What's happening
This bill allows civil penalties and public disclosure for knowingly making false reports of child abuse or maltreatment, while protecting good-faith reporters.
Why it matters
Creates significant financial consequences for knowingly making false child abuse or maltreatment reports. , with escalating civil penalties ($5,000 for the first and $10,000 for each subsequent offense), aiming to deter malicious or retaliatory accusations.
Establishes due process protections for the accused. , including the right to a hearing before a neutral fact finder, legal representation, and the opportunity to present and challenge evidence—ensuring penalties are not imposed without a fair process.
Authorizes public disclosure of the identity of individuals found to have intentionally made false reports. , removing confidentiality protections for these individuals, which could serve as a further deterrent and inform affected parties, but also raises privacy and reputational concerns.
Explicitly protects those who report in good faith from liability and maintains their confidentiality. , reinforcing that the law targets only intentional false reporters and seeks not to discourage legitimate reporting of suspected child abuse or maltreatment.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Fine False Child Abuse Reports
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to children and families
- Referred to children and families
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1542
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2019
Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- 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 false allegations of suspected child abuse and maltreatment
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 422 of the social services law is amended by adding a new subdivision 15 to read as follows:
15. (a) In addition to criminal penalties authorized by article two hundred forty of the penal law, the office of children and family services, or local child protective services acting through its commissioner, may seek a civil penalty against any person who by word or action knowingly or willfully makes a report to the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment or makes a report to any person required to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment pursuant to section four hundred thirteen of this title knowing that the person is required to report such case, of an alleged occurrence of child abuse or maltreatment which said person knew did not in fact occur or exist.
(b) The maximum civil penalty shall be five thousand dollars for the first occurrence and ten thousand dollars for each subsequent occurrence. Each false report constitutes a separate violation.
(c) If the office of children and family services or local child protective services alleges that a person has made a false report with the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment, the office or service must notify such person that a hearing will be held to determine if a violation of paragraph (a) of this subdivision has occurred. The person shall be given a full statement of the allegations against him or her, a notice that a hearing will be held in front of a neutral fact finder who shall be appointed by the office of children and family services or the local child protective services, that they have a right to be represented by counsel, to present evidence and to cross-ex-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02772-01-9
S. 1542 2
amine any witnesses against them and the right to appeal any decision through a fair hearing. A full record of any proceeding shall be made. Notice of such allegations and of the hearing shall be served upon any such person by personal service, by prominently placing such notice upon the person's door and mailing the notice by first class mail, or through certified mail, return receipt requested to the person's last known address. The office or district must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation of paragraph (a) of this subdivision occurred.
(d) In determining the amount of fine to be imposed, if any, the following factors shall be considered:
(i) The gravity of the violation, including the probability that serious physical or emotional harm to any person will result or has resulted, the severity of the actual or potential harm, and the nature of the false allegation.
(ii) Actions taken by the false reporter to retract the false report as an element of mitigation, or, in contrast, to encourage an investigation on the basis of false information.
(iii) Any previous false reports filed by the same individual.
(e) A person who is determined to have filed a false report of abuse or maltreatment is not entitled to confidentiality otherwise required for all information contained in the central register. Subsequent to the conclusion of all proceedings where it is determined that a false report was filed, the name of the false reporter and the nature of the false report may be made public in whole or in part. Such information shall be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding.
(f) Any person making a report who is acting in good faith is immune from any liability under this section and shall continue to be entitled to have the confidentiality of their identity maintained.
§ 2. 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 false allega- tions of suspected child abuse and maltreatment
Purpose
This bill establishes a civil penalty against a person who intentionally makes a false report of an alleged occurrence of child abuse or maltreatment.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: amends section 422 of the Social Services Law by adding a new subdivision 15 to allow the Office of Children and Family Services or a local child protective services to seek, and for a hearing officer to impose, a fine, not to exceed $5,000 for a first violation and up to $10,000 for a second and subsequent violations upon a person who know- ingly and willfully makes a false report of abuse or maltreatment of a child, or a person who counsels another to make a false report. In addi- tion, this section creates a process for that fine to be imposed.
Section 2: Effective Date.
Justification
A significant portion of reports to the Statewide Central Register are determined to be "unfounded." A major contributing factor to this is intentional false reports to the state central registry. These false reports are thought to often be from persons:
*Who make false reports maliciously and with intent to harass, embar- rass, or harm another person;
*Who seek a personal benefit, including in some instances a financial benefits the result of a false report;
*Who seek an advantage in a legal proceeding such as a custody, divorce or child abuse or neglect proceeding.
In addition a number of false reports are believed to come from the same person who makes repeated false reports. These events cause resources to needlessly be spent investigating these allegations, reduces the time workers can spend on legitimate reports and unnecessarily harms people who are named in a report including the child, children or vulnerable person who must be interviewed as part of an investigation.
The current level of penalties is not sufficient to create deterrence from false reporting of incidents of abuse and neglect of a child or vulnerable person. The potential imposition of a civil penalty that may be commenced by the office of children and families or by a local child protective service that can be enforced through administrative processes will create a greater deterrent and more effective enforcement method than is now available in the Section 240.50 of the penal law.
This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of the Erie County Executive upon the recommendation of the county's Commissioner of Social Services to improve the provision of child protective services to New York's children and families.
Legislative history
2013-14: S.7128/A.9436 REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES 2015-16 S.2121/A.3025 REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES 2017-18: S.2987/A.2355 REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
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.