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

                                  6366

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             March 20, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. SIMON, ABBATE, ARROYO, BLAKE, COOK, CLARK, GOTT-
  FRIED, JAFFEE, JOYNER, MONTESANO, MOSLEY,  PERRY,  RAIA,  SCARBOROUGH,
  SKARTADOS,  STECK,  WEPRIN  -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN,
  BROOK-KRASNY, CERETTO, CROUCH, DUPREY, GUNTHER, McDONOUGH, McLAUGHLIN,
  RIVERA, SALADINO, SCHIMEL -- read once and referred 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;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD03239-01-5

              

A. 6366                             2

  (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.
  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.