2023 New York Laws › SOS - Social Services › Article 6 - Children › Title 6 - Child Protective Services › 421 - Responsibility of the Office.

§  421.  Responsibility  of  the  office.  The  office  shall:  1.  in
conjunction with  local  departments,  both  jointly  and  individually,
within  the  appropriation available, conduct a continuing publicity and
education program for local  department  staff,  persons  and  officials
required  to  report  including  district  attorneys, assistant district
attorneys, police officers, peace officers,  investigators  employed  in
the  office of a district attorney, and any other appropriate persons to
encourage the fullest degree of reporting of suspected  child  abuse  or
maltreatment.    Such  program  shall  be  developed  and implemented in
coordination with those established pursuant to  section  31.06  of  the
mental  hygiene  law,  section twenty-eight hundred five-n of the public
health law, section thirty-two hundred  nine-a  of  the  education  law,
sections two hundred fourteen-a and eight hundred forty of the executive
law  and  article  eleven of this chapter. The program shall include but
not be limited to responsibilities, obligations and  powers  under  this
title  and  chapter  as  well  as  the  diagnosis  of  child  abuse  and
maltreatment, the procedures of the child protective service, the family
court and other duly authorized agencies and the  prevention,  treatment
and  remediation  of  abuse  and maltreatment of children in residential
care.
2.  (a)  provide  technical  assistance  to  local   social   services
departments  regarding  case  planning  and  provision  of  services and
performance of other  responsibilities  pursuant  to  this  title.  Such
assistance  shall be provided on a regular, ongoing basis and shall also
be made available as needed, upon request of any such local department.
(b) issue guidelines to assist local social  services  departments  in
evaluating   and   establishing  investigative  priorities  for  reports
describing situations or events which  may  pose  a  clear  and  present
danger  to  the  life,  health  or  safety  of a child and which require
immediate, personal contact between the local child  protective  service
and  the  subject  of  the  report,  the  subject's family, or any other
persons named in the report.
* (c) issue guidelines to assist local child  protective  services  in
the  interpretation  and assessment of reports of abuse and maltreatment
made to the statewide central register described in section four hundred
twenty-two of this article. Such guidelines shall  include  information,
standards  and  criteria  for  the identification of evidence of alleged
abuse and maltreatment as required to determine whether a report may  be
indicated  pursuant  to  this  article.  Provided further, the office of
children and family services shall update such guidelines, standards and
criteria issued to  the  local  child  protective  services  to  include
protocols  to  reduce  implicit  bias  in the decision-making processes,
strategies for identifying adverse childhood experiences as  defined  in
paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision one of section twenty-d of this chapter,
and guidelines to assist in recognizing signs of abuse  or  maltreatment
while interacting virtually. The office may utilize existing programs or
materials established pursuant to section twenty-d of this chapter.
* NB Effective until November 17, 2024
* (c)  issue  guidelines  to assist local child protective services in
the interpretation and assessment of reports of abuse  and  maltreatment
made to the statewide central register described in section four hundred
twenty-two  of  this article. Such guidelines shall include information,
standards and criteria for the identification  of  evidence  of  alleged
abuse  and maltreatment as required to determine whether a report may be
indicated pursuant to this article.  Provided  further,  the  office  of
children and family services shall update such guidelines, standards and
criteria  issued  to  the  local  child  protective  services to include
protocols to reduce implicit  bias  in  the  decision-making  processes,

