§ 422-A — Child abuse and neglect investigations; disclosure

New York § 422-A

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law SOS: Social Services
• Title 6: Child Protective Services
• Art. 6: Children

Text

§ 422-a. Child abuse and neglect investigations; disclosure. 1.\nNotwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law to the contrary, the\ncommissioner or a city or county social services commissioner may\ndisclose information regarding the abuse or maltreatment of a child as\nset forth in this section, and the investigation thereof and any\nservices related thereto if he or she determines that such disclosure\nshall not be contrary to the best interests of the child, the child's\nsiblings or other children in the household and any one of the following\nfactors are present:\n (a) the subject of the report has been charged in an accusatory\ninstrument with committing a crime related to a report maintained in the\nstatewide central register; or\n (b) the investigation of the abuse or maltreatment of the child by the\nlocal child protective service or the provision of services by such\nservice has been publicly disclosed in a report required to be disclosed\nin the course of their official duties, by a law enforcement agency or\nofficial, a district attorney, any other state or local investigative\nagency or official or by judge of the unified court system; or\n (c) there has been a prior knowing, voluntary, public disclosure by an\nindividual concerning a report of child abuse or maltreatment in which\nsuch individual is named as the subject of the report as defined by\nsubdivision four of section four hundred twelve of this title; or\n (d) the child named in the report has died or the report involves the\nnear fatality of a child. For the purposes of this section, "near\nfatality" means an act that results in the child being placed, as\ncertified by a physician, in serious or critical condition.\n 2. For the purposes of this section, the following information may be\ndisclosed:\n (a) the name of the abused or maltreated child;\n (b) the determination by the local child protective service or the\nstate agency which investigated the report and the findings of the\napplicable investigating agency upon which such determination was based;\n (c) identification of child protective or other services provided or\nactions, if any, taken regarding the child named in the report and his\nor her family as a result of any such report or reports;\n (d) whether any report of abuse or maltreatment regarding such child\nhas been "indicated" as maintained by the statewide central register;\n (e) any actions taken by the local child protective service and the\nlocal social services district in response to reports of abuse or\nmaltreatment of the child to the statewide central register including\nbut not limited to actions taken after each and every report of abuse or\nmaltreatment of such child and the dates of such reports;\n (f) whether the child or the child's family has received care or\nservices from the local social services district prior to each and every\nreport of abuse or maltreatment of such child;\n (g) any extraordinary or pertinent information concerning the\ncircumstances of the abuse or maltreatment of the child and the\ninvestigation thereof, where the commissioner or the local commissioner\ndetermines such disclosure is consistent with the public interest.\n 3. Information may be disclosed pursuant to this section as follows:\n (a) information released prior to the completion of the investigation\nof a report shall be limited to a statement that a report is "under\ninvestigation";\n (b) when there has been a prior disclosure pursuant to paragraph (a)\nof this subdivision, information released in a case in which the report\nhas been unfounded shall be limited to the statement that "the\ninvestigation has been completed, and the report has been unfounded";\n (c) if the report has been "indicated" then information may be\nreleased pursuant to subdivision two of this section.\n 4. Any disclosure of information pursuant to this section shall be\nconsistent with the provisions of subdivision two of this section. Such\ndisclosure shall not identify or provide an identifying description of\nthe source of the report, and shall not identify the name of the abused\nor maltreated child's siblings, the parent or other person legally\nresponsible for the child or any other members of the child's household,\nother than the subject of the report.\n 5. In determining pursuant to subdivision one of this section whether\ndisclosure will be contrary to the best interests of the child, the\nchild's siblings or other children in the household, the commissioner or\na city or county social services commissioner shall consider the\ninterest in privacy of the child and the child's family and the effects\nwhich disclosure may have on efforts to reunite and provide services to\nthe family.\n 6. Whenever a disclosure of information is made pursuant to this\nsection, the city or county social services commissioner shall make a\nwritten statement prior to disclosing such information to the chief\ncounty executive officer where the incident occurred setting forth the\nparagraph in subdivision one of this section upon which he or she is\nbasing such disclosure.\n 7. Except as it applies directly to the cause of the abuse or\nmaltreatment of the child, nothing in this section shall be deemed to\nauthorize the release or disclosure of the substance or content of any\npsychological, psychiatric, therapeutic, clinical or medical reports,\nevaluations or like materials or information pertaining to such child or\nthe child's family. Prior to the release or disclosure of any\npsychological, psychiatric or therapeutic reports, evaluations or like\nmaterials or information pursuant to this subdivision, the city or\ncounty social services commissioner shall consult with the local mental\nhygiene director.\n