S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1835
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 11, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  KENNEDY, AVELLA, BRESLIN, DILAN -- read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Social Services
 
 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".
   § 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.
                                                            LBD00479-01-7
              

 S. 1835                             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.
   § 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.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.