What's happening
This bill requires cordless window coverings in child care centers and similar facilities to improve child safety.
Why it matters
Targets child safety risks. by directly addressing the leading cause of serious injury and death from window covering cords in facilities where children are cared for or reside, such as group homes and child day care centers.
Mandates compliance with national safety standards (ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2012). , ensuring that both new and existing window coverings meet recognized safety benchmarks, which could drive broader industry changes and raise awareness about window cord hazards.
Allows for practical exceptions. only when cordless options are unavailable or unworkable due to specific window characteristics, but requires written documentation from multiple retailers—making it harder to bypass the safety requirement without good reason.
Requires retrofitting or replacement of existing window coverings. that do not meet safety standards, and empowers agencies to enforce upgrades, thus accelerating the removal of older, riskier window coverings in places children frequent.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Safer Daycare Blinds
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Print number 6574a
- Amend and recommit to children and families
- Referred to children and families
- Referred to rules
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.
Require Safer Window Blinds
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor John T. McDonald III
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6574--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
June 5, 2017
Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- recommitted to the Committee on Children and Families in accordance with Senate Rule
6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring cordless window coverings in child day care centers, public institutions for children and certain other facilities
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 390-l to read as follows:
§ 390-l. Cordless window coverings required. 1. For purposes of this section, the definitions set forth in ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2012 shall apply.
2. Any agency boarding home, group home, child day care center, public institution for children, or any authorized agency not including a foster home, family day care center or group family day care center installing new or replacement window coverings on or after October first, two thousand eighteen, shall install cordless window coverings that meet the requirements of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2012 or any successor standard thereto adopted in accordance with ANSI procedures. In window applications where cordless window covering products are either not available or impractical to operate due to window size, height, or shape and documented in writing by at least two New York window covering retailers, then non-cordless window covering products that meet the requirements of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2012 may be allowed.
3. Window coverings in place before October first, two thousand eighteen in any agency boarding home, group home, child day care center, or public institution for children or any authorized agency not including a foster home, family day care center or group family day care center shall:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11064-03-8
S. 6574--A 2
(a) meet the requirements of a version of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2012 or any successor standard thereto adopted in accordance with ANSI procedures, including standards for:
(i) roman shades, roll-up shades, woven shades, and all window coverings with exposed and unsecured cords;
(ii) horizontal blinds, cellular shades, and all window coverings that have exposed draw cords for their operation;
(iii) vertical blinds and other window covering products with loops utilized in their operation; or
(b) be retrofitted with repair kits approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for distribution to consumers by the Window Covering Safety Council.
4. If a person fails to comply with the requirements of subdivision three of this section, the authorized agency may require replacement of existing window coverings with cordless window coverings that meet the requirements of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2012 or any successor standard thereto adopted in accordance with ANSI procedures. In window applications where cordless window covering products are either not available or impractical to operate due to window size, height, or shape and documented in writing by at least two New York window covering retailers, then non-cordless window covering products that meet the requirements of ANSI/WCMA A100.1-2012 may be allowed.
§ 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2018 provided that subdivision 4 of section 390-l of the social services law, as added by section one of this act, shall take effect October 1, 2020. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring cordless window coverings in child day care centers, public institutions for children and certain other facilities
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill will prohibit the use, in certain public child care facili- ties, of window coverings that do not comply with established national voluntary safety standards (ANSI/WCMA 5100.1 - The American National Standard for Safety of Corded window Covering Products) or that have not been retrofitted to mitigate the risk of strangulation associated with window covering cords.
Summary of specific provisions
The social services law is amended by adding a new section 390-1 which defines various terms and establishes the prohibition.
Justification
The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has estimated that, since 1982, at least 200 children have died from strangulation associated with corded window coverings. Those most at risk are children between the ages of 1 and 3, who have some mobility but are still unable to fully control their motor functions.
Since 1996, CPSC has partnered with the Window Coverings Manufacturers Association (WCMA) to develop standards for window coverings that address this risk and has also partnered with the Window Coverings Safe- ty Council (WCSC) to distribute free kits to retrofit older window coverings that pre-date standards to reduce the risk of strangulation.
More recently, in 2009, CPSC and window blind manufacturers participated in a joint voluntary corrective action program to recall and repair 50 million sets of Roman shades and roll-up blinds throughout the United States to address the risk of strangulation associated with exposed cords.
This legislation establishes regulatory standards for the different types of blinds, shades and window coverings currently available to consumers in New York. It requires boarding homes, group homes, child day care centers, authorized agencies and public institutions for chil- dren, in the course of regular maintenance and renovation, to replace their window coverings with safer alternatives or modify existing window coverings with safety mechanisms.
While this proposal does not directly apply to family foster homes or child care facilities located in an individual's residence, it is already within the Office of Children and Family Services authority to regulate compliance with safety standards in these locations. Author- ized "home finders" visit prospective parents and operators, perform safety assessments, provide training on taking proper care of children and require modifications when necessary.
Enacting this legislation in New York State would send a message that corded window coverings can be a safety hazard to children and deserve attention and analysis by parents, consumers, child care agencies, manufacturers and the government.
Prior legislative history
2013-14: A.6672-A/S.7624-A 2016-A2836/S432
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This act shall take effect October 1, 2017; provided, however that the provisions of subdivision 4 of section 390-j of the social services law, as added by section one of this act, shall take effect October 1, 2019. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec- tive date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.