New York Limits Access to Parents’ Names on Child Abuse And Neglect Registry

Tucked into a budget bill signed by the New York governor Friday is new relief for parents accused of child neglect – the result of a hard-fought three-year battle to limit parents’ exposure on a state registry.

Lawmakers approved the landmark reform earlier this week. The measure will prevent many accused parents from landing on the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment, which can be viewed by potential employers. 

Parents’ names now end up on the database after child welfare investigators find any corroboration for initial allegations that children are at risk. Starting in 2022, more evidence – most evidence – will first need to suggest that abuse or neglect actually occurred. Under the revised law, for cases of neglect only, the number of years credibly accused parents’ names remain visible on the state-run registry will also be reduced, from up to 28 years, down to eight.* 

Advocates for children and parents said the reforms are long-overdue for New York, bringing its practices in line with most other states. 

“When I was younger I wanted to be a guidance counselor for middle school students, but I couldn’t go in because I knew I had this history,” said Hope Lyzette Newton, who once had her name on the register. 

Newton, whose name was removed three years ago, hopes others like her will now be better able to provide for their children and move forward with their lives.

“The feeling is exhilarating. I got the call that my name was going to be removed the day my daughter graduated from college,” said Newton, who  is now a peer advocate for accused parents, with the legal aid firm Center for Family Representation. “It was a wonderful day. There wasn’t anything that could hold me back anymore.” 

The state vote this week marks the second time Albany has approved such a reform. The governor vetoed a similar bill late last year, but signaled he’d support a workaround. 

The portion of the state’s annual budget he signed today includes largely similar revisions to the state social services law. Technical adjustments were made from last year to ensure minimal costs to the state’s Office of Children and Family Services, which runs the Statewide Central Register.

With nearly 46,000 cases of child maltreatment deemed “credible” by local authorities in 2018, including 21,000 in New York City alone, reform supporters estimate hundreds of thousands of parents on the registry could benefit from the changes. 

Influential supporters of the legislation included the chair of the state assembly’s children and families committee, Ellen Jaffee (D); the statewide nonprofit trade group Council for Family and Child Care Agencies; and New York City’s child welfare commissioner, David Hansell.  

“Our top priority is the safety and well-being of New York City’s children and that’s why I welcome these reforms,” said Hansell, in an emailed statement. “This progressive reform strikes the right balance between protecting children and helping to expand economic opportunities for low-income families.”

Democratic State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery said passage of the bill she’d long championed, before the conclusion of a historic legislative session rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, is exciting.

It will make a huge difference for hundreds of thousands of people moving forward and we won’t see parents punished so cavalierly,” Montgomery said. 

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