S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2158
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 14, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  JEAN-PIERRE -- 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 workers to receive training in developmental disa-
   bility  awareness and sensitivity and cultural competency, sensitivity
   and implicit bias

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Paragraphs (b) and (c) and of subdivision 5 of section 421
 of the social services law, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter  525  of
 the  laws of 2006, paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 67 of the laws of
 2019, are amended to read as follows:
   (b) promulgate regulations setting forth training  requirements  which
 shall  specify,  among  other  things, that all persons hired by a child
 protective service on or after April first, nineteen hundred  eighty-six
 shall  have satisfactorily completed a course approved by the department
 within the first three months of  employment,  in  the  fundamentals  of
 child  protection.  Such course shall include at least basic training in
 the principles and techniques of investigations, including relationships
 with other investigative bodies, legal issues in child  protection,  and
 methods  of remediation, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Such regu-
 lations shall also specify that all persons employed by a child  protec-
 tive service [on or after December first, two thousand six] shall satis-
 factorily  complete  [six] EIGHT hours of annual [in service] IN-SERVICE
 training, beginning in their second year of employment. Such annual  [in
 service]  IN-SERVICE  training  shall  include,  but  is not limited to,
 review of the protocols for identification and  investigation  of  child
 abuse  and  maltreatment,  any  developments  in  legal,  treatment  and
 prevention issues in child protection,  [and]  review  and  analysis  of
 field  experiences  of  child protective services workers, DEVELOPMENTAL
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04956-01-1
              

 A. 2158                             2
 
 DISABILITY AWARENESS AND SENSITIVITY, AND CULTURAL COMPETENCY, SENSITIV-
 ITY AND IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING.
   (c) require all persons assigned to be a supervisor by a child protec-
 tive service on or after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six, shall
 have  satisfactorily completed, within the first three months of employ-
 ment as a supervisor or within three months of  the  effective  date  of
 this  paragraph,  whichever shall occur first, a course in the fundamen-
 tals of child protection developed by the office of children and  family
 services.    ALL SUPERVISORS MUST COMPLETE EIGHT HOURS OF ANNUAL IN-SER-
 VICE TRAINING BEGINNING IN THEIR SECOND YEAR OF EMPLOYMENT AS A SUPERVI-
 SOR. Such training course shall,  among  other  things,  strengthen  and
 expand current training procedures for child protective service supervi-
 sors;  provide the skills, knowledge and standards to practice effective
 case planning and  case  management;  provide  comprehensive  assessment
 tools  needed  in critical decision making; require participation in the
 existing next generation training required by child  protective  service
 caseworkers;  strengthen  recognition  and  response  to safety and risk
 indicators; improve  skills  to  promote  consistent  implementation  of
 training  and  practice;  provide  the necessary tools and assistance to
 build the ability to coach and monitor child  protective  service  case-
 workers  and  model  effective investigation practice; increase cultural
 competency and sensitivity; INCREASE DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY  AWARENESS
 AND  SENSITIVITY; and establish an annual [in service] IN-SERVICE train-
 ing program specifically focused on child  protective  service  supervi-
 sors.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.