STATE OF NEW YORK
6625
IN SENATE
March 22, 2002
Introduced by Sens. SALAND, SKELOS, BALBONI, BONACIC, BRUNO, DeFRANCIS-
CO, FUSCHILLO, HOFFMANN, JOHNSON, LACK, MEIER, NOZZOLIO, SPANO, TRUNZO
-- 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 duty to
report child abuse or maltreatment to child protective services and
making technical corrections to such law
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 1 of section 412 of
2 the social services law, as separately amended by chapters 543 and 634
3 of the laws of 1988, are amended and a new paragraph (d) is added to
4 read as follows:
5 (b) a child under the age of eighteen years who is defined as an
6 abused child in residential care pursuant to subdivision eight of this
7 section; [or]
8 (c) a child with a handicapping condition, as defined in subdivision
9 one of section forty-four hundred one of the education law, who is eigh-
10 teen years of age or older, is in residential care in a school or facil-
11 ity described in paragraph (c), (d), (e) or (f) of subdivision seven of
12 this section, and is defined as an abused child pursuant to subdivision
13 eight of this section; provided that such term shall include a pupil
14 with a handicapping condition in residential care in such a school or
15 facility who is defined as an abused child pursuant to subdivision eight
16 of this section, is twenty-one years of age, and is entitled, pursuant
17 to subdivision five of section forty-four hundred two of the education
18 law, to remain in such school or facility until either the termination
19 of the school year or the termination of the summer program, as applica-
20 ble; or
21 (d) a child under the age of eighteen years upon whom a person, who is
22 not the parent or other person legally responsible for such child's
23 care:
24 (i) inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon such child physical injury
25 by other than accidental means which causes or creates a substantial
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15485-01-2
S. 6625 2
1 risk of death, or serious or protracted disfigurement, or protracted
2 impairment of physical or emotional health or protracted loss or impair-
3 ment of the function of any bodily organ, or
4 (ii) creates or allows to be created a substantial risk of physical
5 injury to such child by other than accidental means which would be like-
6 ly to cause death or serious or protracted disfigurement, or protracted
7 impairment of physical or emotional health or protracted loss or impair-
8 ment of the function of any bodily organ, or
9 (iii) commits, or allows to be committed an offense against such
10 child defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law; allows,
11 permits or encourages such child to engage in any act described in
12 sections 230.25, 230.30 and 230.32 of the penal law; commits any of the
13 acts described in section 255.25 of the penal law; or allows such child
14 to engage in acts or conduct described in article two hundred sixty-
15 three of the penal law;
16 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social services law, as
17 amended by chapter 432 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as
18 follows:
19 1. (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or
20 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
21 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their
22 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
23 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or
24 maltreated child where [the parent, guardian, custodian or] any other
25 person [legally responsible for such child] comes before them in their
26 professional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge
27 facts, conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the
28 child an abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician
29 assistant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygien-
30 ist; osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern;
31 psychologist; registered nurse; emergency medical technician; hospital
32 personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment of
33 persons; member of the clergy; a Christian Science practitioner; school
34 official; social services worker; day care center worker; provider of
35 family or group family day care; employee or volunteer in a residential
36 care facility defined in subdivision seven of section four hundred
37 twelve of this chapter or any other child care or foster care worker;
38 mental health professional; substance abuse counselor; alcoholism coun-
39 selor; peace officer; police officer; district attorney or assistant
40 district attorney; investigator employed in the office of a district
41 attorney; or other law enforcement official. Whenever such person is
42 required to report under this title in his or her capacity as a member
43 of the staff of a medical or other public or private institution,
44 school, facility or agency, he or she shall immediately notify the
45 person in charge of such institution, school, facility or agency, or his
46 or her designated agent, who then also shall become responsible to
47 report or cause reports to be made. However, nothing in this section or
48 title is intended to require more than one report from any such institu-
49 tion, school or agency. At the time of the making of a report, or at any
50 time thereafter, such person or official may exercise the right to
51 request, pursuant to paragraph (A) of subdivision four of section four
52 hundred twenty-two of this article, the findings of an investigation
53 made pursuant to this title or section 45.07 of the mental hygiene law.