strategies  for  identifying adverse childhood experiences as defined in
paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section twenty-d  of  this  chapter,
guidelines to assist in recognizing signs of abuse or maltreatment while
interacting   virtually,  and  guidance  on  identifying  an  abused  or
maltreated child when such child is an individual with  an  intellectual
or  developmental  disability  as  defined in section 1.03 of the mental
hygiene law. The office  may  utilize  existing  programs  or  materials
established pursuant to section twenty-d of this chapter.
* NB Effective November 17, 2024
3.   promulgate   regulations   setting  forth  requirements  for  the
performance by local social  services  departments  of  the  duties  and
powers  imposed  and conferred upon them by the provisions of this title
and of article ten of the  family  court  act.  Such  regulations  shall
establish uniform requirements for the investigation of reports of child
abuse  or maltreatment under this title. The department shall also issue
guidelines which shall set forth the circumstances or  conditions  under
which:
(a)  personal contact shall be made with the child named in the report
and any other children in the  same  household,  including  interviewing
such  child  or  children  absent  the  subject  of  the report whenever
possible and appropriate;
(b) photographs of visible physical injuries or trauma of children who
may be the victims of abuse or maltreatment shall be taken  or  arranged
for;
(c)  medical  examination  of  a child who may be a victim of abuse or
maltreatment and documentation of findings of such examination, shall be
required.
The department shall promulgate regulations to establish standards for
intervention, criteria  for  case  closings,  criteria  for  determining
whether  or  not to initiate a child protective proceeding, and criteria
for the formulation of treatment plans and for  the  delivery  of  child
protective  services  including  specification  of  the  services  to be
classified as child protective services, which shall also apply  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 to
investigate  child  abuse  or maltreatment reports. The department shall
promulgate regulations establishing minimum standards and practices  for
the  delivery of child protective services in connection with monitoring
and supervising respondents and their families as ordered  by  a  family
court  pursuant  to  section ten hundred thirty-nine and paragraphs (i),
(iii), (iv) and (v) of subdivision (a) of section ten hundred  fifty-two
of the family court act. Such regulations shall also require local child
protective  services  to  comply  with  notification requirements of the
family court act in connection  with  such  monitoring  and  supervisory
responsibilities.
4.  (a)  after  consultation with the local child protective services,
promulgate   regulations   relating   to   staff   qualifications    for
non-supervisory  child  protective  services  workers,  prescribing  any
baccalaureate or equivalent college degree and/or relevant human service
experience as requirements. Such requirements shall not apply to persons
currently employed by such child  protective  services  who  were  hired
before January first, nineteen hundred eighty-six.
(b)  after  consultation  with  the  local  child protective services,
promulgate  regulations  relating  to  staff  qualifications  for  those
assigned to be supervisors of child protective services, prescribing any
baccalaureate   or  equivalent  college  degree  and/or  relevant  human
services  experience  as  requirements.  Provided,  however,  that  such
regulations  shall  at  a  minimum  provide  that  those  assigned to be

supervisors of child protective services  have  either  a  baccalaureate
degree  or  three  years of relevant work experience in a human services
field. Such requirements shall not apply to persons  currently  assigned
to  be  a  child  protective  services  supervisor who were hired before
December first, two thousand six.
5. (a) directly  or  through  the  purchase  of  services,  implement,
subject  to  the  amounts  appropriated  therefor, an ongoing, statewide
training program for employees of  the  department  and  of  each  local
department  of social services employed in the provision and supervision
of  child  protective  services  or  in  other  activities  required  in
accordance with the provisions of this title.
(b)  promulgate  regulations setting forth training requirements which
shall specify, among other things, that all persons  hired  by  a  child
protective  service on or after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six
shall have satisfactorily completed a course approved by the  department
within  the  first  three  months  of employment, in the fundamentals of
child protection. Such course shall include at least basic  training  in
the principles and techniques of investigations, including relationships
with  other  investigative bodies, legal issues in child protection, and
methods  of  remediation,  diagnosis,  treatment  and  prevention.  Such
regulations  shall  also  specify  that  all persons employed by a child
protective service on or after December first, two  thousand  six  shall
satisfactorily  complete  six  hours  of  annual  in  service  training,
beginning in their second year of employment.  Such  annual  in  service
training  shall  include, but is not limited to, review of the protocols
for identification and investigation of child  abuse  and  maltreatment,
any  developments  in  legal,  treatment  and prevention issues in child
protection, and review  and  analysis  of  field  experiences  of  child
protective services workers.
(c)  require  all  persons  assigned  to  be  a  supervisor by a child
protective service on or after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six,
shall have satisfactorily completed, within the first  three  months  of
employment  as a supervisor or within three months of the effective date
of this  paragraph,  whichever  shall  occur  first,  a  course  in  the
fundamentals of child protection developed by the office of children and
family  services.  Such  training  course  shall,  among  other  things,
strengthen and expand current training procedures for  child  protective
service  supervisors;  provide  the  skills,  knowledge and standards to
practice  effective  case  planning   and   case   management;   provide
comprehensive  assessment  tools  needed  in  critical  decision making;
require participation in the existing next generation training  required
by  child  protective  service  caseworkers;  strengthen recognition and
response to safety  and  risk  indicators;  improve  skills  to  promote
consistent   implementation   of  training  and  practice;  provide  the
necessary tools and assistance to build the ability to coach and monitor
child protective service caseworkers and model  effective  investigation
practice; increase cultural competency and sensitivity; and establish an
annual  in  service  training  program  specifically  focused  on  child
protective service supervisors.
(d) withhold  reimbursement,  otherwise  payable  to  social  services
districts,  for  the  salaries of employees of child protective services
who do not comply with the background review, educational, experience or
training requirements of this title.
6. promulgate regulations which require social services  districts  to
make  local  procedural  manuals  and  service  directories available to
employees of a child protective service,  service  providers  and  other
professionals   involved   in   the   prevention   of  child  abuse  and
maltreatment.
7. take all reasonable and necessary actions to assure that the  local
departments  of  social services are kept apprised on a current basis of
the laws, regulations and policies of the  department  concerning  child
abuse and maltreatment.
8.  monitor  and supervise the performance of the local departments of
social services.