New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services
Subchapter C - Social Services
Article 2 - Family and Children's Services
Part 432 - Child Abuse And Maltreatment
Section 432.3 - Child protective service: duties concerning reports of abuse or maltreatment

Universal Citation: 18 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs § 432.3

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024

Such duties shall include the following:

(a) Reporting.

(1) Receipt of, in accordance with this Part, with the approved child protective services component of a district's consolidated services plan, and title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law, on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis, all reports of suspected abuse or maltreatment; or

(2) Insurance that, if a local reporting system is to be developed and submitted for approval, it fulfill the following requirements:

(i) all reports must immediately upon receipt be transmitted orally or electronically to the State Central Register;

(ii) there must be a single telephone number available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the availability of this number must be highly publicized in each social services district;

(iii) the child protective service must be capable of receiving reports from all reporting sources and immediately responding to or causing an appropriate immediate response to be made when necessary according to the provisions of sections 432.2(b)(2) and 432.13 of this Part.

(b) The maintenance of an up-to-date local central register, which shall be separate and distinct from the case record and which shall contain a record of all reported cases of child abuse and maltreatment, including all reports received concerning a particular case, a record of each report written by the local child protective service concerning a particular case, and a record of the final disposition of reports assigned to the investigative track, including services offered and accepted. Reports and information that a local district may access from CONNECTIONS meet the requirements for a local district maintaining its local central register.

(1) requiring a written report be submitted, by persons required to report cases of suspected child abuse or maltreatment, to the child protective service within 48 hours after the initial report, and a copy of this report be submitted to the State Central Register by the child protective service;

(2) requiring the child protective service, not later than seven days after the initial report, to send an initial safety assessment to the State Central Register via CONNECTIONS;

(3) requiring the determination of a report assigned to the investigative track to be submitted to the State Central Register via CONNECTIONS at any time it is determined that a case is "unfounded" or "indicated," but in no event later than 60 days after the initial report;

(4) requiring other follow-up reports on such cases at such times as OCFS deems necessary;

(5) requiring a report be submitted to the State Central Register via CONNECTIONS whenever a case is closed;

(6) requiring reports for a family assessment response to be submitted to the State Central Register via CONNECTIONS, as specified in section 432.13 of this Title;

(7) requiring the local child protective service to submit to the State Central Register all records, reports or other information maintained by the service pertaining to an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment as expeditiously as possible but within no more than 20 calendar days of receiving a request from the State Central Register for such records, reports or information; and

(8) requiring the child protective service to enter a 24-hour fatality report into CONNECTIONS within 24 hours of receiving a report of a child fatality from the State Central Register and to enter a 30-Day Fatality Report into CONNECTIONS no later than 30 days after receiving a report of a child fatality from the State Central Register.

(d) Giving telephone notice and forwarding immediately to the appropriate district attorney any reports in which a child has died as a result of suspected child abuse or maltreatment.

(e) Reporting to the appropriate medical examiner or coroner for his investigation if there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child has died as a result of suspected child abuse or maltreatment.

(f) Securing the findings from the medical examiner or coroner on any case where there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child has died as a result of child abuse or maltreatment.

(g) Providing telephone notice and forwarding immediately a copy of any or all reports of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the appropriate district attorney if a prior request in writing for such notice and copies has been received by the child protective service and such request specifies the kinds of allegations concerning which the district attorney requires such notice and copies and provides a copy of the relevant provisions of law, provided that only copies of reports that have been assigned to the investigative track may be forwarded and that reports assigned to the family assessment response track shall remain legally sealed.

(h) Forwarding a copy of any or all reports of suspected abuse or maltreatment to any appropriate duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to children or any other duly authorized child protective agency, if a prior request for such copies has been received in writing by the child protective service.

(i)

(1) Commencing or causing the appropriate society for the prevention of cruelty to children to commence within 24 hours an appropriate investigation or family assessment response on all reports of suspected child abuse and maltreatment in accordance with the provisions of sections 432.2(b)(3) and section 432.13 of this Part.

(2) Request and receive, as provided for in subdivision 1 of Section 425 of the Social Services Law, when applicable, from departments, boards, bureaus, or other agencies of the state, or any of its political subdivisions including school districts (as that term is defined in subdivision 2 of Section 1980 of the Education Law), and charter schools operated pursuant to Article 56 of the Education Law, or any duly authorized agency, or any other agency providing services under the local child protective services plan, such assistance and data as will enable the local child protective service to fulfill its responsibilities properly, including providing such assistance and data to members of a multi-disciplinary team established pursuant to subdivision 6 of Section 423 of the Social Services Law when such members accompany a representative of the child protective service. Such assistance and data includes, but is not limited to:

(i) access to records relevant to the investigation of suspected abuse or maltreatment; and

