Establishes a council on children and families within the executive department; moves such council from the office of children and family services; defines terms; authorizes the governor to designate the executive director of such council; makes related provisions.
Allows the court to enter an order regarding a destitute minor freeing the child for adoption and granting guardianship and custody to the commissioner of social services for the purposes of consenting to an adoption; authorizes certain commissioners of public welfare and city public welfare officers to consent to such adoptions.
Requires child protective services to orally and in writing disclose certain information to parents and caretakers who are the subject of a child protective services investigation; requires such oral and written disclosure to contain certain information regarding the rights of the person under investigation.
Amends procedures required for the custodial interrogation of children to provide additional protections and for taking juveniles and sixteen and seventeen year olds into custody.
Relates to establishing a program for financial transitional living services for foster children; establishes independent development savings accounts for foster children over the age of 16; requires foster children to attend financial literacy and independent living classes.
Includes organizations and programs that provide community based services to individuals under twenty-one in the definition of provider or provider agency regarding the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment.
Relates to reporting of youth placed in foster care settings and recruitment of foster parents; requires information including the total number of youth placed in foster care, the reasons why such youth were placed and the efforts the state has taken to recruit and retain foster parents; repeals provisions relating to directing the office of children and family services to make information publicly available on the number of youth placed in foster care settings and recruitment of foster parents and the effectiveness thereof.
Establishes the independent office of the child advocate to ensure the protection and promotion of the rights of children in the care of any state agency or local social services district.
Establishes the mandatory reporting of child abuse and maltreatment task force to examine, evaluate, and make recommendations concerning the child welfare system and the mandatory reporting of child abuse and maltreatment; requires the task force to submit a report to the legislature; sets forth the duties of the members of the task force.
Relates to enacting the "safe landings for youth leaving foster care act" or "safe landings act", which provides protections for youth transitioning out of foster care who bring certain legal proceedings.
Relates to the establishment of a waiver for child care learning pods; provides that unlicensed and unregulated child care learning pods may operate if there are otherwise no violations of laws or codes, rules, and regulations of New York and such child care learning pod is compliant with the local laws, codes, rules, and regulations of such local municipality in which they are located and operated; provides for civil penalty for violations.
Relates to the discovery provisions applicable to juvenile delinquency proceedings in family court with regard to the timing of discovery, disclosure prior to certain guilty pleas, DNA evidence, court orders, and the admissibility of discovery.