S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2582

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 20, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  PEOPLES-STOKES, SCHIMMINGER -- read once and
  referred to the Committee on Children and Families

AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to transmitting the
  history of record of all previous reports and previous calls including
  records of calls not accepted for local district investigation to  the
  central  register  to  the appropriate local child protective services
  for investigation

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, 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

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01721-01-5
              

A. 2582                             2

such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse
or maltreatment, such  allegations  and  any  previous  reports  to  the
central  registry involving the subject of such report or children named
in  such  report,  INCLUDING  RECORDS  OF  CALLS  NOT ACCEPTED FOR LOCAL
DISTRICT INVESTIGATION, AND 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 fami-
ly services to the appropriate local child protective service for inves-
tigation.  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 appro-
priate 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 fami-
ly services shall identify the report as such and note any prior reports
when transmitting the report to the local child protective services  for
investigation.
  S  2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
the date on which it shall have become a law.