(ii) access to any child named as a victim in a report of suspected abuse or maltreatment or any sibling or other child residing in the same home as the named victim. Such access includes conducting an interview of such child without a court order or the consent of the parent, guardian or other person legally responsible for the child when the child protective service encounters circumstances that warrant interviewing the child apart from family or other household members or the home or household where child abuse or maltreatment allegedly occurred. The representative of the child protective service and other members of a multi-disciplinary team accompanying a representative of the child protective service may be asked to provide their photographic employment identification or, if they lack photographic employment identification, an alternate form of government issued photographic identification, and to identify the child or children to be interviewed, but may not be asked for or required to provide any other information or documentation as a condition of having access to a child or children. Nothing contained herein shall preclude a school, school district or other program or facility operated by a department, board, bureau, or other agency of the state or any of its political subdivisions, or by a duly authorized agency or other agency providing services under the local child protective services plan from authorizing a staff member of the school or other such program or facility to observe the interview of the child, either from the same or another room, at the discretion of the school, school district or other such program or facility. Nothing contained herein shall preclude a school, school district or other such program or facility from requiring that representatives of the child protective service or other members of a multi-disciplinary team accompanying a representative of the child protective service comply with the reasonable visitor policies or procedures of the school, school district or other such program or facility, unless such policies or procedures are contrary to the requirements of this paragraph.

(j) Upon receipt of a report of suspected abuse or maltreatment that has been assigned to the investigative track, and after seeing to the safety of the child or children named in the report, but in no event later than seven days after the receipt of the oral report, must deliver or mail to the subject(s) and other persons named in the report, except children under the age of 18 years, a written notification in such form as required by OCFS, informing them of the existence of the report and of the subject(s) rights with regard to amendment.

(k) Determining, within 60 days, whether a report that has been assigned to the investigative track is "indicated" or "unfounded"; and

(1) if "indicated," notify the State Central Register by recording that determination in CONNECTIONS and mail or deliver to the subject(s) and other persons named in the report, except children under the age of 18 years, a written notification, within seven days of the "indicated" determination, in such form as may be required by OCFS, informing them of the subject(s) rights in regard to requesting that the report be amended or expunged, and their right to a fair hearing; or

(2) if "unfounded," notify the State Central Register by recording that determination in CONNECTIONS, in accordance with the provisions of section 432.9 of this Part. No notice shall be sent to the subject(s) or other persons named in the report by the district.

(l) Taking all appropriate measures to protect a child's life and health including, when appropriate, taking or keeping a child in protective custody without the consent of a parent or guardian if appropriate staff of the child protective service have reasonable cause to believe that the circumstances or conditions of the child are such that continuing in his place of residence or in the care and custody of the parent, guardian, custodian or other person responsible for the child's care presents an imminent danger to the child's life or health.

(m) Upon notification by a physician who is treating a child that the physician has reasonable cause to believe that the circumstances or condition of the child are such that the continuation of the child in his place of residence or in the care and custody of the parent, guardian, custodian, or other person responsible for the child's care presents an imminent danger to the child's life or health, take custody of such child.

(n) Upon notification by the person in charge of a hospital or similar institution that such person has retained custody of a child because such person has reasonable cause to believe that the circumstances or conditions of the child are such that continuing in his place of residence or in the care and custody of the child's parent, guardian, custodian or other person responsible for the child's care presents an imminent danger to the child's life or health, immediately commence an investigation and, if no further medical treatment is necessary, take all necessary measures to protect the child's life and health, including, where appropriate, taking custody of the child.

(o) Upon notification that a child is retained in protective custody, the child protective service shall commence a proceeding at the next regular weekday session of the appropriate Family Court, or recommend to the court at that time that the child be returned to his parents or guardian.

(p) Based on the investigation and evaluation, offer appropriate services to the family or any child believed to be suffering from abuse or maltreatment, or both, or to the family and any child who are part of a family assessment response, and, in offering these services, explain to the family that the child protective service has no legal authority to compel the family to receive services.

(q) In those cases in which an appropriate offer of services is refused and the child protective service determines that the best interests of the child require court action, initiate the action or make a referral to the appropriate district attorney or both.

(r) Assisting the Family Court or the Criminal Court during all stages of the court proceeding in accordance with purposes of title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law.

(s) Providing or arranging for, coordinating and monitoring, as authorized by the Social Services Law and by title 6, rehabilitative services as defined in section 432.1 of this Part for children and their families on a voluntary basis or under a final or intermediate order of the Family Court.

(t) Receive, in accordance with section 912-a of the Education Law, from school authorities a report on the examination of a child that has been determined to be using dangerous drugs and, in an appropriate case, to take such action and offer such protective services as are prescribed by this Part. Such report and the results of a subsequent investigation or family assessment response shall not be used for law enforcement purposes.

(u) When necessary, give effective consent for medical, dental, health and hospital services for any child who has been found by the Family Court to be an abused or neglected child or has been taken into or kept in protective custody or removed from the place where such child is residing or who has been placed in the custody of a commissioner of a social services district, pursuant to section 417 of the Social Services Law or section 1022, 1024 or 1027 of the Family Court Act.

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