NEW YORK

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WHO:        ANY person MAY report who has reasonable cause to suspect that a child is abused or maltreated.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 414]    

These are mandatory (MUST report or cause a report to be made): • Physicians, physician assistants, surgeons, medical examiners, coroners, dentists, dental hygienists, osteopaths, optometrists, chiropractors, podiatrists, residents, interns, psychologists, registered nurses, social workers, or emergency medical technicians • Licensed creative arts therapists, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, psychoanalysts, behavior analysts, behavior analyst assistants • Hospital personnel engaged in admission, examination, care, or treatment • Christian Science practitioners • School officials, including, but not limited to, school teachers, school guidance counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, school nurses, school administrators, or other school personnel required to hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate • Full- or part-time compensated school employees required to hold temporary coaching licenses or professional coaching certificates • Social services workers, employees of publicly-funded emergency shelters for family with children • Directors of children’s overnight camps, summer day camps, or traveling summer day camps in Pub. Health Law § 1392 • Daycare center workers, school-age child care workers, providers of family or group family daycare, employees or volunteers in a residential care facility that is licensed, certified, or operated by the Office of Children and Family Services, or any other child care or foster care worker • Mental health professionals, substance abuse counselors, alcoholism counselors, and all persons credentialed by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services • Employees, who are expected to have regular and substantial contact with children, of a health home or health home care management agency contracting with a health home as designated by the Department of Health and authorized under § 365I of this chapter or such employees who provide home and community based services under a demonstration program pursuant to section 1115 of the federal Social Security Act who are expected to have regular and substantial contact with children • Peace officers, police officers, district attorneys or assistant district attorneys, investigators employed in the office of a district attorney, or other law enforcement officials.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 413(1)(a)]

·       NOTE: The mandate pertains to (1) observations at work and (2) statements made to mandated reporters by a child-responsible person who “comes before” the reporter. The mandate appears to be limited to reporter occupational environments.

·       STANDARD:  [Soc. Serv. Law §§ 371(1); 413(1)(a),(d); 414; Fam. Court Act § 1012(e),(f)]  Child means actually or apparently under age 18.

o   For mandatory reporters: reasonable cause to suspect that either: (a) a child seen in their professional or official capacity is abused or maltreated; OR (b) a parent, guardian, custodian, or other person legally responsible for the child comes before him/her and states from personal knowledge facts, conditions, or circumstances that, if correct, would signify that the child is abused or maltreated.

(a)   For social services workers the cause to suspect may arise where a person comes before them in their professional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge facts, conditions or circumstances which would indicate the child is abused or maltreated. 

o   For any reporter:  reasonable cause to suspect that a child is abused or maltreated.

·       PRIVILEGE:  Regardless of [professional-patient] privileges in Civil Practice Law § 45 or other law, if a mandated report triggers an investigation, the reporter must comply with record requests for it by a child protective services agency. [Soc. Serv. Law § 415]

WHEN:      For mandatory reporters: IMMEDIATE report by phone or a faxed form. Mandated oral reports MUST be followed with a written one within 48 HOURS.   [Soc. Serv. Law § 415]  

WHERE & HOW:  New York State has a statewide central register (SCR). Reports must be made to SCR unless the local plan for Child Protective Services (CPS) indicates that oral reports should be made to local CPS.  [Soc. Serv. Law §§ 415; 422]

(1)      For a child in immediate danger, call 911  -OR-  local police.  A third-party directory of law enforcement agencies in NY is at https://www.usacops.com/ny/

(2)      The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) runs SCR and the Child Abuse & Maltreatment Hotline (24/7) to receive reports.  It does not list online or fax reporting options in the websites reviewed.

·        Both General Public & Mandated Reporters:           1 (800) 342-3720

·        Mandated Reporters only:                                        1 (800) 635-1522

o   For abuse by institutional (e.g., daycare) staff:  1-855-373-2122 (this is the Justice Center for Institutional Abuse)

o   Mandated reporters also have an unlisted fax number for reporting on the LDSS-2221 form listed below.

·        Deaf / Hard of Hearing:                                             1 (800) 638-5163

Or Video Relay System provider calls 1 (800) 342-3720 above.

·        Also, in New York City:                                             311

o   An OCFS website has more information, https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/cps/

o   For written reports:  oral (e.g., phone) reports by mandatory reporters MUST be followed by a written report within 48 hours.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 415]

·        Written reports require form LDSS-2221A; it is linked at the OCFS website listed above in several language versions: English, Haitian Creole, Korean, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, and Russian. 

·        Written reports are mailed to the local Department of Social Services (DSS) at its Child Protective Services (CPS) unit; for a directory see https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/localdss.asp  An exception is that written reports on children under care in a home operated or supervised by OCFS or an authorized agency are submitted to SCR.

·        A concise overview of requirements and protocols for mandatory reporters is at https://www.nyc.gov/site/acs/child-welfare/mandated-reporters.page#:~:text=Certain%20professionals%20such%20as%20doctors,State%20Central%20Register%20(SCR).

