What's happening
This bill requires social services to notify attorneys and the child's attorney about foster care placement changes and reports of maltreatment.
Why it matters
Improves transparency and accountability. By requiring social services to notify all parties’ attorneys and the child’s attorney about changes in foster care placement and confirmed reports of abuse or maltreatment, the bill helps ensure everyone involved is informed and can advocate for the child’s best interest.
Promotes timely advocacy and intervention. Mandatory advance notice (10 days, or next business day in emergencies) gives attorneys a chance to respond to placement changes, potentially preventing harmful disruptions or inappropriate placements.
Enhances child safety oversight. Attorneys will be notified not only about placement changes but also about maltreatment reports involving the child or other children in the same home, offering an additional safeguard against repeated or ongoing abuse.
Protects confidentiality while sharing critical information. The bill sets rules for keeping sensitive information (like foster parent identities and addresses) confidential and limits the use and disclosure of abuse/maltreatment reports, balancing privacy with the need for transparency in legal proceedings.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Notify on Foster Child Moves
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Chapter 732
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.297
- Substituted for A7974
- Referred to codes
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 54–7
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.952
Show 1 earlier action
- 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.
Notify Placement Changes, Report Abuse
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Diana Richardson
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6215
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 23, 2019
Introduced by Sen. MONTGOMERY -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the family court act and the social services law, in relation to notice of indicated reports of child maltreatment and changes of placement in child protective and voluntary foster care placement and review proceedings; and to repeal certain provisions of the family court act, in relation to technical changes thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 1017 of the family court act is amended by adding a new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
5. In any case in which an order has been issued pursuant to this article remanding or placing a child in the custody of the local social services district, the social services official or authorized agency charged with custody or care of the child shall report any anticipated change in placement to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child not later than ten days prior to such change in any case in which the child is moved from the foster home or program into which he or she has been placed or in which the foster parents move out of state with the child; provided, however, that where an immediate change of placement on an emergency basis is required, the report shall be transmitted no later than the next business day after such change in placement has been made. The social services official or authorized agency shall also submit a report to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child or include in the placement change report any indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment concerning the child or (if a person or persons caring for the child is or are the subject of the report) another child in the same home within five days of the indication of the report. The official or agency may protect the confidentiality of identifying or address information regarding the foster or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10897-01-9
S. 6215 2
prospective adoptive parents. Reports regarding indicated reports of child abuse or maltreatment provided pursuant to this subdivision shall include a statement advising recipients that the information in such report of child abuse or maltreatment shall be kept confidential, shall be used only in connection with a proceeding under this article or related proceedings under this act and may not be redisclosed except as necessary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by law. Reports under this paragraph may be transmitted by any appropriate means, including, but not limited to, by electronic means or placement on the record during proceedings in family court.
§ 2. Subparagraph (E) of paragraph (i) of subdivision (b) of section 1055 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 41 of the laws of 2010, is REPEALED.
§ 3. Section 1055 of the family court act is amended by adding a new subdivision (j) to read as follows:
(j) In any case in which an order has been issued pursuant to this section placing a child in the custody or care of the commissioner of social services, the social services official or authorized agency charged with custody of the child shall report any anticipated change in placement to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child not later than ten days prior to such change in any case in which the child is moved from the foster home or program into which he or she has been placed or in which the foster parents move out of state with the child; provided, however, that where an immediate change of placement on an emergency basis is required, the report shall be transmitted no later than the next business day after such change in placement has been made. The social services official or authorized agency shall also submit a report to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child or include in the placement change report any indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment concerning the child or (if a person or persons caring for the child is or are the subject of the report) another child in the same home within five days of the indication of the report. The official or agency may protect the confidentiality of identifying or address information regarding the foster or prospective adoptive parents. Reports regarding indicated reports of child abuse or maltreatment provided pursuant to this subdivision shall include a statement advising recipients that the information in such report of child abuse or maltreatment shall be kept confidential, shall be used only in connection with a proceeding under this article or related proceedings under this act and may not be redisclosed except as necessary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by law. Reports under this paragraph may be transmitted by any appropriate means, including, but not limited to, by electronic means or placement on the record during proceedings in family court.
