bills need to pass the Senate and be signed by the Governor before becoming law.