(3)      Deaths: Any mandated reporter who has reasonable cause to suspect a child’s death resulted from abuse or maltreatment MUST report that to the appropriate (county) medical examiner or coroner.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 418] 

·        Counties vary in having M.E.s vs. coroners. Deputy coroners are physicians, when county coroners are not physicians. For information and contacts, see the websites below or local law enforcement.

Type by county: http://www.nysaccme.org/images/Misc/Coroner-ME_map.png    

Directory of links by county: https://nysaccme.org/membership/#map

OTHER ASPECTS

·       INSTITUTIONAL REPORTS:  A mandatory reporter on staff at a medical or other public or private institution, school, facility, or agency MUST report in the usual way but ALSO must immediately inform the institution/etc.’s chief or designee. The chief is responsible for follow-up on the report, and must list the name, title and contact info for staff members believed to have direct knowledge of its allegations. Only one report per incident per institution/etc. is required. Retaliation against reporters is forbidden. And nobody may constrain required report-making.  [Soc. Serv. Law §§ 413(1)(b),(c)]

·       REPORT DETAILS: Written reports MUST contain: (1) names and addresses of the child and parents or others responsible for him/her; (2) child's age, sex, and race; (3) nature and extent of injury, abuse, or maltreatment, and any evidence of prior ones to him/her or siblings; (4) alleged perpetrator(s) names, if known; (5) family composition; (6) report’s source; (7) reporter’s name and contact info; (8) reporter’s actions (e.g., photos, x-rays, removing or keeping child, notice to M.E. or coroner); and (9) any other info OCFS requires or the reporter believes may help.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 415]

·       REPORTER PROTECTION: (1) The mandated reporter’s name and contact information must be included in reports.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 415]  (2) Any disclosure of information from the report does not provide an identifying description of the reporter.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 422-a(4)]  (3) Any reporter in good faith is immune from civil and criminal liability. Good faith is presumed if the reporter is mandated and was discharging duties, acting within the scope of employment, and the liability is not the result of his/her own willful misconduct or gross negligence.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 419]

WHY:        (1) Any mandatory reporter who willfully fails to report commits a class A misdemeanor. If the failure was also knowing, s/he is civilly liable for damages proximately caused (i.e., as a direct result).  [Soc. Serv. Law § 420]  (2) ANYONE who, by word or action, knowingly reports a [fabricated] abuse / maltreatment incident to (a) the statewide central registry or (b) someone s/he knows is a mandatory reporter, intending it to be reported to the registry, commits a class A misdemeanor.  [Penal Law § 240.50(4)]

WHAT:      In New York, child abuse means non-accidental physical injuries, creating or allowing a substantial risk of them, or sexual abuse; and child neglect means failing to adequately supply necessities; lack of proper supervision, or abandonment.     [Fam. Court Act §§ 1012(e),(f); Soc. Serv. Law §§ 371(4-a),(4-b)]   

Initial Screening Criteria:

·        OCFS screens for allegations which, if true, would constitute child abuse or maltreatment under the statutes.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 422(2)(b)] 

·        OCFS flags: (a) inflicting or allowing of serious non-accidental physical injury; (b) creating or allowing of substantial risk of such injury; (c) sex-related offenses; and (d) (from a mandated reporter) a report of physical harm within 6 months after any other two reports of it involving the same child, sibling, other children in the household, or alleged perpetrator.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 422-a(2)(a); Fam. Court Act § 1012(e)]

·        Any social services district may, if authorized by OCFS, use its own screening criteria and responses for family settings. But criteria for criminal allegations are statewide, e.g., for: a sex offense, such as prostitution, incest, or child porn; assault of a child; murder or manslaughter; child abandonment; or severe, repeated abuse or neglect.  [Soc. Serv. Law §§ 427-a(1),(3)]  If a crime or immediate threat to a child’s health and safety is alleged, but the perpetrator is not responsible for the child, OCFS forwards the information to law enforcement.  [Soc. Serv. Law §§ 422(2)(c); 412(4)] 

Reportable: a parent or another person who is at least age 18 who is legally responsible for the child, for non-accidental physical injuries, creating or allowing a substantial risk of them, sexual abuse, failing to adequately supply necessities; lack of proper supervision, or abandonment.  NOTE: acts by others that may be crimes are reportable to law enforcement or SCR; OCFS forwards such reports to law enforcement from SCR.  [Fam. Court Act § 1012; Soc. Serv. Law §§ 371; 422(2)(c); 412(4)]

·        Parent means a child’s legal parent under New York law.  [Family Court Act § 1012(l)]

·        Other persons legally responsible for the child includes the child’s custodian, guardian, and others responsible for care. Custodians may include household members who live there continuously or at regular intervals and cause or contribute to abuse or neglect of the child.  [Family Court Act § 1012(g)]

Child Abuse means that a parent or other person legally responsible the child’s care does any of the following to him/her: [Family Court Act § 1012(e); Soc. Serv. Law § 371(4-b)]

