What's happening
The bill allows individuals with a lawful custody order of a child to make medical decisions for that child, similar to guardians.
Why it matters
Expands who can make medical decisions for a child. This bill gives individuals with a lawful custody order (not just legal guardians) the explicit legal authority to make important decisions about a child's medical, educational, and general welfare needs—potentially reducing confusion for healthcare providers and schools.
Addresses gaps for non-guardian caregivers. Many children live with relatives or adults who have custody but are not legal guardians. The bill ensures these caregivers can consent to medical care, streamlining access to necessary health services and reducing bureaucratic barriers.
Clarifies emergency medical consent rules. The legislation updates language so that in emergencies, doctors can treat children without delay if the only available adult is a lawful custodian (not just a guardian), possibly leading to faster care in urgent situations.
Protects minors’ existing rights. The bill specifies that it does not override any laws allowing minors themselves to consent to their own medical care in certain situations, maintaining protections for adolescent autonomy where already permitted.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Let Custodians Approve Child Medical Care
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Committed to rules
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.133
- Referred to children and families
- Reported and committed to rules
- Print number 6015a
- Amend (t) and recommit 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.
Let Custodians Approve Child Care
In Senate Committee · Children And Families · Sponsor Ellen C. Jaffee
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6015--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 10, 2017
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the family court act and the public health law, in relation to allowing a person having a lawful order of custody of a child to make medical decisions for such child
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (c) of section 657 of the family court act, as added by section 5 of part F of chapter 58 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, persons possessing a lawful order of guardianship or custody of a child shall have the right and responsibility to make decisions, including issuing any necessary consents, regarding the child's protection, education, care and control, health and medical needs, and the physical custody of the person of the child. Provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to limit the ability of a child to consent to his or her own medical care as may be otherwise provided by law.
§ 2. Subdivision 4 of section 2504 of the public health law, as added by chapter 769 of the laws of 1972 and as renumbered by chapter 976 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
4. Medical, dental, health and hospital services may be rendered to persons of any age without the consent of a parent [or], legal guardian or person possessing a lawful order of custody when, in the physician's judgment an emergency exists and the person is in immediate need of medical attention and an attempt to secure consent would result in delay of treatment which would increase the risk to the person's life or health.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11435-03-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the family court act and the public health law, in relation to allowing a person having a lawful order of custody of a child to make medical decisions for such child
Purpose
OF THE BILL:
This bill amends the Family Court Act Section 657(c) to include non-parents with lawful orders of custody as persons who may make medical decisions for minors in their care, and amends Public Health Law Section 2504 to include non-parents with lawful orders of custody along with parents and guardians as persons whose consent is not needed for the provision of medical, dental, health and hospital services when in the judgement of a physician emergency medical care is needed.
Read the full memo (922 words)
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 of this bill would amend Family Court Act Section 657(c) to add persons possessing a lawful order of custody as persons who have the right and responsibility, alongside the current provision of those possessing a lawful order of guardianship, to make medical decisions and necessary consents regarding the child in their care.
Section 2 of this bill would amend Public Health Law Section 2504 to include legal custodians along with the current parents and guardians as persons whose consent is not needed for the provision of medical, dental, health and hospital services when in the judgement of a physician emergency medical care is needed.
Existing law
Article Six, section 657 of the Family Court Act currently only allows persons possessing a lawful order of guardianship of a child the right and responsibility to make decisions, including necessary consents, regarding the child's protection, education, care and control, health and medical needs, and the physical custody of the person of the child.
Section 2504(4) currently declares that medical, dental, health and hospital services may be rendered to persons of any age without the consent of a parent or legal guardian when in the judgement of a physician an emergency exists that warrants medical treatment.
Justification
Article six, section 657 of the Family Court Act must be amended to add the category of those in possession of a lawful order of custody of a child to be able to make decisions regarding the child in their care.
Legal custodians who must make medical decisions but who do not have court orders expressly providing such powers can be denied non-emergency medical care for children by medical providers. The addition of legal custodians to this law will ensure that thousands of non-parent legal custodians do not have to go back to court to request modification of their court order to provide for the child in their care.
According to the U. S. Census American Community Survey data, in New York State, there are more than 130,000 grandparent "kinship" families. Together with aunts, uncles and other family members, estimates are as many as 200,000 kinship families are raising 300,000 children in New York State. Kinship caregivers are defined as non-parents, including grandparents, blood relatives, and close family friends who provide fulltime care and control of children in their household. Studies show that children placed in care with relatives fare much better emotionally and intellectually than children who go into foster care with strangers (Marc Winokur, Amy Holtan, and Deborah Valentine, "Kinship Care for the Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being of Children Removed From the Home for Maltreatment," Campbell Systematic Reviews 1 (2009), doi:10.4073/ csr.2009.1; Rubin, D., Springer, S. H., Zlotnik, S., & Kang-Yi, C. D. (2017). Needs of Kinship Care Families and Pediatric Practice. Pediatrics, 139(4), e20170099. doi:10.1542/peds.2017-0099; National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), CPS Sample Component Wave 1 Data Analysis Report, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, April 2005.)
While the Office of Court Administration does not maintain data on the number of non-parent caregivers awarded legal custody or guardianship, it is commonly acknowledged that in many family courts kinship caregivers independently seek legal custody pursuant to Family Court Act 651. According to the Office for Children and Family Services, it is also common practice that relatives are often given orders of custody of children who are at risk of being removed from their parents by Child Protective Services pursuant to Family Court Act 1017(2)(a)(i), 1055(a) or 1089(b).
Unless these caregivers have orders expressly written to provide them with powers to make medical decisions for the children they have taken, they are not lawfully allowed to make medical decisions for the children in their care. Until recently, medical providers rarely challenged the assumed medical decision making authority of these non-parent legal custodians. However, with the growth of "kinship care" medical providers are increasingly denying access to health care based upon the lack of statutory power for such legal custodians.
By expanding the law to include those caregivers who have lawful orders of custody, tens of thousands of legal custodians will not have to have their custody orders amended, and medical service providers will be protected when serving children under the care of legal custodians.
Public Health Law Section 2504 should be amended to include caregivers who have lawful orders of custody in order to insure that medical, dental, health and hospital services may be rendered to persons of any age without the consent of a parent or legal guardian or legal custodian when an emergency exists that warrants medical care.
Prior legislative history
This is a new bill.
Fiscal impact
No anticipated budget implications
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.