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History
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.337
- Referred to children and families
- Referred to children and families
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to the infliction of excessive corporal punishment on a child
In Assembly Committee · Children And Families · Sponsor Crystal Peoples-Stokes
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S2118
Title of bill
An act to amend the family court act and the social services law, in relation to the infliction of excessive corporal punishment on a child
Purpose
This bill reclassifies excessive corporal punishment of a child as abuse, rather than neglect and thus, subjects more child protective services cases to further scrutiny to ensure the safety of New York's children.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: adds excessive corporal punishment to the definition of abuse in section 1012 of the family court act.
Section 2: removes excessive corporal punishment from the definition of neglect in section 1012 of the family court act.
Section 3: removes excessive corporal punishment from the definition of neglect from subparagraph (B) of paragraph (i) of subdivision 4-a of section 371 of the social services law
Section 4: adds a new paragraph (iv) to subdivision 4-b of section 3/1 of the social services law, defining excessive corporal punishment as abuse.
Section 5: sets the effective date.
Justification
Under current law, reports of child abuse are classified as either abuse or neglect - with cases of abuse receiving stricter scrutiny, more in-depth investigations and carrying stronger penalties than cases of neglect. This bill seeks to reclassify cases that involve excessive corporal punishment as abuse, rather than neglect. By reclassifying excessive corporal punishment - which can often involve serious injury to the child - as abuse, Child Protective Services will be able to more thoroughly investigate certain cases of serious harm to young children.
Under New York State's current legal statutes, a report of a child who is violently, senselessly and/or repeatedly hit by a legal guardian, with bruises left behind in the wake of each strike, may still be classified as neglect. Officials who work in the fields of child advocacy, child protection, parents' rights and law enforcement have long been clamoring for a change to this antiquated legal definition.
There have been numerous cases, including that of Eain Brooks and Abdifatah Mohamud from Erie County, where reports of excessive corporal punishment or abuse were made by either family members or those mandated to report abuse and maltreatment. Unfortunately, due to a gap in state law, many of these cases do not undergo the strictest of scrutiny as they are classified as neglect cases. Tragically, in
both Eain's case and Abdifatah's case, these children were later killed by their abuser.
By reclassifying excessive corporal punishment as abuse, New York State law will keep pace with at least 33 other states who currently classify excessive corporal punishment as abuse. Furthermore, Child Protective Services and law enforcement officials will be better geared to investigate reports of abuse and protect children like Eain and Abdifatah throughout New York State.
Legislative history
A. 8428 of 2014: Referred to Children and Families
S. 6432 of 2014: Referred to Children and Families
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.