NY Soc Serv L § 423 (2021)
2021 New York Laws SOS - Social Services Article 6 - Children Title 6 - Child Protective Services 423 - Child Protective Service Responsibilities and Organization; Purchase of Service and Reimbursement of Cost; Local Plan.

§  423.  Child  protective  service responsibilities and organization; purchase of service and reimbursement of cost; local plan. 1. (a)  Every local  department of social services shall establish a "child protective service" within such department.  The  child  protective  service  shall perform  those  functions  assigned  by  this  title to it and only such others that would further the  purposes  of  this  title.  Local  social services departments shall distribute the laws, regulations and policies of  the  department  pursuant to section four hundred twenty-one of this article to any society for the prevention of cruelty to  children  which has  entered  into a currently valid contract with a local department of social services.  (b) Every local department of social services  shall  provide  to  the child  protective  service information available to the local department which is relevant to the investigation of a report  of  child  abuse  or maltreatment  or  to  the  provision  of  protective services, where the confidentiality of such information is not expressly protected by law.  (c) The child protective service shall  have  a  sufficient  staff  of sufficient  qualifications  to fulfill the purposes of this title and be organized in such a way as to maximize the continuity of responsibility, care and service of individual workers toward  individual  children  and families. A social services district shall have flexibility in assigning staff  to the child protective service provided that each staff assigned to such service has  the  staff  qualifications  and  has  received  the training  required by the department regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivisions four and five of section four hundred  twenty-one  of  this title.  (d)  Consistent  with appropriate collective bargaining agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law, every  child  protective service   shall  establish  a  procedure  to  review  and  evaluate  the backgrounds  of  and  information  supplied  by   all   applicants   for employment.  Such  procedures  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.  (e) For purposes of this  title,  a  child  protective  service  shall include  an  Indian  tribe  that  has entered into an agreement with the department pursuant to section thirty-nine of this  chapter  to  provide child   protective   services  to  Indians  residing  upon  the  tribe's reservation in the state. Notwithstanding any other  provision  of  law, for  the  purposes  of this title, a social services district or a local department of social services shall include an  Indian  tribe  that  has entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  department  pursuant to section thirty-nine of this chapter to provide child protective  services.  Such Indian  tribe  shall only be considered a child protective service while such an agreement is in effect.   2. Any other provision of law  notwithstanding,  but  consistent  with subdivision  (1)  of  this  section, the child protective service, based upon the local plan of services as provided in subdivision (3)  of  this section, may purchase and utilize the services of any appropriate public or voluntary agency including a society for the prevention of cruelty to children.  When  services are purchased by the local department pursuant to this section and title, they shall be reimbursed by the state to  the locality  in  the  same manner and to the same extent as if the services were provided directly by the local department.    3. (a) Each social services district shall prepare and submit  to  the commissioner,  after  consultation  with local law enforcement agencies, the family court and appropriate public or voluntary agencies  including societies  for  the prevention of cruelty to children and after a public hearing,  a  district-wide  plan, as prescribed by the commissioner, for the provision of child protective services which shall be a component of the district's multi-year consolidated services plan.  This  plan  shall describe  the  district's  implementation  of  this  title including the organization, staffing, mode of operations and financing  of  the  child protective  service  as  well  as  the  provisions  made for purchase of service  and  inter-agency  relations.  Commencing  the  year  following preparation  of  a  multi-year  consolidated  services  plan, each local district  shall  prepare   annual   implementation   reports   including information  related  to  its child protective services plan. The social services district shall submit the child protective services plan to the department as a component of its multi-year consolidated  services  plan and  subsequent  thereto  as  a  component  of its annual implementation reports and the department shall review and approve  or  disapprove  the proposed plan and reports in accordance with the procedures set forth in section thirty-four-a of this chapter.   4.  As used in this section, "service" or "services" shall include the coordinating and monitoring of the activities of appropriate  public  or voluntary agencies utilized in the local plan.   5.  In  accordance  with the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section, a local department of social services may  submit  to  the department  a plan for a special program for the purpose of (a) ensuring the delivery of services to children and their families by arranging for the purchase and utilization of the service of any appropriate public or voluntary agency to provide rehabilitative  services  to  at  least  the majority  of  children  and  families  assisted  by the child protective service;  and  (b)  strengthening  the  monitoring  role  of  the  child protective service.   Such  program  shall  also  include  provisions  for  the  training of employees of public and private agencies assigned functions of the child protective service, in the duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  child protective  service  and  in  the  provision of services to children and families, pursuant to this title. The department shall  approve  such  a plan  in  not  more than six social services districts upon satisfactory demonstration  that  a  local  department  of   social   services   will effectively  discharge  all responsibilities required by this title. Any such plan must be submitted to the department as part of the  multi-year services plan required pursuant to section thirty-four-a of this chapter and,  if  approved,  shall be operative for a period not to exceed three years. The department shall contract with  an  individual,  partnership, corporation,  institution or other organization for the performance of a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of the  implementation  of such  plans.  A  report  of  such  evaluations shall be submitted by the department to  the  governor  and  the  legislature  by  January  first, nineteen  hundred ninety. Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to relieve a child protective service from any responsibilities assigned to it by this title.   6. A  social  services  district  may  establish  a  multidisciplinary investigative team or teams and may establish or work as part of a child advocacy   center   established   pursuant   to   section  four  hundred twenty-three-a of this title, at a local  or  regional  level,  for  the purpose   of   investigating   reports   of  suspected  child  abuse  or maltreatment. The social services district shall  have  discretion  with regard  to  the  category  or  categories  of  suspected  child abuse or  maltreatment such team or teams may investigate, provided, however,  the social  services  district  shall  place  particular  emphasis  on cases involving the abuse of a child as described in paragraph  (i),  (ii)  or (iii)  of  subdivision  (e) of section one thousand twelve of the family court act, sexual abuse of a child or the death of a child.  Members  of multidisciplinary   teams   shall   include   but   not  be  limited  to representatives from the following agencies: child protective  services, law  enforcement,  district  attorney's  office,  physician  or  medical provider trained in forensic pediatrics,  mental  health  professionals, victim  advocacy  personnel and, if one exists, a child advocacy center. Members of the multidisciplinary  team  primarily  responsible  for  the investigation   of  child  abuse  reports,  including  child  protective services,  law  enforcement  and  district  attorney's   office,   shall participate  in  joint  interviews  and  conduct investigative functions consistent with the mission of the particular agency member involved. It shall not be required that  members  of  a  multidisciplinary  team  not responsible  for  the  investigation  of  reports  participate  in every investigation.  Such  other  members  shall  provide  victim   advocacy, emotional  support,  and access to medical and mental health care, where applicable.  All  members,  consistent  with  their  respective   agency missions, shall facilitate efficient delivery of services to victims and appropriate  disposition  of  cases  through the criminal justice system and/or the family court  system  in  a  collaborative  manner,  however, non-investigative  team  members  shall  note their specific role in the team for reports covered under this  title.  Notwithstanding  any  other provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  members  of  a multidisciplinary investigative team or a child advocacy center may share with other  team members  client-identifiable  information  concerning  the  child or the child's family to facilitate the investigation of suspected child  abuse or maltreatment. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude the creation of  multidisciplinary teams or child advocacy centers which include more than one social services district. Each team  shall  develop  a  written protocol for investigation of child abuse and maltreatment cases and for interviewing  child  abuse and maltreatment victims. The social services district is encouraged to train each team  member  in  risk  assessment, indicators  of  child  abuse and maltreatment, and appropriate interview techniques.