What's happening
This bill raises the standard of proof for indicated child abuse or maltreatment reports and changes related procedures for records, hearings, and sealing.
Why it matters
Raises the standard of proof for child abuse or maltreatment findings from "some credible evidence" to "a fair preponderance of evidence,". making it harder for reports to be indicated—this could reduce the risk of families being wrongly labeled but may also make substantiating cases more difficult for investigators.
Narrows when and how indicated reports can be used or disclosed, and introduces conditional sealing for certain maltreatment records after eight years. this means that old, less severe findings won’t follow individuals indefinitely, improving employment and caregiving opportunities for those affected, but preserves access for agencies in cases of repeated reports or for certain sensitive roles.
Reforms the administrative review and hearing process for challenging indicated reports,. including biennial re-evaluations and clearer procedures for amending or expunging records, which strengthens due process rights for accused individuals and gives them more opportunities to clear their names if circumstances change.
Aligns child protective case outcomes with family court rulings,. so that if a family court finds allegations unsubstantiated, the corresponding child abuse report must be changed to unfounded—this reduces the likelihood of conflicting findings across systems and ensures greater fairness and consistency in how individuals are treated.
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Who cares
Parents and caregivers named in abuse or maltreatment reports
The bill would raise the proof needed for an indicated report from some credible evidence to a fair preponderance of evidence and remove the initial 90-day deadline for requesting an amendment.
Office of Children and Family Services and local child protective services
The bill would require revised evidence standards, changes to administrative reviews and hearings, and conditional sealing of eligible maltreatment reports after eight years.
Child care providers, Head Start programs and early intervention providers
The bill would change access to registry records used for employment screening, while allowing these providers access to conditionally sealed reports for four additional years.
Parents in custody or visitation proceedings
The bill would require a fair preponderance of evidence of alleged abuse or maltreatment before a registry report could be admitted, alongside existing admissibility requirements.
Headline styles
Raise Evidence Bar for Abuse
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Substituted by S6427A
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.608
- Rules report cal.608
- Reported
- Reported referred to rules
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Print number 8060a
- Amend and recommit to codes
- Reported referred to codes
- 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.
Raise Child Abuse Proof Standard
Vetoed · Sponsor Velmanette Montgomery
Full text
10 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8060--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 31, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. JAFFEE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the standard of proof for unfounded and indicated reports of abuse or maltreatment and the admissibility of reports of child abuse and maltreatment; and to amend the social services law and the family court act, in relation to the administration of the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivisions 6 and 7 of section 412 of the social services law, as added by chapter 1039 of the laws of 1973 and as renumbered by chapter 323 of the laws of 2008, are amended to read as follows:
6. An "unfounded report" means any report made pursuant to this title unless an investigation determines that [some credible evidence] a fair preponderance of evidence of the alleged abuse or maltreatment exists;
7. An "indicated report" means a report made pursuant to this title if an investigation determines that [some credible evidence] a fair preponderance of evidence of the alleged abuse or maltreatment exists.
§ 2. Section 651-a of the family court act, as amended by chapter 12 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
§ 651-a. Reports of child abuse and maltreatment; admissibility. In any proceeding brought pursuant to this section to determine the custody or visitation of minors, a report made to the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment, pursuant to title six of article six of the social services law, or a portion thereof, which is otherwise admissible as a business record pursuant to rule forty-five hundred eighteen of the civil practice law and rules shall not be admissible in evidence, notwithstanding such rule, unless an investigation of such report
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13104-05-9
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conducted pursuant to title six of article six of the social services law has determined that there is [some credible] a fair preponderance of evidence of the alleged abuse or maltreatment, that the subject of the report has been notified that the report is indicated. In addition, if such report has been reviewed by the state commissioner of social services or his designee and has been determined to be unfounded, it shall not be admissible in evidence. If such report has been so reviewed and has been amended to delete any finding, each such deleted finding shall not be admissible. If the state commissioner of social services or his designee has amended the report to add any new finding, each such new finding, together with any portion of the original report not deleted by the commissioner or his designee, shall be admissible if it meets the other requirements of this section and is otherwise admissible as a business record. If such a report, or portion thereof, is admissible in evidence but is uncorroborated, it shall not be sufficient to make a fact finding of abuse or maltreatment in such proceeding. Any other evidence tending to support the reliability of such report shall be sufficient corroboration.
§ 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 421 of the social services law, as amended by chapter 718 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
(c) issue guidelines to assist local child protective services in the interpretation and assessment of reports of abuse and maltreatment made to the statewide central register described in section four hundred twenty-two of this article. Such guidelines shall include information, standards and criteria for [the identification of credible] assessing whether a fair preponderance of evidence of alleged abuse and maltreatment exists as required to determine whether a report may be indicated.
§ 4. The opening paragraph of paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 422 of the social services law, as amended by section 7 of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
Unless an investigation of a report conducted pursuant to this title determines that there is [some credible] a fair preponderance of evidence of the alleged abuse or maltreatment, all information identifying the subjects of the report and other persons named in the report shall be legally sealed forthwith by the central register and any local child protective services or the state agency which investigated the report. Such unfounded reports may only be unsealed and made available:
§ 5. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 5 of section 422 of the social services law, as added by chapter 555 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office of children and family services may, in its discretion, grant a request to expunge an unfounded report where: (i) the source of the report was convicted of a violation of subdivision three of section 240.55 of the penal law in regard to such report; or (ii) the subject of the report presents clear and convincing evidence that affirmatively refutes the allegation of abuse or maltreatment; provided however, that the absence of [credible] a fair preponderance of evidence supporting the allegation of abuse or maltreatment shall not be the sole basis to expunge the report. Nothing in this paragraph shall require the office of children and family services to hold an administrative hearing in deciding whether to expunge a report. Such office shall make its determination upon reviewing the written evidence submitted by the subject of the report and any records or information obtained from the state or local agency which investigated the allegations of abuse or maltreatment.
