BILL NUMBER:  S6016A

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the general obligations law, in relation to a parent
or guardian naming a caregiver as a person in parental relation

 PURPOSE : OF THE BILL:

This bill amends the General Obligation Law (GOL) to extend the time
period a parent or guardian is permitted to name a caregiver as a
person in parental relation, who has limited authority under the
education law and public health law from six months to twelve months
for a designation that is notarized.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of this bill would amend the current GOL § 5-1551 to permit
a parent or guardian of a minor or incapacitated person to designate a
caregiver as a person in parental relation to the minor or
incapacitated person, with limited authority under the education law
and public health law, for a period not exceeding twelve months
provided the designation is in the form prescribed under GOL § 5-1552.

Section 2 of this bill would amend the current GOL § 5-1552(1) to
permit that the designation may specify a period of time less than
              

twelve months for which such designation shall be valid, unless
earlier revoked.

Section 3 of this bill would amend the current GOL § 5-1552(3) to
permit that the designation may specify a period of time less than
twelve months for which such designation shall be valid, unless
earlier revoked.

Section 4 of the bill sets an immediate effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Sections 5-1551 - 5-1555 of the General Obligations Law currently
permit a parent or guardian to name a caregiver as a person in
parental relation, who has limited authority under the education law
and public health law, for up to six months if the form is notarized
and up to thirty days if the form is not notarized.

 JUSTIFICATION :

GOL 5-1551 - 5-1555 must be amended to extend the time periods in
which a parent or guardian may designate a caregiver as a person in
parental relation, to better reflect the realities of kinship
caregiving and also provide another tool for undocumented parents and
guardians who may not be able to easily renew designations while
detained or outside the United States.

According to the U. S. Census American Community Survey data, in New
York State, there are more than 130,000 grandparent "kinship"
families. Together with aunts, uncles and other family members,
estimates are as many as 200,000 kinship families are raising 300,000
children in New York State. Kinship caregivers are defined as
non-parents, including grandparents, blood relatives, and close family
friends who provide fulltime care and control of children in their
household. Studies show that children placed in care with relatives
fare much better emotionally and intellectually than children who go
into foster care with strangers (Marc Winokur, Amy Holtan, and Deborah
Valentine, "Kinship Care for the Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being of
Children Removed From the Home for Maltreatment," Campbell Systematic
Reviews 1 (2009), doi:10.4073/ csr.2009.1; Rubin, D., Springer, S. H.,
Zlotnik, S., & Kang-Yi, C. D.  (2017). Needs of Kinship Care Families
and Pediatric Practice.  Pediatrics, 139(4), e20170099.
doi:10.1542/peds.2017-0099; National Survey of Child and Adolescent
Well-Being (NSCAW), CPS Sample Component Wave 1 Data Analysis Report,
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, April 2005.)

As a result of federal policies, parents subject to detention or
removal whose children reside in New York State need preparedness
options to plan for the emergency care and control of their children
in the event of sudden detention or deportation. Parental designation
forms, as authorized under the General Obligations Law, provide a
mechanism by which parents can make arrangements in advance for a
caregiver to be designated without going to court. The designated
caregiver has authority pursuant to sections twenty-one hundred
sixty-four and twenty-five hundred four of the public health law and
sections two and thirty-two hundred twelve of the education law to
make decisions for the minor or incapacitated person.

Under the proposed amendment, the time period of the designation form
will be extended from six months to twelve months for designation
forms that are notarized.

In recent months legal service providers across New York State as well
as the New York State Bar Association have provided trainings for
attorneys to assist with emergency preparedness for families affected
by new federal policies. These trainings all cited the parental
designation form authorized under General Obligations Law 5-1551
5-1555 as an important tool parents or guardians can use to prepare in
advance if they have reason to believe they may be subject to
deportation or detention.

By extending the time period of the designation form, a caregiver is
provided with more time to provide care for the child, and to seek
judicial assistance if required. Because emergency preparedness,
including executing the parental designation form, is done in advance
of potential removal, a parent could execute the form immediately, but
may not need the form until months later when facing sudden detention
or deportation. As such, the form may expire shortly after a caregiver
assumes care and control.

This proposed language will make the designation of a caregiver valid
for a longer period of time. This reflects the reality that the need
for advance planning for a parent subject to removal based on
immigration status is necessary, but the timing of the removal - and
subsequent need for the parental designation - may be uncertain.  This
bill will provide a degree of legal certainty for parents regarding
the future care of their children.

Also, by extending the time period of the parental designation form,
local social service districts will not have to unnecessarily
investigate the circumstances of the children and/or provide them with
foster care unless it is warranted for the reasons related to abuse,
neglect or abandonment pursuant to applicable law.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is new bill.

 FISCAL IMPACT :

No anticipated budget implications.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
The bill would be effective immediately.