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- Referred to children and families
Companion bill
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Relates to the interviewing of children in the presence of the subject of the report
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:S2119
Title of bill
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the interviewing of children in the presence of other persons
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to prevent children from being interviewed by Child Protective Services workers, in the presence of others.
Summary of specific provisions
Amends social services law, in relation to the interviewing of children in the presence of the subject of the report.
Justification
Interviewing a child, who is sustaining abuse, in front of their parent or guardian who is also the subject of the report of abuse or maltreatment, may substantially inhibit them from speaking out against a perpetrator for fear of retribution. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases of founded reports of child abuse, a parent or guardian, rather than a stranger, is at fault.
When a child is interviewed in front of their alleged abuser, especially if that alleged abuser is a parent or guardian, they may be coached to say something or may not feel as if they can speak openly or honestly, out of fear for their own safety. Amending the social services law to state that children, in Child Protective Services investigations, may not be interviewed in the presence of another individual, who has been named in the report of suspected abuse or neglect, will help enable a Child Protective Services worker to fully carry out their job, and will garner a more meaningful interview.
Prior legislative history
A. 8427A of 2014.
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.