What's happening
This bill expands oversight and background check requirements to include temporary child care agencies and training institutions placing staff in child care programs.
Why it matters
Expands the definition of "provider agency". to explicitly include temporary employment agencies that supply substitute child care staff, and educational/training institutions that place interns or residents in child care settings—meaning these entities now fall under the same scrutiny as traditional child care providers.
Mandates criminal background checks for child care staff. placed by these temporary agencies and training institutions, ensuring that any individual working with young children, even temporarily or as an intern, undergoes the same vetting as permanent staff.
Streamlines background check procedures. by allowing a single background check conducted through the agency or institution to satisfy requirements for multiple child care placements, reducing redundancy and administrative burden across providers.
Holds agencies and institutions financially responsible for background check fees. and gives the Office of Children and Family Services authority to deny or pause employment applications based on results, increasing both oversight and accountability for all entities providing child care staff.
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
Expand Child Abuse Registry Access
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- 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.
Expand Child Abuse Registry Access
In Assembly Committee · Children And Families · Sponsor Michele Titus
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7897
IN SENATE
March 7, 2018
Introduced by Sen. GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the statewide central register for child abuse and maltreatment
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 424-a of the social services law, as amended by section 3 of part Q of chapter 56 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
3. For purposes of this [section] title, the term "provider" or "provider agency" shall mean: an authorized agency; the office of children and family services; juvenile detention facilities subject to the certification of the office of children and family services; programs established pursuant to article nineteen-H of the executive law; non-residential or residential programs or facilities licensed or operated by the office of mental health or the office for people with developmental disabilities except family care homes; licensed child day care centers, including head start programs which are funded pursuant to title V of the federal economic opportunity act of nineteen hundred sixty-four, as amended; early intervention service established pursuant to section twenty-five hundred forty of the public health law; preschool services established pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of the education law; school-age child care programs; special act school districts as enumerated in chapter five hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-seven, as amended; programs and facilities licensed by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services; residential schools which are operated, supervised or approved by the education department; child care and school-based programs for children ages three through five regulated by the health code of the city of New York, temporary employment agencies providing substitute child care staff to any other provider agency, and educational and training institutions assigning child care staff as interns or residents at any other provider agency; publicly-funded emergency shelters for families with children, provided, however, for purposes of this section, when the provider or provider
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03229-04-8
S. 7897 2
agency is a publicly-funded emergency shelter for families with children, then all references in this section to the "potential for regular and substantial contact with individuals who are cared for by the agency" shall mean the potential for regular and substantial contact with children who are served by such shelter; and any other facility or provider agency, as defined in subdivision four of section four hundred eighty-eight of this chapter, in regard to the employment of staff, or use of providers of goods and services and staff of such providers, consultants, interns and volunteers.
§ 2. Subdivision 4 of section 424-a of the social services law, as amended by section 14 of part L of chapter 56 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
4. For purposes of this [section] title, the term "licensing agency" shall mean an authorized agency which has received an application to become an adoptive parent or an authorized agency which has received an application for a certificate or license to receive, board or keep any child pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred seventy-six or three hundred seventy-seven of this article or an authorized agency which has received an application from a relative within the second degree or third degree of consanguinity of the parent of a child or a relative within the second degree or third degree of consanguinity of the step-parent of a child or children, or the child's legal guardian for approval to receive, board or keep such child, or an authorized agency that conducts a clearance pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision two of section four hundred fifty-eight-b of this article, or a state or local governmental agency which receives an application to provide child day care services in a child day care center, school-age child care program, family day care home or group family day care home pursuant to the provisions of section three hundred ninety of this article, or the department of health and mental hygiene of the city of New York, when such department receives an application for a [certificate of approval to provide child day care services in a child day care center] permit to provide child care services or receives a notice of a school based program for children ages three through five pursuant to the provisions of the health code of the city of New York, or the office of mental health or the office for people with developmental disabilities when such office receives an application for an operating certificate pursuant to the provisions of the mental hygiene law to operate a family care home, or a state or local governmental official who receives an application for a permit to operate a camp which is subject to the provisions of article thirteen-A or thirteen-B of the public health law or the office of children and family services which has received an application for a certificate to receive, board or keep any child at a foster family home pursuant to articles nineteen-G and nineteen-H of the executive law or any other facility or provider agency, as defined in subdivision four of section four hundred eighty-eight of this chapter, in regard to any licensing or certification function carried out by such facility or agency.