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§ 6. Subdivision 6 of section 422 of the social services law, as amended by section 7 of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
6. In all other cases, the record of the report to the statewide central register shall be expunged ten years after the eighteenth birthday of the youngest child named in the report. Provided however, in cases where the report was indicated for maltreatment, the record of the report to the statewide central register shall be conditionally sealed eight years after the report is received by the statewide central register, so long as there are no other indicated reports of abuse or maltreatment with such individual named as the subject of the report. Provided, further, that if such individual is named as the subject of a report in any subsequent indicated abuse or maltreatment reports, such record shall be immediately unsealed and the subsequent indicated report shall be ineligible for conditional sealing. Reports conditionally sealed pursuant to this subdivision shall be maintained in the statewide central register, however such reports shall not be made available except to: (a) entities included in paragraph (a) of subdivision five of this section; (b) authorized agencies that are considering licensing the subject of the report to become a foster or adoptive parent; (c) child protective services that are considering recommending the subject of the report as a custodial or visitation resource; (d) head start programs which are funded pursuant to title V of the federal economic opportunity act of 1964, early intervention services 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 and child day care providers as defined in section three hundred ninety of this article for the purposes of determining employment, but only for an additional four years after such record is conditionally sealed; and (e) the court, upon receiving a recommendation regarding a potential foster or adoptive parent or a custodial or visitation resource from a child protective service if such recommendation was based in any part on the indicated report. In the case of a child in residential care the record of the report to the statewide central register shall be expunged ten years after the reported child's eighteenth birthday. In any case and at any time, the commissioner of the office of children and family services may amend any record upon good cause shown and notice to the subjects of the report and other persons named in the report.
§ 7. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of section 422 of the social services law, as amended by chapter 12 of the laws of 1996, and subparagraph (ii) as amended by chapter 323 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
(a) (i) At any time subsequent to the completion of the investigation [but in no event later than ninety days after the subject of the report is notified that the report is indicated] the subject may request the commissioner to amend the record of the report. [If] After an initial request, subsequent requests may be made for the purpose of determining whether, due to a change in the subject's circumstances, the indicated case continues to be relevant and reasonably related pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of this subdivision. Such evaluation shall take place no more than biennially. Where a proceeding pursuant to article ten of the family court act based on the same allegations that were indicated is pending, the request to amend shall be stayed until the disposition of such family court proceeding or, if the petition is dismissed at the conclusion of an adjournment in contemplation of
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dismissal or suspended judgment, at such time of the dismissal, whichever is later. Unless such request has been stayed, if the commissioner does not amend the report in accordance with such request within ninety days of receiving the request, the subject shall have the right to a fair hearing, held in accordance with paragraph (b) of this subdivision, to determine whether the record of the report in the central register should be amended on the grounds that it is inaccurate or it is being maintained in a manner inconsistent with this title.
(ii) Upon receipt of a request to amend the record of a child abuse and maltreatment report the office of children and family services shall immediately send a written request to the child protective service or the state agency which was responsible for investigating the allegations of abuse or maltreatment for all records, reports and other information maintained by the service or state agency pertaining to such indicated report. The service or state agency shall as expeditiously as possible but within no more than twenty working days of receiving such request, forward all records, reports and other information it maintains on such indicated report to the office of children and family services, including a copy of any petition or court order based on the allegations that were indicated. [The] Unless such request to amend has been stayed, the office of children and family services shall as expeditiously as possible but within no more than fifteen working days of receiving such materials from the child protective service or state agency, review all such materials in its possession concerning the indicated report and determine, after affording such service or state agency a reasonable opportunity to present its views, whether there is a fair preponderance of the evidence to find that the subject committed the act or acts of child abuse or maltreatment giving rise to the indicated report and whether, based on guidelines developed by the office of children and family services pursuant to subdivision five of section four hundred twentyfour-a of this title, such act or acts could be relevant and reasonably related to employment of the subject of the report by a provider agency, as defined by subdivision three of section four hundred twenty-four-a of this title, or relevant and reasonably related to the subject of the report being allowed to have regular and substantial contact with children who are cared for by a provider agency, or relevant and reasonably related to the approval or disapproval of an application submitted by the subject of the report to a licensing agency, as defined by subdivision four of section four hundred twenty-four-a of this title.
(iii) If it is determined at the review held pursuant to this paragraph [(a)] that there is [no credible] not a fair preponderance of evidence in the record to find that the subject committed an act or acts of child abuse or maltreatment, the [department] office of children and family services shall amend the record to indicate that the report is "unfounded" and notify the subject forthwith.
(iv) If it is determined at the review held pursuant to this paragraph [(a)] that there is [some credible] a fair preponderance of evidence in the record to find that the subject committed such act or acts but that such act or acts could not be relevant and reasonably related to the employment of the subject by a provider agency or to the subject being allowed to have regular and substantial contact with children who are cared for by a provider agency or the approval or disapproval of an application which could be submitted by the subject to a licensing agency, the [department] office of children and family services shall be precluded from informing a provider or licensing agency which makes an inquiry to [the department] such office pursuant to the provisions of
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