2012 New York Consolidated Laws
SOS - Social Services
Article 6 - CHILDREN
Title 6 - (411 - 428) CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
421 - Responsibility of the department.

 
    § 421. * Responsibility of the department. The department 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 and
  sections two hundred fourteen-a and eight hundred forty of the executive
  law. 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.
    * NB Effective until June 30, 2013
    * 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.
    * NB Effective June 30, 2013
    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 credible evidence of

  alleged abuse and maltreatment required to determine  whether  a  report
  may be indicated.
    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 common core 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.