54 (b) Unless the person confessing or confiding waives the privilege, a
55 member of the clergy, or other minister of any religion or duly accred-
56 ited Christian Science practitioner, shall not be required to make a
S. 6625 3
1 report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision if the
2 confession or confidence was made to him or her in his or her profes-
3 sional character as spiritual advisor.
4 (c) When a member of the clergy has reasonable cause to suspect that a
5 child is an abused or maltreated child based upon any information
6 received other than through a confession or confidence made pursuant to
7 paragraph (b) of this subdivision, then such member of the clergy shall
8 make a report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision notwith-
9 standing the fact that he or she may have also received a report of
10 abuse or maltreatment through a confession or confidence made pursuant
11 to paragraph (b) of this subdivision.
12 (d) The provisions of paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall not be
13 deemed to exempt a member of the clergy from any other requirements of
14 law to prevent the perpetrator from committing additional acts of abuse.
15 (e) Regardless of the date upon which the alleged abuse occurred, the
16 requirement to make a report concerning an abused child as defined in
17 paragraph (d) of subdivision one of section four hundred twelve of this
18 title shall apply to information concerning an abused child received by
19 a person described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision on or after, or
20 within five years prior to, the effective date of this paragraph.
21 (f) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to modify or limit
22 a member of the clergy's duty to report known or suspected child abuse
23 or maltreatment when the member of the clergy is acting in any capacity
24 other than set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision that would
25 otherwise make the member of the clergy a mandated reporter.
26 (g) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "member of the cler-
27 gy" shall have the same definition as the term "clergyman" as set forth
28 in section two of the religious corporations law.
29 § 3. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 422
30 of the social services law, as amended by chapter 555 of the laws of
31 2000, is amended to read as follows:
32 (v) to a district attorney, an assistant district attorney, an inves-
33 tigator employed in the office of a district attorney, or to a sworn
34 officer of the division of state police, of a city, county, town or
35 village police department or of a county sheriff's office when such
36 official verifies that the report is necessary to conduct an active
37 investigation or prosecution of a violation of subdivision [three] four
38 of section [240.55] 240.50 of the penal law.
39 § 4. Subparagraph (v) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 422
40 of the social services law, as amended by chapter 136 of the laws of
41 1999, is amended to read as follows:
42 (v) to a district attorney, an assistant district attorney, an inves-
43 tigator employed in the office of a district attorney, or to a sworn
44 officer of the division of state police, of a city, county, town or
45 village police department or of a county sheriff's office when such
46 official verifies that the report is necessary to conduct an active
47 investigation or prosecution of a violation of subdivision [three] four
48 of section [240.55] 240.50 of the penal law.
49 § 5. Subdivision 14 of section 422 of the social services law, as
50 added by chapter 477 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
51 14. The department shall refer suspected cases of falsely reporting
52 child abuse and maltreatment in violation of subdivision [three] four of
53 section [240.55] 240.50 of the penal law to the appropriate law enforce-
54 ment agency or district attorney.
55 § 6. Subdivision 8 of section 424 of the social services law, as added
56 by chapter 477 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
S. 6625 4
1 8. refer suspected cases of falsely reporting child abuse and
2 maltreatment in violation of subdivision [three] four of section
3 [240.55] 240.50 of the penal law to the appropriate law enforcement
4 agency or district attorney;
5 § 7. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
6 have become a law, provided that the amendments to subdivision 5 of
7 section 422 of the social services law, made by section three of this
8 act, shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivi-
9 sion pursuant to section 2 of chapter 555 of the laws of 2000, as
10 amended, when upon such date the provisions of section four of this act
11 shall take effect.
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