Relates to information in child fatality reports

Section two of the bill provides for an effective date of sixty days after enactment.

Existing law

SSL § 20 generally sets forth the powers and duties of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance and OCFS.

SSL § 20(5) requires OCFS to investigate and report on the cause and circumstances surrounding the death of a child whose care and custody was transferred to an authorized agency; or the death of a child for whom any local department of social services has an open child protective services or preventive services case, or where a report was made to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment involving the death of the child.

Prior legislative history

This bill was part of a larger bill introduced as S.5142-A/A.8092-A of 2008, which passed in the Senate and was referred to the Assembly Children and Families Committee.

Statement in support

This bill would amend SSL § 20(5) regarding child fatality reports in order to better balance the goal of protecting any surviving siblings and children in the household with the public's need to know whether any systemic issues should be addressed to better protect children. Although current law provides that a fatality report must not contain details that identify the name of the deceased child, the child' s parent or other persons responsible for the child, or other members of the child's household, the factual details in the report regarding the circumstances of the fatality often make it easy for the public to identify the family, particularly in the case of a well publicized fatality.

Currently, OCFS makes a determination whether disclosure of a child fatality report would be contrary to the best interests of the deceased child's siblings or other children in the household. If OCFS determines that disclosure of a report would be contrary to the best interests of the deceased child's siblings or other children in the household, OCFS does not release any portion of the report including any recommendations for administrative or policy changes.

This bill would revise SSL § 20 (5) to require that a child fatality report include both a findings section and a factual section. The findings section would include any recommendations for local or state administrative or policy changes and the factual section would include information about the specific fatality. OCFS would release the findings section of the report in response to a request for a report. However, OCFS would only release the factual section of a report if OCFS determines that such disclosure would not be contrary to the best interests of the surviving children.

This proposal will give the public access to information in all cases about recommended local or state administrative or policy changes that will better protect children, even where the factual information about a particular child fatality cannot be released in order to protect the interests of surviving children in the household.

Budget implications

This bill has no fiscal implications.

Effective date

This bill would take effect 60 days after enactment.