§ 4. Subparagraph (vii) of paragraph 2 of subdivision (d) of section 1089 of the family court act is amended by adding a new clause (H) to read as follows:
(H) a direction that the social services official or authorized agency charged with care and custody or guardianship and custody of the child, as applicable, report any anticipated change in placement to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child not later than ten days prior to such change in any case in which the child is moved from the foster home or program into which he or she has been placed or in which the foster parents move out of state with the child; provided, however, that where an immediate change of placement on an emergency basis is required, the report shall be transmitted no later than the
S. 6215 3
next business day after such change in placement has been made. The social services official or authorized agency shall also submit a report to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child or include in the placement change report any indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment concerning the child or (if a person or persons caring for the child is or are the subject of the report) another child in the same home within five days of the indication of the report. The official or agency may protect the confidentiality of identifying or address information regarding the foster or prospective adoptive parents. Reports under this paragraph shall not be sent to attorneys for birth parents whose parental rights have been terminated or who have surrendered their child or children. Reports regarding indicated reports of child abuse or maltreatment provided pursuant to this subdivision shall include a statement advising recipients that the information in such report of child abuse or maltreatment shall be kept confidential, shall be used only in connection with a proceeding under this article or related proceedings under this act and may not be redisclosed except as necessary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by law. Reports under this paragraph may be transmitted by any appropriate means including, but not limited to, by electronic means or placement on the record during proceedings in family court; and
§ 5. Subdivision 3 of section 358-a of the social services law is amended by adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:
(g) In any case in which an order has been issued pursuant to this section approving a foster care placement instrument, the social services official or authorized agency charged with custody or care of the child shall report any anticipated change in placement to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child not later than ten days prior to such change in any case in which the child is moved from the foster home or program into which he or she has been placed or in which the foster parents move out of state with the child; provided, however, that where an immediate change of placement on an emergency basis is required, the report shall be transmitted no later than the next business day after such change in placement has been made. The social services official or authorized agency shall also submit a report to the attorneys for the parties and the attorney for the child or include in the placement change report any indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment concerning the child or (if a person or persons caring for the child is or are the subject of the report) another child in the same home within five days of the indication of the report. The official or agency may protect the confidentiality of identifying or address information regarding the foster or prospective adoptive parents. Reports regarding indicated reports of child abuse or maltreatment provided pursuant to this subdivision shall include a statement advising recipients that the information in such report of child abuse or maltreatment shall be kept confidential, shall be used only in connection with a proceeding under this section or related proceedings under the family court act and may not be redisclosed except as necessary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by law. Reports under this paragraph may be transmitted by any appropriate means including, but not limited to, by electronic means or placement on the record during proceedings in family court.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that sections one, three, four and five of this act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that section two of this act shall be deemed to have taken effect on
S. 6215 4
the same date as section 1 of chapter 342 of the laws of 2010, took effect. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
REPEAL NOTE: Subparagraph (E) of paragraph (i) of subdivision (b) of
section 1055 of the family court act, as amended by section 67 of chap-
ter 41 of the laws of 2010, contains language inconsistent with language
in chapter 342 of the laws of 2010.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the family court act and the social services law, in relation to notice of indicated reports of child maltreatment and changes of placement in child protective and voluntary foster care placement and review proceedings; and to repeal certain provisions of the family court act, in relation to technical changes thereto
This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of his Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee.
In response to legislative developments on both the State and Federal levels, This measure would amend provisions of the Family Court Act and the Social Services Law to ensure that parties to child protective and voluntary foster care placement and review proceedings, and the attor- neys for affected children, are promptly informed of any changes in placement and of any indicated reports of maltreatment that may warrant court intervention.
Read the full memo (1,458 words)
Family Court's ongoing oversight responsibility with respect to children in foster care has increased sharply in the past two decades. This is in response to passage of the Federal Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-89), its state implementing legislation (L.1999, c. 7), the landmark New York State permanency law (L.2005, c. 3) and, most recently, the Federal Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Fami- lies Act (Public Law 113-183). Both the Federal and State Adoption and Safe Families Acts emphasize that a child's safety is paramount, which surely requires that the Court and parties be informed promptly of all events affecting child safety, especially indicated reports of abuse or maltreatment. Recognizing that children in foster care are at signif- icant risk of becoming victims of human trafficking, Public Law 113-183 reinforces this conclusion, in particular, with respect to children who abscond.
Just as important, the Federal ASFA measures success in terms of outcomes, i.e., the states' ability to reach Federally-established targets for timely achievement of permanency for children. Both the second and third "Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSR's)," conducted by the Administration for Children and Families of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2008 and 2015, respec- tively, concluded that New York had among the lowest scores in the nation and demonstrated how far the State must progress to achieve Federal targets. Legislative action is thus necessary to ensure that Family Courts can exercise their important monitoring functions on the basis of complete, timely information. The 2005 permanency legislation, with its salutary provisions for continuing jurisdiction, was an impor- tant step, but further legislation is necessary. It is needed to ensure that information regarding the most compelling of circumstances is conveyed to the court, the child's attorney and the parties on a timely basis in order to bring the State into compliance with ASFA.