§ 3. Section 390-b of the social services law is amended by adding a new subdivision 11 to read as follows:
11. For purposes of this section, and notwithstanding section three hundred ninety of this article, an operator or provider of a child day care center or a school age child care program shall include temporary child care employment agencies and child care educational and training institutions. A temporary child care employment agency or child care educational and training institution shall be subject to the criminal
S. 7897 3
history record check requirements for child care staff who may be placed at a child day care center or a school age child care program, but not for the operators or providers of such temporary child care employment agency or child care educational and training institution. Such requirements shall include submitting fingerprint cards and such other information as required by the office of children and family services and the division of criminal justice services, and authorizing the office of children and family services to deny or hold in abeyance an employee's application as provided for in this section. The office of children and family services may charge the temporary child care employment agency or child care educational and training institution an amount equal to the processing fee imposed pursuant to subdivision eight-a of section eight hundred thirty-seven of the executive law. Where the office of children and family services advises the temporary child care employment agency or child care educational and training institution that an individual has no criminal history record, no additional criminal history record check by a child day care center or a school age child care program shall be required upon placement of that individual at the child day care center or a school age child care program. For purposes of this subdivision, a "temporary child care employment agency" shall mean any entity that employs substitute child care staff to be supplied on a temporary basis to a child day care center or a school age child care program, and a "child care educational and training institution" shall mean any entity that assigns child care staff as interns or residents at a child day care center or a school age child care program.
§ 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 social services law, in relation to the statewide central register for child abuse and maltreatment
Purpose or general idea of bill
To amend the definition of providers able to access the Statewide Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR) to include three types of agencies that employ or supervise individuals providing child- care in New York City that may query the SCR.
Summary of provisions
Specifically, the bill modifies the definition of a "provider agency" in subdivision 3 of section 424-a of the Social. Services Law to include: early childhood school-based programs that operate pursuant to the New York City Health Code (Health Code) Article 43; agencies that provide substitute or temporary staff to child care programs regardless of regu- latory authority; and education and training programs that place students as interns or residents in various child care programs. The bill updates the definition of "licensing agency" in subdivision 4 of section 424-a to accurately reflect the supervisory role of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) with respect to current child care programs in New York City. The bill also deletes the reference to DOHMH's authority over family day care programs, which pursuant to chapter 587 of the laws of 1997 are no longer regulated by DOHMH. It further clarifies DOHMH's role as the "licensing agency" for child care services and early childhood school based programs regulated by the Health Code. Section 4 provides that the act shall take effect immediately.
Read the full memo (638 words)
Justification
The Social Services Law section 424-a(3) defines "provider agencies," which may request otherwise confidential information concerning reports of incidents related to employees and other staff from the SCR. The current definition includes "licensed day care centers" among the specific provider agencies, but does not include programs in New York City for children under the age of six that are owned, operated, managed and controlled by public and non-public schools in New York City. Such programs are not regulated by the State, but rather regulated pursuant to Article 43 of the Health Code. Since July 26, 2008, Article 43 requires that these school-based and -operated early childhood programs clear their staff and employees through the SCR. In New York City, there are approximately 500 facilities that are regulated by Article 43 whose staff currently cannot be cleared through the SCR.
Section 43.13(c) of Article 43 of the Health Code requires school-based child care programs to arrange for an inquiry of the SCR for all prospective permanent and temporary employees. However, these programs are not included in the Social Services Law definition of provider agen- cies that may request such information. Therefore, they are unable to request clearance from the Register. Until the definition of "provider agency" in section 424-a(3) of the Social Services Law is amended, staff at these facilities may only be screened for criminal history, and not for a history of child abuse or maltreatment.
School-based early childhood programs, like other child care facilities, often contract with temporary staff services or other organizations to comply with the Health Code's required staff to child ratios when perma- nent staff are on leave, otherwise unable to work, or to enhance their existing curriculum. However, the organizations that supply temporary staff are not authorized to clear those individuals through the SCR because they are not included in the current definition of "'provider' or 'provider agencies."' The bill would authorize the temporary employ- ment agencies placing staff in child care programs to query the SCR. Similar authority would be extended under this proposal to educational and training programs, which often place student trainees in various child care programs and facilities as residents or interns.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
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.