(A)     Inflicts or allows non-accidental physical injury that causes or creates a substantial risk of: (a) death; (b) serious or protracted disfigurement; (c) protracted impairment of physical or emotional health; or (d) protracted loss or impairment of function of any bodily organ, or

(B)     Creates or allows a substantial risk of non-accidental physical injury that would be likely to cause: (a) death; (b) serious or protracted disfigurement; (c) protracted impairment of physical or emotional health; or (d) protracted loss or impairment of function of any bodily organ, or

(C)     Commits an act of sex abuse under state law:

(1)     SEX OFFENSES: Commits or allows any sex offense (Penal Law § 130), including sexual misconduct, rape, or sexual abuse;

(2)     PROSTITUTION: Allows, permits, or encourages prostitution of a minor or does sex trafficking for it;  [Penal Law §§ 230.25, 230.30, 230.32, 230.34]

(3)     INCEST: includes sexual intercourse or oral or anal sexual conduct with a person whom one knows to be a relative, whether through marriage or not, as: (a) ancestor or descendant; (b) brother or sister of whole or half blood; or (c) uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece;  [Penal Law §§ 255.25, 255.26, 255.27]

(4)     PORN: Allows the child to engage in acts or conduct to produce, promote, or possess child porn;  [Penal Law § 263] or

(5)     SEX TRAFFICKING: Permits or encourages an act – or commits or allows an offense – where the child is a victim of sex trafficking or its severe forms (22 U.S.C. § 7102);

(6)     But this rule is stricter than those because NY penal law corroboration requirements, & Penal Law § 263 age requirement, do not apply for proceedings.

(D)     Caveat: the age of consent is 17. There are defenses if a child age 14, 15, or 16 has (consensual) sex with a person who is less than 4 years older (for intercourse, oral or anal sex) or less than 5 years older (for sexual contact) than the child. There is an exception for underage sex between spouses. Consent requires mental capacity, no mental disability, and no physical helplessness. There are prohibitions against sex with the child by a non-spouse who is an employee, contractor, or volunteer in corrections, community supervision, a hospital, probation, residential care, health care, mental health care, or law enforcement, where the organization or agency is responsible for the child.  [Penal Law §§ 130.05; 130.30; 130.45; 130.55]

(1)     DEFINITIONS: (a) sexual intercourse means even slight penetration [by a body part or foreign object]; (b) oral sexual conduct means mouth to penis, anus, vulva or vagina; (c) anal sexual conduct means penis to anus; (d) sexual contact means any touching of another’s sexual or other intimate parts to gratify either party, directly or through clothes, and may be by semen.  [Penal Law §§ 130.00]

Maltreatment means neglect or non-accidental serious physical injury.  [Soc. Serv. Law § 412(2)]

Neglect mean that a parent or other person legally responsible for the child has done either of:  [Family Court Act § 1012(f); Soc. Serv. Law §§ 371(2),(4-a), 384-b(5)(a)]

(A)     Fails to exercise a minimum degree of care, resulting in the child’s physical, mental, or emotional impairment or imminent danger of it, by either of:

(1)     Failing to supply adequate food, clothing, shelter, education, medical, dental, optometrical, or surgical care, though financially able or offered means to do so (and for education required by law, despite efforts by the school district, local education agency, or child protective agency to improve the situation);

(2)     Failing to provide proper supervision or guardianship, by unreasonably inflicting or allowing harm or a substantial risk of it, such as: (a) excessive corporal PUNISHMENT; (b) DRUG(s) misuse; (c) misusing ALCOHOLIC beverages to the extent of losing self-control; or (d) any OTHER similarly serious acts requiring court intervention.

(B)     Abandonment, meaning that the parent or other person legally responsible for the child’s care shows an intent to forego rights and obligations, by having failed to visit or communicate with the child (or agency), though the parent etc. is able and the agency does not prevent or discourage it. 

Neglect mean that a parent or other person legally responsible for the child has done either of:  [Family Court Act § 1012(f); Soc. Serv. Law §§ 371(2),(4-a), 384-b(5)(a)]

Note #1:   Emotional / mental impairment is substantially diminished psychological or intellectual functioning, such as: (a) failure to thrive; (b) poor control of aggressive or self-destructive impulses; (c) disability to think and reason; or (d) acting out or misbehavior (e.g., incorrigible, ungovernable, or habitually truant). BUT this factor must be CLEARLY ATTRIBUTABLE to the parent’s or other legally responsible person’s unwillingness or inability to exercise a minimal degree of care toward the child.  [Family Court Act § 1012(h)]

Note #2:   After loss of control due to drugs or alcohol, the presumption of neglect can be canceled by the parent’s or other responsible person’s voluntary, regular participation in a REHAB program unless there is evidence of a child’s physical, mental, or emotional impairment (or imminent danger of it). [Soc. Serv. Law § 371(4-a)(i)(B); Family Court Act § 1012(f)(i)(B)]