NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9045

Senate Bill S9045

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to unsealing unfounded child abuse and maltreatment reports in certain circumstances

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 11, 2024	referred to children and families

2023-S9045 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9987
Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §422, Soc Serv L

2023-S9045 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to unsealing unfounded child abuse and maltreatment reports upon a court order finding that justice requires the information in such reports is necessary for the determination of charges being investigated by a grand jury or for the purposes of prosecuting a violation of the penal law.

2023-S9045 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9045

SPONSOR: MURRAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the unsealing of
unfounded child abuse and maltreatment reports in certain circumstances

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to allow for the unsealing of unfounded
child abuse and maltreatment reports in certain circumstances, to a
grand jury, upon a court finding.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends social services law section 422(5)(a)(iv)
and social services law section 422(5)(a)(v) to provide that unfounded
child protective services reports may be unsealed upon a court finding
that justice requires the information in such reports to be unsealed for
the purpose of prosecuting a violation of the penal law.

Additionally, a new subparagraph (vi) is added to Social Services Law
section 422 (5)(a), to specify that unfounded child protective services
reports may be unsealed and made available to a grand jury upon a court
finding that justice requires the information in such reports is neces-
sary for the determination of charges being investigated by such grand
jury.

Section two of the bill amends social services law section 422(5)(b) to
provide that unfounded reports that have been unsealed by a court find-
ing as authorized in new subparagraph (vi) in social services law
section 422(5)(a) in this bill, may be introduced into evidence in a
grand jury or other judicial proceeding, for the purpose of determining
the charges being investigated.

Section three of the bill provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

A recent grand jury investigation into the tragic murder in 2020 of
eight-year-old. Thomas Valva of Center Moriches in Suffolk County, has
shed light on a gaping hole in our state's social services law
protections for children, in situations where serious crimes against a
child with current or previous child protections services involvement
are being investigated.

The Unfounded Reports by child protective services (CPS) are, under
current law, available only to local CPS staff working on a case and NYS
Office of Children and Families internal employees.  This bill does not
unseal unfounded reports to the public but would make them available to
investigators and grand juries in their pursuit of justice on behalf of
children like Thomas Valva, so that justice may be carried out.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect ninety days after enactment.

2023-S9045 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9045
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 11, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MURRAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the unsealing of
   unfounded child abuse and  maltreatment  reports  in  certain  circum-
   stances
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraphs (iv) and (v) of paragraph (a) of  subdivision
 5  of  section  422  of  the  social  services law, subparagraph (iv) as
 amended by chapter 555 of the laws  of  2000  and  subparagraph  (v)  as
 amended  by  chapter  256  of  the  laws  of 2014, are amended and a new
 subparagraph (vi) is added to read as follows:
   (iv) to the subject of the report; [and]
   (v) to a district attorney, an assistant district attorney, an  inves-
 tigator  employed  in  the  office of a district attorney, or to a sworn
 officer of the division of state police, of  a  city,  county,  town  or
 village  police department or of a county sheriff's office (A) when such
 official verifies that the report is  necessary  to  conduct  an  active
 investigation  or  prosecution  of  a  violation  of subdivision four of
 section 240.50 of the penal law[.] OR (B) UPON  A  COURT  ORDER  FINDING
 THAT  JUSTICE  REQUIRES THE INFORMATION IN SUCH REPORTS IS NECESSARY FOR
 THE PURPOSE OF PROSECUTING A VIOLATION OF THE PENAL LAW; AND
   (VI) TO A GRAND JURY, UPON A COURT ORDER FINDING THAT JUSTICE REQUIRES
 THE INFORMATION IN SUCH REPORTS IS NECESSARY FOR  THE  DETERMINATION  OF
 CHARGES BEING INVESTIGATED BY SUCH GRAND JURY.
   §  2.  Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  5 of section 422 of the social
 services law, as amended by section 7 of part D of chapter  501  of  the
 laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
   (b) Persons given access to unfounded reports pursuant to subparagraph
 (v)  of  paragraph  (a)  of  this  subdivision shall not redisclose such
 reports except as necessary to conduct such appropriate investigation or
 prosecution and shall request of the  court  that  any  copies  of  such
 reports produced in any court proceeding be redacted to remove the names
 of the subjects and other persons named in the reports or that the court
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD15198-01-4
 S. 9045                             2
 
 issue  an  order  protecting the names of the subjects and other persons
 named in the reports from public disclosure. The local child  protective
 service  or state agency shall not indicate the subsequent report solely
 based  upon  the  existence  of  the  prior unfounded report or reports.
 Notwithstanding section four hundred fifteen of this title, section  one
 thousand  forty-six  of  the  family  court act, or, except as set forth
 herein, any other provision of law to the contrary, an unfounded  report
 shall  not be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding or
 action; provided, however, an unfounded report may  be  introduced  into
 evidence:  (i)  by  the  subject  of  the report where such subject is a
 respondent in a proceeding under article ten of the family court act  or
 is  a  plaintiff  or petitioner in a civil action or proceeding alleging
 the false reporting of child abuse or maltreatment; [or] (ii) in a crim-
 inal court for the purpose of prosecuting a  violation  of  [subdivision
 four  of  section  240.50 of] the penal law; OR (III) IN A GRAND JURY OR
 OTHER JUDICIAL PROCEEDING FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING  CHARGES  BEING
 INVESTIGATED  BY SUCH GRAND JURY. Legally sealed unfounded reports shall
 be expunged ten years after the receipt of the report.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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