The child welfare system could soon become fairer

Under legislation that state lawmakers passed in June by overwhelming margins, New York’s system for tracking child abuse allegations could be dramatically changed. 

It does not take much to get on a state list recording allegations of child neglect or abuse. An anonymous tip to a state hotline will do. By law, local child welfare agencies like the Administration for Children’s Services in New York City have to investigate every allegation they receive within 24 hours. If a caseworker finds “some credible evidence” during such an investigation, then a parent or guardian has their name added to the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment – which can limit their future employment opportunities and subject them to further scrutiny from the child welfare system for as much as 28 years.

If Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs the new legislation, state law would change in two important ways. First, it would raise the standard of proof necessary to substantiate allegations of child neglect from “some credible evidence” to a “preponderance of evidence.” Other changes aim to make it easier for parents to get off the register much sooner, by allowing them more opportunities to appeal their listing and conditionally sealing their records after eight years. 

Supporters of the reforms say these changes represent significant changes in a child welfare that remain slanted against the low-income people of color – but more remains to be done.

To understand the effects of the bill, it is important to note the difference between child abuse, which involves serious physical harm or sexual abuse, and child neglect, which basically means in practice that someone is a bad parent. The bill passed by the Legislature will not affect people accused of abuse (where the harm to a child is self-evident) whereas the bill does aim to help people accused of neglect – where the potential harms can be much more speculative. “In many instances, neglect is a very subjective situation,” said state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery of Brooklyn – chair of the Committee on Children and Families – who sponsored the reform bill along with Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee of Rockland County. “Creating a stronger standard of evidence was extremely important.”

To read the full story, visit https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/diversity/child-welfare-system-could-soon-become-fairer.html