Recognizing that "time is of the essence" where children are concerned, this measure would ensure that the parties and children's attorneys are informed promptly of any changes in placement and of any indicated reports of maltreatment that may warrant court intervention. The meas- ure would amend sections 1055 and 1089 of the Family Court Act, as well as section 358-a of the Social Services Law, to require an agency with which a child has been placed, either voluntarily or as a result of an abuse or neglect finding, or to whom guardianship and custody has been transferred as a result of the child being freed for adoption, to report to the attorney for the child not later than ten days in advance of any change in the child's placement status and not later than the next busi- ness day in any case in which an emergency placement change has been made. These provisions are consistent with policy directives of the State Office of Children and Family Services and the New York City Administration for Children's Services, but would have the stronger force of statute.
The measure adds two important requirements not contained in State or City agency policies. First, it requires a report within five days of the date that any report of abuse or maltreatment is found to be indi- cated. Indicated reports include those naming the child and, where the subjects of the reports involve the person or persons caring for the child, reports naming other children in the home. It contains an impor- tant proviso that such reports notify the recipients that the informa- tion shall be kept confidential, shall be used only in connection with the child protective, foster care or related proceedings under the Fami- ly Court Act and may not be re-disclosed except as necessary for such proceeding or proceedings and as authorized by law. Second, recognizing that fairness also dictates that such notifications be made to the attorneys for all parties, not simply the attorneys for the children, the measure requires that, except in cases involving children freed for adoption, both notices of changes in placement and indicated child maltreatment reports be conveyed to attorneys for the birth parents. The two types of reports, in fact, are related, as the existence of an indi- cated report of maltreatment may bear directly upon the suitability of a planned status change. Indeed, there have been instances in which the existence of indicated child abuse reports has not come to light until the point of finalization of adoptions.
Significantly, this measure is fully responsive to concerns raised in the Governor's Veto Message regarding A 8418, a bill requiring notifica- tion to children's attorneys of changes in placement that passed both houses of the Legislature in 2010. First, by explicitly authorizing electronic transmittal of the notices, the measure minimizes the burden imposed upon the placement agencies. Second, since the notifications are sent to the attorneys but not to the courts, the measure insures that court intervention would only occur in the rare cases in which an appli- cation is made by one of the attorneys.
In few areas of Family Court's functioning is its continuing jurisdic- tion as critical as in child welfare, where complex decisions regarding children must be adjusted to the dynamic of their constantly changing needs and circumstances. Federal and State statutes emphasize that a child's safety must be the paramount consideration, and that timely achievement of permanence must be the central goal. Not only are these matters of statutory imperative, but they are also determinative of the State's eligibility for over $500 million in annual Federal foster care aid. Prompt receipt by the court, the parties and attorneys for children of information regarding a child's ever-changing circumstances, both as to any maltreatment suffered by the child and as to changes in the child's placement, is vital to effective exercise of Family Court's continuing jurisdiction and is critical to the State's ability to comply with the ASFA funding eligibility mandates. Changes in placement covered by the notification requirement would include, but not be limited to, cases in which a child has been moved from the foster or pre-adoptive home or program into which he or she has been placed, cases in which the foster or pre-adoptive parents move out of state with the child and, with respect to children not freed for adoption, cases in which a trial or final discharge of the child from foster care has been made. The report of a change in placement must provide enough information for the litigants and Family Court to assess whether further judicial intervention may be warranted. It must state the reasons for the change, as well as grounds for the agency's conclu- sion that change is in the best interests of the child. This notifica- tion requirement does not contemplate court action in every case; nor does it interfere with the discretion of social services agencies to make necessary changes.
Both the Adoption and Safe Families Act and permanency legislation increased the frequency of judicial reviews of children in foster care, thus minimizing the problem of stale information. However, a Family Court's ability, and that of the litigants before it, to respond effec- tively is seriously impeded - and harm to children may be compounded - if information regarding significant changes in a child's status, and, importantly, an indicated report of neglect or abuse of the child, is not conveyed to parties until the next permanency hearing - often a delay of several months. This measure will facilitate timely, informed responses to changes in children's placements and incidents of maltreat- ment, thus prompting more expeditious and effective resolution of their cases.
This measure would generally take effect immediately, albeit most provisions would take effect 120 days after the measure becomes law.
2017-18 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Senate 4763 (Sen. Avella) (Rules)
Assembly 7558 (M. of A. Richardson) (3rd Rdg., Cal 527)
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.