2023 New York Laws › SOS - Social Services › Article 6 - Children › Title 1 - Care and Protection of Children › 372 - Records and Reports.

§  372.  Records  and reports. 1. Every court, and every public board,
commission, institution, or officer having powers or charged with duties
in relation to abandoned, delinquent, destitute, neglected or  dependent
children who shall receive, accept or commit any child shall provide and
keep a record showing: (a) the full and true name of the child,
(b)  his  sex  and  date  and place of birth, if ascertainable, or his
apparent age,
(c) the full and true names and places of birth of  his  parents,  and
their  actual  residence  if living, or their latest known residence, if
deceased or whereabouts unknown and the name and actual residence of any
other person having custody of the child, as  nearly  as  the  same  can
reasonably be ascertained,
(d) the religious faith of the parents and of the child,
(e)  the  name and address of any person, agency, institution or other
organization to which the child is committed, placed out,  boarded  out,
or otherwise given into care, custody or control,
(f)  the  religious  faith  and occupation of the head or heads of the
family with whom the child is  placed  out  or  boarded  out  and  their
relationship, if any, to the child,
(g) if any such child shall die, the date and cause of death and place
of burial,
(h)  any  further disposition or change in care, custody or control of
the child,
(i) the date or dates of reception and of any  subsequent  disposition
or change in care, custody or control and, in case of adoption, the name
and  title  of  the judge or surrogate making the order of adoption, the
date of such order and the date and place of filing of such order,
(j) the reasons for any act  performed  in  reference  to  such  child
herein  required  to be recorded, together with such further information
as the department may require; and shall make  to  the  department  upon
blanks provided by the department reports of each such child placed out,
or  boarded  out, containing the information herein required to be kept;
and shall furnish such information to any authorized agency to which any
such child shall be committed or otherwise given into custody.
2.  Every  charitable,  eleemosynary,  reformatory,  or   correctional
institution,  public  or  private,  incorporated  or unincorporated, and
every agency, association, corporation, institution,  society  or  other
organization  which shall receive, accept, or admit any child whether or
not in receipt of payments from public funds for  the  support  of  such
child  shall  provide and keep a record as described in subdivision one,
and also showing how, by whom and for what reason such child shall  have
been given into its custody or committed to it and shall make reports of
each such child to the department upon blanks provided by the department
giving  all  the  information required by subdivision one to be recorded
together with such further information as the  department  may  require.
Except as to children placed out, boarded out or surrendered or for whom
guardianship  is  accepted or adoption provided, the requirement of this
section shall not apply to hospitals, day  nurseries,  eleemosynary  day
schools, and summer and vacation homes and camps, or to institutions for
the  care of convalescent, anaemic, under-nourished or cardiac children,
preventoria, working boys' homes, emergency shelters and schools for the
blind and for the deaf, but all such hospitals, homes  and  institutions
shall  keep  such records and make to the department such reports as the
department may require.
3. Such records maintained by the department or an authorized  agency,
including  a local social services district, regarding such children are
confidential, provided, however, that such records are  subject  to  the
provisions  of  article  thirty-one of the civil practice law and rules.

