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

                                   753

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens. KENNEDY, AVELLA, BRESLIN, DILAN, ESPAILLAT -- 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 requiring child
  protective services to document home visits with photographs

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.    This  act shall be known and may be cited as "Marchella
Pierce's Law".
  S 2.  Subdivision 3 of section 421 of  the  social  services  law,  as
amended  by chapter 718 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (a) as amended by
chapter 110 of the laws of 1989 and the closing paragraph as amended  by
chapter 320 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
  3.  promulgate regulations setting forth requirements for the perform-
ance by local social services  departments  of  the  duties  and  powers
imposed  and  conferred upon them by the provisions of this title and of
article ten of the family court act. Such  regulations  shall  establish
uniform  requirements for the investigation of reports of child abuse or
maltreatment under this title. The department shall  also  issue  guide-
lines which shall set forth the circumstances or conditions under which:
  (a)  personal contact shall be made with the child named in the report
and any other children in the  same  household,  including  interviewing
such  child or children absent the subject of the report whenever possi-
ble and appropriate;
  (b) photographs of visible physical injuries or trauma of children who
may be the victims of abuse or maltreatment shall be taken  or  arranged
for;
  (c)  medical  examination  of  a child who may be a victim of abuse or
maltreatment and documentation of findings of such examination, shall be
required.

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

                                                           LBD03239-01-5

S. 753                              2

  The department shall promulgate regulations to establish standards for
intervention, criteria  for  case  closings,  criteria  for  determining
whether  or  not to initiate a child protective proceeding, and criteria
for the formulation of treatment plans and for  the  delivery  of  child
protective  services including specification of the services to be clas-
sified as child protective services, which shall also apply to any soci-
ety for the prevention of cruelty to children which has entered  into  a
currently  valid  contract with a local department of social services to
investigate child abuse or maltreatment reports.  The  department  shall
promulgate  regulations establishing minimum standards and practices for
the delivery of child protective services in connection with  monitoring
and  supervising  respondents  and their families as ordered by a family
court pursuant to section ten hundred thirty-nine  and  paragraphs  (i),
(iii),  (iv) and (v) of subdivision (a) of section ten hundred fifty-two
of the family court act.  THE DEPARTMENT SHALL REQUIRE THAT EVERY  CASE-
WORKER, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEE OR ANY PERSON ACTING PURSUANT
TO  A  CONTRACT FOR SERVICES WITH A LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WHO
HAS CONTACT WITH A CHILD AS PART OF A TREATMENT PLAN OR SUPERVISION  AND
MONITORING,  DOCUMENT  EACH  SUCH CONTACT WITH A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN OF THE
CHILD DURING SUCH VISIT OR CONTACT. SUCH PHOTOGRAPH SHALL BE PART OF THE
CONFIDENTIAL CASE RECORD FOR SUCH CHILD AND SHALL BE SUBJECT TO PERIODIC
REVIEW BY THE SUPERVISOR OF THE CASE.  SUCH PHOTOGRAPH MUST BE OF SUFFI-
CIENT QUALITY TO CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE CHILD, AND CONTAIN  ACCURATE  DATA
WITH REGARD TO THE TIME AND DATE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH.  WHERE THE PARENT OR
LEGAL  GUARDIAN  OF  THE CHILD OBJECTS TO THE CASEWORKER TAKING A PHOTO-
GRAPH OF THE CHILD DURING THE VISIT,  THE  CASEWORKER  SHALL  PROVIDE  A
FORM,  SUPPLIED  BY  THE CASEWORKER'S AGENCY OF EMPLOYMENT, STATING THAT
THE CASEWORKER CONDUCTED THE VISIT WITH THE CHILD AND VERIFIED THE  WELL
BEING  OF  THE  CHILD.  SUCH  FORM SHALL BE SIGNED AND DATED BY BOTH THE
CHILD'S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN AND THE CASEWORKER AT EACH VISIT  WHERE
A  PHOTOGRAPH  IS  NOT  TAKEN. Such regulations shall also require local
child protective services to comply with  notification  requirements  of
the  family court act in connection with such monitoring and supervisory
responsibilities.
  S 3. Section 372 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 4-c to read as follows:
  4-C. THE RECORDS MAINTAINED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION BY ANY  CASEWORK-
ER,  CHILD  PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEE OR AUTHORIZED AGENCY AS DEFINED
IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE OF THIS TITLE WHO HAS CONTACT  WITH
A  FOSTER  CHILD AS PART OF A TREATMENT PLAN OR SUPERVISION AND MONITOR-
ING, SHALL DOCUMENT EACH SUCH CONTACT WITH A  PHOTOGRAPH  TAKEN  OF  THE
CHILD  DURING SUCH VISIT OR CONTACT CONSISTENT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS SET
FORTH IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED  TWENTY-ONE  OF  THIS
ARTICLE.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.