S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2864
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 27, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. HEVESI, MEEKS -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to caseload  stand-
   ards for child protective services workers
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 20-a of the social services law, as added by  chap-
 ter 107 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
   § 20-a.  Local personnel; limitations on department's power.  Notwith-
 standing  any  inconsistent  provision  of  this chapter, the board, the
 commissioner or the department, acting singly or in  unison,  shall  not
 have  the  power,  directly  or  indirectly  to  prescribe the number of
 persons to be employed in any social  services  district  providing  the
 district  complies  with the minimum federal standards relating thereto;
 PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION SHALL  NOT  APPLY
 TO  THE REGULATIONS OF THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES ESTAB-
 LISHING CASELOAD STANDARDS FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS PROMUL-
 GATED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A) OF  SUBDIVISION  NINE  OF  SECTION  FOUR
 HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   §  2.  Paragraph  (a)  of subdivision 1 of section 153-k of the social
 services law, as added by section 15 of part C of chapter 83 of the laws
 of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
   (a) Expenditures made by social services districts for  child  protec-
 tive  services, preventive services provided, as applicable, to eligible
 children and families of children who are in  and  out  of  foster  care
 placement, independent living services, aftercare services, and adoption
 administration  and  services  other  than  adoption  subsidies provided
 pursuant to article six of this  chapter  and  the  regulations  of  the
 department  of  family  assistance  shall,  if approved by the office of
 children and family services, be subject  to  sixty-five  percent  state
 reimbursement  exclusive  of  any  federal funds made available for such
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05040-02-3
              

 A. 2864                             2
 
 purposes, in accordance with the directives of the department of  family
 assistance  and  subject  to the approval of the director of the budget.
 PROVIDED HOWEVER, FOR REQUIREMENTS PRESCRIBED  IN  SUBDIVISION  NINE  OF
 SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER, SUCH EXPENDITURES SHALL
 BE  SUBJECT  TO  ONE  HUNDRED PERCENT STATE REIMBURSEMENT, PROVIDED THAT
 LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICTS CONTINUE TO  MAINTAIN  CURRENT  EXPENDI-
 TURES RELATED TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES AT A LEVEL EQUAL TO OR GREAT-
 ER THAN EXPENDITURES FOR SUCH ACTIVITIES DURING THE FISCAL YEAR PRIOR TO
 THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF A CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE
 WHICH AMENDED THIS PARAGRAPH.
   § 3. Section 421 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 9 to read as follows:
   9.  PROMULGATE  REGULATIONS IN CONSULTATION WITH LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES
 DISTRICTS, RELATING TO CASELOAD STANDARDS FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE  SERVICES
 WORKERS. SUCH STANDARDS SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
   (A)  LIMITATIONS ON THE NUMBER OF INVESTIGATIONS WHICH CAN BE ASSIGNED
 TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS, PROVIDED HOWEVER,  TO  THE  EXTENT
 POSSIBLE  AND  WITHIN  AMOUNTS  APPROPRIATED  THEREFOR, NO MORE THAN TWO
 INITIAL INVESTIGATIONS PER WEEK MAY BE ASSIGNED PER FULL TIME EQUIVALENT
 CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKER; AND
   (B) GUIDANCE AS IT RELATES TO HOW SUCH  INVESTIGATIONS  ARE  ASSIGNED,
 TAKING  INTO  CONSIDERATION THE CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKER CURRENT
 CASELOAD, AS WELL AS THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PARTICULAR INVESTIGATION,  IF
 KNOWN.  NOTHING  IN  THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO PROHIBIT THE
 OFFICE FROM PRESCRIBING LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICTS FROM  ESTABLISH-
 ING  CASELOAD  STANDARDS  THAT  ARE  LESS  THAN WHAT IS REQUIRED IN THIS
 SUBDIVISION.
   § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1  of  section  423  of  the  social
 services  law,  as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (c) The child protective service shall have  a  sufficient  staff,  IN
 ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  SUBDIVISION  NINE OF SECTION FOUR
 HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE  OF  THIS  TITLE,  of  sufficient  qualifications  to
 fulfill  the purposes of this title and be organized in such a way as to
 maximize the continuity of responsibility, care and service of  individ-
 ual  workers  toward individual children and families. A social services
 district shall have flexibility in assigning staff to the child  protec-
 tive  service  provided that each staff assigned to such service has the
 staff qualifications and has  received  the  training  required  by  the
 department  regulations  promulgated  pursuant  to subdivisions four and
 five of section four hundred twenty-one of this title.
   § 5. Section 426 of the social services law,  as  amended  by  section
 11-a of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 426. Annual reports. The commissioner shall prepare for inclusion in
 the  annual  report  required by subdivision (d) of section seventeen of
 this chapter to be filed with the governor and the legislature prior  to
 December fifteenth of each year, a report on the operations of the state
 central  register  of child abuse and maltreatment and the various local
 child protective services. The report shall include a  full  statistical
 analysis  of  the  reports  made to the central register together with a
 report on the implementation of this title, his  or  her  evaluation  of
 services  offered  under this chapter and his or her recommendations for
 additional legislation to fulfill  the  purposes  of  this  title.  Such
 report shall indicate the number of child abuse and maltreatment reports
 and  cases received by the statewide central register of child abuse and
 A. 2864                             3
 
 maltreatment by each district in the preceding year, the number of  such
 cases  determined  to  have  been indicated and the number of such cases
 determined to be unfounded by each district in the preceding  year,  the
 number  of  such cases which have not been indicated or unfounded within
 the time period required by subdivision seven of  section  four  hundred
 twenty-four  of  this  [article] TITLE by each district in the preceding
 year [and]. SUCH REPORT SHALL ALSO INCLUDE A MONTHLY ACCOUNTING BY LOCAL
 SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICTS, OF  the  TOTAL  number  of  CHILD  PROTECTIVE
 SERVICES  workers  [assigned  to  the  child  protective service in each
 district in] WITH AN INDICATION OF HOW MANY HOLD A SUPERVISORY POSITION,
 AS WELL AS THE AVERAGE NUMBER  OF  ACTIVE  CASES  PER  CHILD  PROTECTIVE
 SERVICES  WORKER,  WITH  AN  INDICATION  OF HOW MANY WERE IN THE INITIAL
 INVESTIGATION STAGE AT THE TIME THE INFORMATION WAS  COLLECTED  FOR  the
 preceding  year.  Such  report  shall  include, among other information,
 available demographic information and available  information  concerning
 the  racial and ethnic characteristics of the family members and persons
 served by the differential response program  pursuant  to  section  four
 hundred  twenty-seven-a of [the social services law] THIS TITLE, as well
 as available information concerning the  racial  and  ethnic  character-
 istics  of the family members and persons serviced under the traditional
 child  protective  services  program,  in  each  local  social  services
 district in the state.
   §  6.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately; provided, however,
 sections one, two, three and four of this act shall take effect  on  the
 seven  hundred thirtieth day after it shall have become a law; provided,
 further, however that the amendments to  section  153-k  of  the  social
 services law made by section two of this act shall not affect the repeal
 of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.