When either the subject foster child, or such child's  parent,  or  such
child's  guardian  if  any,  is not a party to the action, a copy of the
notice or motion  for  discovery  shall  be  served  upon  such  parent,
guardian,  and  child  and,  if  the child is still a minor, the child's
attorney. Such persons may thereafter appear in the action  with  regard
to  such  discovery.  Where  no action is pending, upon application by a
parent, relative or legal guardian of such child  or  by  an  authorized
agency,  after  due  notice  to  the  institution  or  authorized agency
affected and hearing had thereon, the supreme court may by order  direct
the officers of such institution or authorized agency to furnish to such
parent, relative, legal guardian or authorized agency such extracts from
the  record  relating  to  such  child as the court may deem proper. The
department through its authorized agents and employees  may  examine  at
all reasonable times the records required by this section to be kept.
4. (a) All such records relating to such children shall be open to the
inspection  of  the board and the department at any reasonable time, and
the information called for under this section and such other data as may
be required by the department shall be reported to  the  department,  in
accordance  with the regulations of the department. Such records kept by
the department shall be deemed confidential  and  shall  be  safeguarded
from  coming  to  the knowledge of and from inspection or examination by
any person other than one authorized, by the department, by a  judge  of
the  court  of  claims when such records are required for the trial of a
claim or other proceeding in such court or by a justice of  the  supreme
court,  or by a judge of the family court when such records are required
for the trial of a proceeding in such  court,  after  a  notice  to  all
interested  persons  and a hearing, to receive such knowledge or to make
such inspection or examination. No person shall divulge the  information
thus  obtained  without  authorization so to do by the department, or by
such judge or justice.
(b)(i) Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent  provision  of  law  to  the
contrary,  records  relating  to  children kept pursuant to this section
shall  be  made  available  to  officers  and  employees  of  the  state
comptroller  or  of  the city comptroller of the city of New York, or of
the county officer designated by law or charter to perform the  auditing
function  in  any  county  not  wholly  contained within a city, for the
purposes of a duly authorized  performance  audit,  provided  that  such
comptroller  shall  have certified to the keeper of such records that he
or she has instituted procedures  developed  in  consultation  with  the
department to limit access to client-identifiable information to persons
requiring  such information for purposes of the audit, that such persons
shall not use such information in any way except  for  purposes  of  the
audit  and that appropriate controls and prohibitions are imposed on the
dissemination of client-identifiable information obtained in the conduct
of the audit. Information pertaining to the substance or content of  any
psychological,  psychiatric,  therapeutic,  clinical or medical reports,
evaluations or like materials or information pertaining to such child or
the child's family shall not be made  available  to  such  officers  and
employees  unless disclosure of such information is absolutely essential
to the specific audit activity and the department  gives  prior  written
approval.
(ii)    Any    failure    to    maintain    the   confidentiality   of
client-identifiable  information  shall  subject  such  comptroller   or
officer  to  denial  of any further access to records until such time as
the audit agency has reviewed its  procedures  concerning  controls  and
prohibitions  imposed  on  the dissemination of such information and has
taken all reasonable and appropriate steps to eliminate such  lapses  in
maintaining  confidentiality  to the satisfaction of the department. The

department shall establish the grounds for denial of access  to  records
contained  under  this section and shall recommend, as necessary, a plan
of remediation to the audit agency. Except as provided in this  section,
nothing  in  this paragraph shall be construed as limiting the powers of
such comptroller or officer to access  records  which  he  is  otherwise
authorized  to  audit  or obtain under any other applicable provision of
law. Any person given access to information pursuant to  this  paragraph
who  releases  data or information to persons or agencies not authorized
to receive such information shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
4-a. Notwithstanding any provisions of law  to  the  contrary,  social
services  districts shall provide a written summary of services rendered
to a child upon  the  request  of  a  probation  service  conducting  an
investigation  pursuant to the provisions of section 351.1 of the family
court act. Information provided to a probation service pursuant  to  the
provisions  of  this  subdivision  shall  be  maintained by such service
according to the provisions of subdivision five of section 351.1 of  the
family court act.
4-b.   Notwithstanding   any  other  provision  of  law,  foster  care
information governed by this section may be released by  the  department
or an authorized agency to a person, agency or organization for purposes
of  a  bona  fide research project. Identifying information shall not be
made available, however,  unless  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  the
research  purpose  and  the department gives prior approval. Information
released pursuant to this subdivision shall not be  re-disclosed  except
as otherwise permitted by law and upon the approval of the department.
5.  The  requirements of this section to keep records and make reports
shall not apply to the birth parent or parents, or relatives within  the
second degree of such parents.
6.  The  provisions  of  this section as to records and reports to the
department shall apply also to the placing out, adoption or boarding out
of a child and the acceptance of  guardianship  or  of  surrender  of  a
child.
7.  An  authorized  agency  as  defined  in  paragraphs (a) and (b) of
subdivision ten of section three hundred seventy-one of this chapter  or
any  primary or secondary school or an office of the division for youth,
except  agencies  operating  pursuant  to  article  nineteen-H  of   the
executive  law,  who  shall  receive, accept, enroll or commit any child
under such circumstances as shall reasonably indicate  that  such  child
may  be  a missing person shall make inquiries of each such child to the
division of criminal justice services in a  manner  prescribed  by  such
division; provided that as used in this subdivision a court shall not be
included  within  the  definition of an authorized agency. If such child
appears to match a child registered with the statewide central  register
for   missing   children   as   described   in   section  eight  hundred
thirty-seven-e of the executive law, or one registered with the national
crime information center register, such agency shall immediately contact
the local law enforcement agency.
8. In any case where a child is to be placed with or discharged  to  a
relative  or  other  person  legally responsible pursuant to section ten
hundred seventeen or ten hundred fifty-five of  the  family  court  act,
such relative or other person shall be provided with such information by
an  authorized  agency as is provided to foster parents pursuant to this
section and applicable regulations of the department.