What's happening
This bill allows local social services districts broader access to court criminal records to investigate adults living with children involved in court proceedings.
Why it matters
Expands the authority of local social services districts. to investigate the criminal backgrounds of any adults (18+) currently living with, or proposed to live with, children involved in a wide range of family court proceedings—not just in child abuse or neglect cases. This could impact custody, guardianship, foster care, and delinquency matters.
Allows designated local social services officials broader access to state criminal records. (not just conviction records), potentially providing a more comprehensive view of an adult’s criminal history when assessing risks to children in a household.
May lead to earlier identification of risk factors for children. by permitting background checks at earlier stages or in more types of family court cases, which could influence court decisions regarding child safety, placements, or visitation arrangements.
Raises potential privacy and civil liberties concerns. for adults living in or proposed to live in homes with children, as more people could be subject to criminal background investigations and their records accessed by social services agencies.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Let Social Services Check Records
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to finance
- Referred to finance
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.
Let Social Services Check Records
In Assembly Committee · Children And Families · Sponsor Andrew Hevesi
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4155
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 3, 2017
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the social services law, in relation to access to court databases for local social services districts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 9 of section 835 of the executive law, as separately amended by chapters 14 and 155 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
9. "Qualified agencies" means courts in the unified court system, the administrative board of the judicial conference, probation departments, sheriffs' offices, district attorneys' offices, the state department of corrections and community supervision, the department of correction of any municipality, the financial frauds and consumer protection unit of the state department of financial services, the office of professional medical conduct of the state department of health for the purposes of section two hundred thirty of the public health law, the [child protective services unit of a] local social services district when [conducting an investigation pursuant to subdivision six of section four hundred twenty-four of the social services law] acting within the scope of its duties pursuant to the social services law or the family court act, the office of Medicaid inspector general, the temporary state commission of investigation, police forces and departments having responsibility for enforcement of the general criminal laws of the state, the Onondaga County Center for Forensic Sciences Laboratory when acting within the scope of its law enforcement duties and the division of forensic services of the Nassau county medical examiner's office when acting within the scope of its law enforcement duties.
§ 2. Subdivision 6 of section 398 of the social services law is amended by adding a new paragraph (q) to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02464-01-7
S. 4155 2
(q) Investigate the criminal background of any person of or over the age of eighteen who resides or is proposed to reside with or in the same home as a child who is the subject of a court proceeding pursuant to article three, six, seven, ten, ten-A or ten-C of the family court act. For the purpose of these investigations, and subject to the rules and regulations of the division of criminal justice services, local social services districts may, acting through persons specifically designated by the commissioner of the local social services district, access and receive records maintained by the division of criminal justice services pursuant to subdivision six of section eight hundred thirty-seven of the executive law.
§ 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 6 of section 424 of the social services law, as amended by chapter 602 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
(b) subject to rules and regulations of the division of criminal justice services, a manager of the child protective services unit, or a person with law enforcement background who is specifically designated by the commissioner of the local social services district for this purpose, shall have access to [conviction] records maintained by state law enforcement agencies pertaining to persons of or over the age of eighteen years who (1) are currently residing in the residence of any child who is alleged to be or suspected of being abused, maltreated, or neglected or who is proposed to live with such child, or (2) are named in any report of suspected or alleged child abuse, maltreatment, or neglect; provided that nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to contradict or modify section one thousand forty-six of the family court act. Any criminal history record provided by the division of criminal justice services, and any summary of the criminal history record provided by the office of children and family services to the child protective services unit of a local social services district pursuant to this subdivision, shall be kept confidential and shall not be made available for public inspection. Child protective services units shall not indicate a report solely based upon the existence of a conviction record;
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law and the social services law, in relation to access to court databases for local social services districts
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to allow local social service district employees access to active outstanding arrests as well as past convictions for any person considered a resource for a child.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends subdivision 9 of section 835 of the executive law to clarify the definition of a qualified agency under the jurisdiction of the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Section 2 adds a new paragraph (g) to subdivision 6 of section 398 of the social services law to grant local social service district employees access to records maintained by the Division of Criminal Justice Services for any adult who lives with or who will be living with a child in protective custody to search for arrest and conviction records relating to the adult.
Section 3 amends paragraph (b) of subdivision 6 of section 424 of the social services law to clarify that any adult who is proposed to live with a child under child protective service's supervision will be subject to the rules and regulations of the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Section 4 provides an immediate effective date.
Justification
Currently, social service district employees are only able to access past criminal convictions through the State Central Registry (SCR) during an investigation, and only for persons named in SCR reports as living with a child under protective custody. Child protective service employees do not currently have access to arrest records, pending convictions, and many other types of criminal records that would greatly assist in evaluating the safety of a living situation for a child whose circumstances are under investigation. This legislation would grant access to all criminal records held by the Division of Criminal Justice Services, for adults associated with the child as well as adults who are proposed to begin living with the child in protective custody. Granting access to a more complete criminal history of adults currently or proposed to be involved with a child will allow child protective service workers to take a more in depth look at a child's living situation, assess risks, and make appropriate recommendations to ensure the welfare and safety of the child.
Legislative history
2015-16; A.2844 2013-14; A.9992
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
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.