NY State Senate Bill 2025-S2303

Senate Bill S2303

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires probation, investigation and diagnostic assessment of certain juvenile delinquents with discernible handicapping conditions prior to dispositional hearings

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 16, 2025	referred to children and families

2025-S2303 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Family Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §§351.1 & 353.4, Fam Ct Act
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S7251
2011-2012: S2764
2013-2014: S3329
2015-2016: S2046
2017-2018: S3348
2019-2020: S2567
2021-2022: S3378
2023-2024: S1595

2025-S2303 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that prior to a dispositional hearing the judge shall order a probation investigation and a diagnostic assessment of a juvenile delinquent whom the court reasonably finds, on the record, to have a demonstrable need for a remediation of a discernible handicapping condition; allows judges to refer custody through various state agencies for placement into programs under protocol and funding provisions currently in existence.

2025-S2303 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2303

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to probation, investi-
gation and diagnostic assessment of juvenile delinquents or any other
juvenile delinquent whom the court reasonably finds, on the record, to
have a demonstrable need for a remediation of a discernible handicapping
condition

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To enable the court system to identify youth with learning and develop-
mental disabilities at an early intercept point and to enhance the
court's ability to address these problems.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Among other things, the bill amends the Family Court Act to ensure that
family court judges order a probation investigation and a diagnostic
assessment concerning juveniles with discernible handicapping conditions

prior to dispositional hearings. The diagnostic assessments must be
completed by an interdisciplinary team of several enumerated profes-
sionals, including a psychologist and legal counsel.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

These amendments to the Family Court Act would allow for the creation of
interdisciplinary teams that will accept referrals from family court
judges prior to a dispositional hearing. These amendments will allow
judges to refer matters relating to custody to various state agencies
for placement into programs under protocols and funding provisions
currently in state law. Under current law, family court judges are not
required to have assessments undertaken for a youth suspected of mani-
festing developmental and learning disabilities or mental illness. More-
over, probation departments currently lack the expertise to conduct
referrals or to interpret information gathered for a family court judge.

Recent studies have shown that youth in family court have some kind of
mental-health or developmental issue. Implementation of early inter-
ception programs in areas where they can be used to assist these indi-
viduals would help stop the steady stream of young people that are slip-
ping through the cracks in our court system.

This bill seeks to emphasize the developing role and the capacity of the
probation system in linking treatment, habilitation, rehabilitation, and
education programs to youth at the dispositional hearing stage, where it
is most appropriate. The current process is neither cost nor programmat-
ically effective, since youth become institutionalized within the juve-
nile justice system without receiving employable skills or appropriate
services. The interdisciplinary team will provide the probation system
with the essential tools to reasonably determine the needs of youth for
mental health, developmental, and other related services before they
become caught up in the juvenile justice system.

The cost of the interdisciplinary team would dramatically lessen the
costs to the state for inappropriate placements unwarranted institution-

alization. Funding provisions for such placements are outlined in Chap-
ter 563 of the laws of 1980.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: Referred to Children and Families

2021-22: Referred to Children and Families

2023-34: Referred to Children and Families

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2025-S2303 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2303
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 16, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to probation, investi-
   gation and diagnostic assessment of juvenile delinquents or any  other
   juvenile delinquent whom the court reasonably finds, on the record, to
   have  a demonstrable need for a remediation of a discernible handicap-
   ping condition
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 351.1 of the family court act, as
 amended by chapter 398 of the laws  of  1983,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  Following a determination that a respondent has committed a desig-
 nated felony act OR ANY OTHER JUVENILE DELINQUENT WHOM THE COURT REASON-
 ABLY FINDS, ON THE RECORD, TO HAVE A DEMONSTRABLE NEED FOR A REMEDIATION
 OF A DISCERNIBLE HANDICAPPING CONDITION and prior to  the  dispositional
 hearing,  the judge shall order a probation investigation and a diagnos-
 tic assessment. For the purposes of this article, the probation investi-
 gation shall include, but not be limited to, the history of the juvenile
 including previous conduct, the family situation, any  previous  psycho-
 logical  and  psychiatric  reports,  school  adjustment, previous social
 assistance provided by voluntary or public agencies and the response  of
 the  juvenile  to such assistance. For the purposes of this article, the
 diagnostic assessment shall include, but not be limited  to,  psycholog-
 ical  tests  and psychiatric interviews to determine mental capacity and
 achievement, emotional  stability  and  mental  disabilities.  It  shall
 include  a  clinical assessment of the situational factors that may have
 contributed to the act or acts. When feasible, expert opinion  shall  be
 rendered as to the risk presented by the juvenile to others or [himself]
 THEMSELF,  with a recommendation as to the need for a restrictive place-
 ment.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06270-01-5

