What's happening
This bill requires surveillance cameras with sound in common areas of group homes and facilities overseen by the Office of Children and Family Services, with penalties for noncompliance.
Why it matters
Increases oversight and accountability. by mandating audio- and video-enabled surveillance in nearly all shared spaces of group homes, residential facilities, and day schools, potentially deterring abuse or neglect and providing clearer evidence if incidents occur.
Raises privacy concerns. for both residents and staff, especially due to the inclusion of audio recording in sensitive areas such as classrooms and time-out rooms, and allows surveillance in the private bedrooms of children under 13—but only with parental consent and in single-occupancy rooms.
Imposes strict financial penalties for noncompliance. , with providers facing a $1,000 fine for each day they do not meet the surveillance requirements, creating strong incentive for rapid implementation but also potentially straining facility budgets.
May impact the daily environment and relationships. within these facilities, as the presence of cameras and microphones could alter how staff and children interact, raising questions about trust, autonomy, and the balance between safety and privacy.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Install Cameras in Child Facilities
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to children and families
- Referred to children and families
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7629
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 5, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring the office of children and family services and authorized agencies of the office of children and family services to provide surveillance cameras
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 380-a to read as follows:
§ 380-a. Surveillance cameras. 1. (a) Surveillance cameras with sound capability shall be installed in all public common areas including, but not limited to, all common living areas, dining areas, hallways, classrooms and time-out rooms in all group homes, residential and day schools and programs licensed, certified, funded or operated by the office of children and family services and any authorized agency of the office of children and family services.
(b) All public common areas including, but not limited to, all common living areas, dining areas, hallways, classrooms and time-out rooms of a facility providing residential care to youth or children shall be equipped with surveillance cameras with sound capability.
2. In all residential facilities statewide, for children certified, licensed, funded or operated by the office of children and family services, surveillance cameras may be placed in a child's, age thirteen or younger, room at the request of and with the consent of the child's parent or guardian and only if the child is in a single occupancy bedroom.
3. Any provider that fails to implement the provisions of this section shall be subjected to a fine of one thousand dollars per day of noncompliances.
§ 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11288-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.