STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4141 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- 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 expanding the persons responsible for reporting cases of suspected child abuse to include employees, volunteers, or agents of any corporate entity having an agreement with a municipality as a homeless shelter provider and the development of procedures related thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social 2 services law, as amended by chapter 733 of the laws of 2023, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or 5 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have 6 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their 7 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or 8 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or 9 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person 10 legally responsible for such child comes before them in their profes- 11 sional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge facts, 12 conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an 13 abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician assist- 14 ant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygienist; 15 osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern; 16 psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni- 17 cian; licensed creative arts therapist; licensed marriage and family 18 therapist; licensed mental health counselor; licensed psychoanalyst; 19 licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant; hospi- 20 tal personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment 21 of persons; a Christian Science practitioner; school official, which 22 includes but is not limited to school teacher, school guidance counse- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07723-01-5
S. 4141 2 1 lor, school psychologist, school social worker, school nurse, school 2 administrator or other school personnel required to hold a teaching or 3 administrative license or certificate; full or part-time compensated 4 school employee required to hold a temporary coaching license or profes- 5 sional coaching certificate; social services worker; employee of a publ- 6 icly-funded emergency shelter for families with children; director of a 7 children's overnight camp, summer day camp or traveling summer day camp, 8 as such camps are defined in section thirteen hundred ninety-two of the 9 public health law; day care center worker; school-age child care worker; 10 provider of family or group family day care; employee or volunteer in a 11 residential care facility for children that is licensed, certified or 12 operated by the office of children and family services; or any other 13 child care or foster care worker; mental health professional; substance 14 abuse counselor; alcoholism counselor; all persons credentialed by the 15 office of [alcoholism and substance abuse] addiction services and 16 supports; employees, who are expected to have regular and substantial 17 contact with children, of a health home or health home care management 18 agency contracting with a health home as designated by the department of 19 health and authorized under section three hundred sixty-five-l of this 20 chapter or such employees who provide home and community based services 21 under a demonstration program pursuant to section eleven hundred fifteen 22 of the federal social security act who are expected to have regular and 23 substantial contact with children; peace officer; police officer; 24 district attorney or assistant district attorney; investigator employed 25 in the office of a district attorney; or other law enforcement official; 26 or employees, volunteers, or agents of any corporate entity having an 27 agreement with a municipality as a homeless shelter provider. 28 § 2. Subdivision 5-a of section 488 of the social services law, as 29 amended by chapter 205 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as 30 follows: 31 5-a. "Human services professional" shall mean any: physician; regis- 32 tered physician assistant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; 33 dental hygienist; osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; 34 resident; intern; psychologist; registered nurse; licensed practical 35 nurse; nurse practitioner; social worker; emergency medical technician; 36 licensed creative arts therapist; licensed marriage and family thera- 37 pist; licensed mental health counselor; licensed psychoanalyst; licensed 38 behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant; licensed 39 speech/language pathologist or audiologist; licensed physical therapist; 40 licensed occupational therapist; hospital personnel engaged in the 41 admission, examination, care or treatment of persons; Christian Science 42 practitioner; school official, which includes but is not limited to 43 school teacher, school guidance counselor, school psychologist, school 44 social worker, school nurse, school administrator or other school 45 personnel required to hold a teaching or administrative license or 46 certificate; full or part-time compensated school employee required to 47 hold a temporary coaching license or professional coaching certificate; 48 social services worker; any other child care or foster care worker; 49 mental health professional; person credentialed by the office of [alco- 50 holism and substance abuse] addiction services and supports; peace offi- 51 cer; police officer; district attorney or assistant district attorney; 52 investigator employed in the office of a district attorney; or other law 53 enforcement official; employees, volunteers and agents of any corporate 54 agent having an agreement with a municipality as a homeless shelter 55 provider.
S. 4141 3 1 § 3. Section 413 of the social services law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 7 to read as follows: 3 7. Any person, institution or corporate agent having an agreement with 4 a municipality as a homeless shelter provider which employs persons who 5 are mandated to report suspected incidents of child abuse or maltreat- 6 ment pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall develop, maintain 7 and disseminate written policies and procedures pursuant to this title 8 and applicable provisions of article ten of the family court act, 9 regarding the mandatory reporting of child abuse or neglect, reporting 10 procedures and obligations of persons required to report, provisions for 11 taking a child into protective custody, mandatory reporting of deaths, 12 immunity from liability, penalties for failure to report, and obli- 13 gations for the provision of services and procedures necessary to safe- 14 guard the life or health of the child; and establish, and implement on 15 an ongoing basis, a training program for all current and new employees 16 regarding the policies and procedures established pursuant to this 17 subdivision. 18 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 19 if chapter 733 of the laws of 2023 shall not have taken effect on or 20 before such date then section one of this act shall take effect on the 21 same date and in the same manner as such chapter of the laws of 2023, 22 takes effect.