What's happening
This bill requires the Office of Children and Family Services to immediately notify local child protective services if a subject of an abuse allegation operates a child care facility or is a known sex offender or prior abuser.
Why it matters
Improves Safety for Children in Care Facilities. By requiring immediate notification when an abuse allegation involves someone operating a licensed or publicly funded child care facility, the bill helps ensure that authorities can quickly intervene in situations where multiple children may be at risk.
Addresses Repeat and High-Risk Offenders. The bill mandates notification if anyone named in a report is a known sex offender or has a prior indicated report of abuse or neglect, enabling child protective services to prioritize and respond more urgently to cases involving individuals with a history of dangerous behavior.
Enhances Local CPS Response. By providing local child protective services with more detailed information at the outset—including connections to child care operations and offender status—the law aims to empower CPS to conduct more informed and effective investigations, potentially preventing further harm.
Closes Gaps in Communication. The amendment seeks to eliminate delays or oversights in sharing critical risk information between state and local agencies, helping prevent situations where vulnerable children might remain exposed to previously identified abusers due to lack of timely data sharing.
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Who cares
Office of Children and Family Services
The bill would require the office to immediately determine specified child care facility ties, known sex offender status and prior indicated abuse or neglect reports, and notify local child protective services when transmitting a report.
Local child protective services
Investigators would receive notice when an allegation concerns an operator of a covered child care facility or when anyone named in the report is a known sex offender or previously the subject of an indicated abuse or neglect report.
Child care facility operators
Operators of licensed or registered facilities, and similar facilities receiving funding under title five-C of article six of the Social Services Law, would have that status flagged to local investigators if they are subjects of abuse or maltreatment allegations.
Headline styles
Alert Child Services Faster
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
607
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. GALLIVAN -- 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 transmitting certain information to the local child protective services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social services law, as amended by chapter 357 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The central register shall be capable of receiving telephone calls alleging child abuse or maltreatment and of immediately identifying prior reports of child abuse or maltreatment and capable of monitoring the provision of child protective service twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. To effectuate this purpose, but subject to the provisions of the appropriate local plan for the provision of child protective services, there shall be a single statewide telephone number that all persons, whether mandated by the law or not, may use to make telephone calls alleging child abuse or maltreatment and that all persons so authorized by this title may use for determining the existence of prior reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a child. In addition to the single statewide telephone number, there shall be a special unlisted express telephone number and a telephone facsimile number for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone calls, or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the commissioner of children and family services, alleging child abuse or maltreatment, and for use by all persons so authorized by this title for determining the existence of prior reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse or maltreatment, such allegations and any previous reports to the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02713-01-9
S. 607 2
central registry involving the subject of such report or children named in such report, including any previous report containing allegations of child abuse and maltreatment alleged to have occurred in other counties and districts in New York state shall be immediately transmitted orally or electronically by the office of children and family services to the appropriate local child protective service for investigation. The inability of the person calling the register to identify the alleged perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the register to reject such allegation or fail to transmit such allegation for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report concerning a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a sibling, other children in the household, other persons named in the report or other pertinent information, the appropriate local child protective service shall be immediately notified of the fact. If the report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused child described in paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section one thousand twelve of the family court act or sexual abuse of a child or the death of a child or (ii) suspected maltreatment which alleges any physical harm when the report is made by a person required to report pursuant to section four hundred thirteen of this title within six months of any other two reports that were indicated, or may still be pending, involving the same child, sibling, or other children in the household or the subject of the report, the office of children and family services shall identify the report as such and note any prior reports when transmitting the report to the local child protective services for investigation. The office of children and family services shall immediately determine and then notify the appropriate local child protective services if a subject of an allegation of child abuse or maltreatment is the operator of a licensed or registered child care facility, or any similar facility that receives funding pursuant to title five-C of article six of this chapter, or if any person named in a report is a known sex offender or to have previously been the subject of an indicated report of abuse or neglect. Such notice to the local child protective services shall take place at the time that the office of children and family services transmits the report of suspected child abuse or neglect required by this subdivision.
§ 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 transmitting certain information to the local child protective services
Purpose
This bill would require the Office of Children and Family Services to determine and then notify the appropriate local child protective services if the subject of an allegation of child abuse or maltreatment is the operator of a licensed day care or similar facility or if any person named in a report is a known sex offender or has previously been the subject of an indicated report of abuse or neglect.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends section 422 of the Social Services Law to require the Office of Children and Family Services to determine and then notify the appropriate local child protective services agency if the subject of an allegation of child abuse or maltreatment is the operator of a licensed day care or similar facility or if any person named in a report is a known sex offender or has previously been the subject of an indicated report of abuse or neglect. This information would be transmitted to the local child protective services agency with the report for investi- gation.
Section 2 states that this act shall take effect immediately.
Justification
In addition to operating the statewide central register, the Office of Child and Family Services also licenses and registers childcare provid- ers. Often, the operator of a childcare facility will be the subject of an allegation of child abuse or neglect and the local child protective services agency is unaware. This bill requires the Office of Child and Family Services to inform the local child protective services agency if a subject of an allegation of child abuse or maltreatment is the opera- tor of a childcare facility. This bill also requires the Office of Child and Family Services to notify the local child protective services agency if any person named in the report is a known sex offender or has previously been the subject of an indicated report of abuse or neglect. This is critical information that the local child protective services agency should have at the start of their investigation.
Legislative history
2017-18: S.1981/A.2877 Passed Senate/Referred to Children and Families 2015-16: S.398/A.3118 Passed Senate/Referred to Children and Families 2013-14: S.7044/A.9919 Referred to Children and Families/Referred to Children and Families
Fiscal implications
Minimal.
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.