 S. 2303                             2
 
   § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 351.1 of the family court act, as  added
 by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
   3. A child shall not be placed in accord with section 353.3 unless the
 court  has  ordered a probation investigation prior to the dispositional
 hearing; a child shall not be placed in accord with section 353.4 unless
 the court has ordered a diagnostic assessment prior to such hearing. THE
 DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT SHALL BE COMPLETED BY  AN  INTERDISCIPLINARY  TEAM
 CONSISTING  OF,  BUT  NOT LIMITED TO, A PSYCHOLOGIST, A SOCIAL WORKER, A
 SPECIAL EDUCATOR, A PHYSICIAN, AND A LAW GUARDIAN AND/OR LEGAL COUNSEL.
   § 3. Subdivisions 1 and 4 of section 353.4 of the  family  court  act,
 subdivision  1 as amended by chapter 37 of the laws of 2016 and subdivi-
 sion 4 as added by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, are amended to  read
 as follows:
   1. If at the conclusion of the dispositional hearing and in accordance
 with section 352.2 of this act the court finds that the respondent has a
 mental  illness, or intellectual or developmental disability, as defined
 in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, which is likely to result  in
 serious  harm  to [himself or herself] THEMSELF or others, the court may
 issue an order placing such respondent with the office of  children  and
 family  services  or, with the consent of the local commissioner, with a
 local commissioner of social services, OR  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  MENTAL
 HEALTH OR THE COMMISSIONER OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES CONSISTENT WITH
 PLACEMENT PROVISIONS AS OUTLINED IN CHAPTER SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY-SEVEN OF
 THE  LAWS OF NINETEEN HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN, CHAPTER FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY-
 THREE OF THE LAWS OF NINETEEN HUNDRED EIGHTY AND ARTICLE  EIGHTY-ONE  OF
 THE  EDUCATION  LAW,  AND/OR  ANY  VOLUNTARY  OR  NOT-FOR-PROFIT  AGENCY
 LICENSED UNDER THESE PROVISIONS OF LAW NOT INCONSISTENT WITH  THE  RULES
 AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE PLACEMENT OF CLIENTS. Any such order shall
 direct  the  temporary  transfer  for admission of the respondent to the
 custody of either the commissioner of mental health or the  commissioner
 of  developmental  disabilities  who  shall arrange the admission of the
 respondent to the appropriate  facility  of  the  department  of  mental
 hygiene.  The  director  of  a hospital operated by the office of mental
 health may, subject to the provisions of  section  9.51  of  the  mental
 hygiene law, transfer a person admitted to the hospital pursuant to this
 subdivision  to a residential treatment facility for children and youth,
 as that term is defined in section 1.03 of the mental  hygiene  law,  if
 care  and treatment in such a facility would more appropriately meet the
 needs of the respondent. Persons temporarily transferred to such custody
 under this provision may be retained for care and treatment for a period
 of up to one year and whenever appropriate shall be transferred back  to
 the office of children and family services pursuant to the provisions of
 section  five  hundred  nine of the executive law or transferred back to
 the local commissioner of social services. Within thirty  days  of  such
 transfer  back,  application shall be made by the office of children and
 family services or the local commissioner  of  social  services  to  the
 placing  court  to  conduct a further dispositional hearing at which the
 court may make any order authorized under section  352.2  of  this  act,
 except  that  the  period of any further order of disposition shall take
 into account the period of placement hereunder. Likelihood to result  in
 serious  harm  shall  mean  (a)  substantial  risk  of  physical harm to
 [himself or herself] THEMSELF as manifested by threats  or  attempts  at
 suicide or serious bodily harm or other conduct demonstrating [he or she
 is]  THEY  ARE  dangerous  to  [himself  or  herself]  THEMSELF or (b) a
 substantial risk of physical harm to  other  persons  as  manifested  by
 S. 2303                             3
 
 homicidal  or  other  violent  behavior  by  which  others are placed in
 reasonable fear of serious bodily harm.
   4.  No  order of disposition placing the respondent in accordance with
 this section shall be entered except upon clear and convincing  evidence
 which  shall  include  the  testimony  of  [two  examining physicians as
 provided in section two hundred fifty-one]  THE  INTERDISCIPLINARY  TEAM
 ESTABLISHED IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION 351.1 OF THIS PART.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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