NY Educ L § 4358 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 6 - Special Schools and Instruction Article 88 - New York State School for the Deaf 4358 - Protection of Pupils.

§ 4358. Protection of pupils. The department shall:  (a)  Promulgate regulations concerning standards for the protection of children in residential care from  reportable  incidents  in  accordance with  this  section  and  article  eleven  of  the  social services law, including procedures for:  (i) consistent with appropriate collective bargaining  agreements  and applicable   provisions  of  the  civil  service  law,  the  review  and evaluation of the backgrounds of and the  information  supplied  by  any person  applying  to  be  an  employee, a volunteer or consultant, which shall include but not be limited to the following requirements: that the applicant set forth his or her employment history, provide personal  and employment   references   and   relevant  experiential  and  educational information,  and  sign  a  sworn  statement  indicating   whether   the applicant,  to the best of his or her knowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime in this state or any other jurisdiction;  (ii) establishing, for employees, relevant  minimal  experiential  and educational   qualifications,  consistent  with  appropriate  collective bargaining agreements and applicable provisions  of  the  civil  service law;  (iii)  assuring  adequate  and  appropriate  supervision of employees, volunteers and consultants;  (iv)  demonstrating  by  a  residential  facility  or   program   that appropriate  action  is  taken  to assure the safety of the child who is alleged to have been subjected to a reportable incident in a  report  to the vulnerable persons' central register in accordance with section four hundred  ninety-two of the social services law as well as other children in care,  immediately  upon  notification  that  such  a  report  of  an allegation of a reportable incident has been made;  (v)  removing a child when it is determined that there is risk to such child if he or she continues to remain within a facility or program; and  (vi) appropriate preventive and remedial action to be taken  including legal   actions,   consistent  with  appropriate  collective  bargaining agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law.   Such standards shall also establish as a priority  requirements  that: (A)  subject  to  the  amounts  appropriated  therefor,  administrators, employees, volunteers and consultants receive training in at  least  the following:    child  abuse  prevention  and  identification,  safety and security  procedures,  the  principles   of   child   development,   the characteristics  of  children  in care and techniques of group and child management including crisis  intervention,  the  laws,  regulations  and procedures   governing   the  protection  of  children  from  reportable incidents, and other appropriate  topics,  provided  however,  that  the department   may   exempt   administrators  and  consultants  from  such requirements upon demonstration of substantially equivalent knowledge or experience; and  (B) subject to the amounts  appropriated  therefor,  children  receive instruction,  consistent with their age, needs and circumstances as well as the needs and  circumstances  of  the  facility,  in  techniques  and procedures  which  will  enable such children to protect themselves from reportable incidents.   The department shall take all  reasonable  and  necessary  actions  to assure   that  employees,  volunteers  and  consultants  in  residential facilities and programs are kept apprised on  a  current  basis  of  all department  policies  and  procedures  relating  to  the  protection  of children from reportable incidents and shall monitor and  supervise  the provision  of  training  to  such administrators, employees, volunteers, children and consultants.  Regulations and standards developed  pursuant  to  this section shall, to the extent possible, be consistent with those promulgated by other state agencies for such purposes;  (vii)  consistent  with  applicable  collective bargaining agreements, assuring that an individual who has committed a category one offense, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision four  of  section  four  hundred ninety-three  of  the  social  services  law,  that  is  included on the vulnerable persons' central register is not hired or otherwise  used  in any position in which such individual would have regular and substantial contact  with  a service recipient in any program described in paragraph (e) of subdivision four of section  four  hundred  eighty-eight  of  the social services law.  (b)  Provide  for  the  development  and  implementation  of a plan of prevention and remediation with respect to  a  substantiated  report  of abuse  or  neglect.  Such  action  shall include: (i) within ten days of receipt of such a substantiated report, development  and  implementation of  a  plan  of prevention and remediation to be taken with respect to a custodian or the residential facility in order to assure  the  continued health  and  safety  of  children  and  to provide for the prevention of future acts constituting reportable incidents; and (ii) development  and implementation  of a plan of prevention and remediation, in the event an investigation  of  a  report  of  an  allegation  of  abuse  or  neglect determines  that  a  preponderance  of  the  evidence of such allegation exists and such substantiated allegation may be attributed in  whole  or in  part  to  noncompliance  by the residential facility or program with provisions of this chapter or regulations of the  department  applicable to  the  operation  of such residential facility or program. Any plan of prevention and remediation required to be  developed  pursuant  to  this subdivision  by  a  facility  supervised  by  the  department  shall  be submitted to and approved by the  department  in  accordance  with  time limits  established  by regulations of the department. Implementation of the plan  shall  be  monitored  by  the  department.  In  reviewing  the continued  qualifications  of  a  residential facility or program for an operating certificate, the department  shall  evaluate  such  facility's compliance  with  plans  of  prevention  and  remediation  developed and implemented pursuant to this subdivision.