§ 4314 — Protection of pupils

§ 4314. Protection of pupils. The department shall:\n (a) Promulgate regulations concerning standards for the protection of\nchildren in residential care from reportable incidents in accordance\nwith this section and article eleven of the social services law,\nincluding procedures for:\n (i) consistent with appropriate collective agreements and applicable\nprovisions of the civil service law, the review and evaluation of the\nbackgrounds of and the information supplied by any person applying to be\nan employee, a volunteer or consultant, which shall include but not be\nlimited to the following requirements: that the applicant set forth his\nor her employment history, provide personal and employment references,\nand relevant experiential and educational information, and sign a sworn\nstatement indicating whether the applicant, to the best of his or her\nknowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime in this state or any other\njurisdiction;\n (ii) establishing for employees, relevant minimal experiential and\neducational qualifications consistent with appropriate collective\nbargaining agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service\nlaw;\n (iii) assuring adequate and appropriate supervision of employees,\nvolunteers and consultants;\n (iv) demonstrating by a residential facility or program that\nappropriate action is taken to assure the safety of the child who is\nalleged to have been subjected to a reportable incident in a report to\nthe vulnerable persons' central register in accordance with section four\nhundred ninety-two of the social services law as well as other children\nin care, immediately upon notification that such a report of an\nallegation of a reportable incident has been made;\n (v) removing a child when it is determined that there is risk to such\nchild if he or she continues to remain within a residential facility or\nprogram; and\n (vi) appropriate preventive and remedial action to be taken including\nlegal actions, consistent with appropriate collective bargaining\nagreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law.\n Such standards shall also establish as a priority requirements that:\n(1) subject to the amounts appropriated therefor, administrators,\nemployees, volunteers and consultants receive training in at least the\nfollowing: child abuse prevention and identification, safety and\nsecurity procedures, the principles of child development, the\ncharacteristics of children in care and techniques of group and child\nmanagement including crisis intervention, the laws, regulations and\nprocedures governing the protection of children from reportable\nincidents, and other appropriate topics, provided however, that the\ndepartment may exempt administrators and consultants from such\nrequirements upon demonstration of substantially equivalent knowledge or\nexperience; and\n (2) subject to the amounts appropriated therefor, children receive\ninstruction, consistent with their age, needs and circumstances as well\nas the needs and circumstances within the facility or program, in\ntechniques and procedures which will enable such children to protect\nthemselves from reportable incidents.\n The department, in consultation with the executive director of the\njustice center for the protection of people with special needs, shall\ntake all reasonable and necessary actions to assure that employees,\nvolunteers and consultants in residential facilities are kept apprised\non a current basis of all department policies and procedures relating to\nthe protection of children from reportable incidents and shall monitor\nand supervise the provision of training to such employees, volunteers\nand consultants. Regulations and standards developed pursuant to this\nsection shall, to the extent possible, be consistent with those\npromulgated by other state agencies for such purposes;\n (vii) consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements,\nassuring that an individual who has committed a category one offense, as\ndefined in paragraph (a) of subdivision four of section four hundred\nninety-three of the social services law, that is included on the\nvulnerable persons' central register is not hired or otherwise used in\nany position in which such individual would have regular and substantial\ncontact with a service recipient in any program described in paragraph\n(e) of subdivision four of section four hundred eighty-eight of the\nsocial services law.\n (b) Provide for the development and implementation of a plan of\nprevention and remediation with respect to a substantiated report of\nabuse or neglect. Such action shall include: (i) within ten days of\nreceipt of such a substantiated report, development and implementation\nof a plan of prevention and remediation to be taken with respect to a\ncustodian or the residential facility in order to assure the continued\nhealth and safety of children and to provide for the prevention of\nfuture acts constituting reportable incidents; and (ii) development and\nimplementation of a plan of prevention and remediation, in the event an\ninvestigation of a report of an allegation of abuse or neglect\ndetermines that a preponderance of the evidence of such allegation\nexists and such substantiated allegation may be attributed in whole or\nin part to noncompliance by the residential facility or program with\nprovisions of this chapter or regulations of the department applicable\nto the operation of such residential facility or program. Any plan of\nprevention and remediation required to be developed pursuant to this\nsubdivision by a facility supervised by the department shall be\nsubmitted to and approved by the department in accordance with time\nlimits established by regulations of the department. Implementation of\nthe plan shall be monitored by the department. In reviewing the\ncontinued qualifications of a residential facility or program for an\noperating certificate, the department shall evaluate such facility's\ncompliance with plans of prevention and remediation developed and\nimplemented pursuant to this subdivision.\n