Directs the office of children and family services to establish a center for fatherhood initiatives to issue grants to any and all initiatives regarding the promotion and advancement of fatherhood, including but not limited to all marginalized fatherhood groups to help expand opportunities to improve parenting knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy.
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 the establishment of a non-traditional hours model; provides that the office of children and family services shall: create a non-traditional hours model within a year, publish its findings on its website, and conduct a review of child care providers and centers that use such model.
Removes certain requirements on what the office of children and family services can determine to be an appropriate staff/child ratios for family day care homes, group family day care homes, school age day care programs and day care centers.
Expands the right to assistance of counsel to include respondents in guardianship proceedings and kinship caregivers in custody and guardianship proceedings.
Authorizes the fingerprinting of employees of informal child care providers; defines terms; provides that an informal child care provider means a program in a facility, other than a residence, in which child care is provided on a regular basis and is not required to be licensed by or registered with the office or licensed by the city of New York.
Relates to a study of the number of children in foster care who have a developmental disability; provides such study shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following: assessing the demographics of the children in foster care with a developmental disability, including, but not limited to, their county of residence, age, race and gender identity, and determining whether the placement of such individuals in foster care was voluntary or court ordered; evaluating the current guidelines and regulations used to oversee the placement and treatment of children with a developmental disability; and analyzing the extent to which such age-appropriate children are prepared for a transition from foster care to an independent living situation.
Allows previous investigations in which the subject was indicated for child abuse or maltreatment using a credible evidence standard and in which the subject of the report is a victim of domestic violence and the sole basis for such report is that such subject failed to provide adequate guardianship due to engaging in acts of domestic violence to be re-examined using a fair preponderance of the evidence standard.
Requires a caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the central registry to leave their name and contact information; prohibits the office of children and family services from releasing information identifying a person who made such a report.
Establishes standards for caseloads for child protective services workers; requires the state to pay for one hundred percent of the costs associated with compliance of such caseload standard; makes related provisions.
Relates to chemical testing for prospective foster parents; includes, but is not limited to drug and alcohol testing; authorizes office of children and family services to issue random chemical testing, including but not limited to, drug testing, to foster parents.