What's happening
This bill raises the standard of proof for child abuse or maltreatment reports from "some credible evidence" to "a fair preponderance of evidence."
Why it matters
Raises the threshold for substantiating child abuse or maltreatment reports, making it harder for authorities to indicate a report based on minimal evidence. This could reduce the number of families investigated or listed in the State Central Register unless there is stronger proof.
Aims to protect families from the consequences of being labeled as abusers or maltreaters based on limited or ambiguous evidence. This is significant because indicated reports can have long-term impacts on employment, custody, and reputation, even if the allegations are not robustly supported.
May shift the balance between child protection and family rights. While potentially reducing unnecessary or mistaken government intervention in families’ lives, it could also raise concerns about whether higher proof standards might delay or prevent necessary child protections in ambiguous or early-stage cases.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Raise Child Abuse Proof Standard
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
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5573
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 7, 2019
Introduced by Sen. MONTGOMERY -- 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 standard of proof for unfounded and indicated reports of abuse or 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. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11537-01-9
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 standard of proof for unfounded and indicated reports of abuse or maltreatment
Purpose
These amendments will bring the Social Services Law and investigation of indicated reports in line with the preponderance of the evidence stand- ard used by Family Courts to determine whether or not a person has committed neglect/abuse based on the underlying allegations of maltreat- ment which are the subject of said indicated reports. This amendment will help reduce the disproportionate impact of the determinations of indicated reports on families and children of color and help to achieve more strength-based and positive outcomes for families.
Summary of provisions
Section one of this bill amends the definition of what constitutes an indicated report or unfounded report; (2) requires officials investigat- ing suspected cases of maltreatment in New York to weigh all available evidence to determine whether as a whole, the evidence requires that the report be indicated using the preponderance of the evidence standard and not the credible evidence standard; (3) requires upon a request for administrative review by the State Central Register, that the reviewing officers find that the report should be indicated by way of weighing all available evidence and finding that there is a fair preponderance of the evidence to support the indicated report on file; and (4) requires upon a request for a fair hearing at the Office for Children and Family Services, that the standard used to determine if there was in fact maltreatment, is a fair preponderance of the evidence.
JUSTIFICATION
Under current law, a case has to be indicated if there is "some credible evidence" of abuse or neglect. This is the lowest standard of proof -- far lower than used in other settings and in the vast majority of other states. New York's highest court has said that the current standard is a "bare minimum" standard that "imposes no duty on the fact finder to weigh conflicting evidence, no matter how substantial, and allows a report to be indicated if only one out of several believable items of evidence supports it." Matter of Lee 77, 87 N.Y.2d 699 (1996).
This bill brings New York State's standard into line with due process and the majority of states by adopting the preponderance of evidence standard, which requires weighing all available evidence to determine whether the evidence supports an indication or not.
Fiscal implications
Revenue Neutral/Potential Revenue Savings
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.