Relates to access to records of the differential response program for child protection assessments or investigations

BILL NUMBER:S5746

Title of bill

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to access to records of the differential response program for child protection assessments or investigations

Purpose or general idea of bill

The purpose of this bill is to authorize the disclosure of information necessary to a court case or procedure in narrow instances.

Summary of specific provisions

This bill would give the subject of the FAR report access to the FAR records. The bill would also give a court access to FAR records, but only during the duration of services provided under the FAR case.

The bill would also provide for the re-disclosure of FAR records. A child protective services unit would have access to previous FAR records if such records are relevant to a subsequent child abuse investigation or Family Court action, and would be required to include such information in the investigation records in any subsequent Family Court case. The subject of the report would be authorized to present his or her FAR records in any relevant proceeding.

The bill also requires the inclusion of certain demographic information in the annual report of the Office of Children and Family Services.

Justification

Chapter 452 of the Laws of 2007 established the Family Assessment Response (FAR) program to provide an alternative approach to non safety related child protective reports. The FAR program has so far been successful in engaging families with services to meet the needs in the home without a full scale investigation. FAR records are confidential and may only be disclosed to a limited number of entities, not including the Court. Although strict confidentiality is appropriate to protect such records, there are instances when information contained in a FAR record is critical to the outcome of a court proceeding. This may be the case when services under FAR are not yet completed and a custody decision is pending. This may also be the case when the participant wants to demonstrate his or her compliance with services through FAR. It is therefore appropriate that limited access to such records be given in narrowly defined circumstances.

This bill would allow Courts to access FAR records during the duration of the services provided under FAR, pursuant to a judicial subpoena and a finding that such information is necessary to a determination before the court. This bill would also provide the subject of a FAR report with access to such records and the authority to disclose them in any relevant proceeding. This bill would also enable local social

services districts to disclose records from a FAR case in a subsequent child protective proceeding before the Family Court.

Prior legislative history

The Family Assessment Response was made permanent and expanded to included the City of New York by Chapter 45 of the Laws of 2011. This legislation addresses some issues the Office of Court Administration brought to the attention of the Legislature to improve this valuable program.

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately except for section 6 (additional reporting requirements for the annual report of the Office of Children and Family Services.