BILL NUMBER: S5242
SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to collecting data
regarding alternative living arrangements for children who are at a
substantial risk of maltreatment
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amend section 412 of the social services law by
adding a new subdivision 10 which defines the term "alternative living
arrangements."
Section 2 of the bill amends subdivision 2 of section 424 of the social
services law by requiring child protective agencies to include informa-
tion regarding alternative living arrangement in the registers they
maintain regarding child abuse and maltreatment cases.
Section 3 of the bill amends the social services law by adding a new
section 424-c to require the Office of Children and Family Services
(OCFS) to collect certain data regarding alternative living arrangements
and compile an annual report with respect to each local social services
district.
Section 4 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
When a child welfare agency determines that a child cannot remain safely
in the home of a parent, relatives are looked to first to provide care.
Stable placements with loving relatives and close family friends, also
called "kinship caregivers," with supports and services that attend to
the needs of the child and family are vital to achieving well-being for
children. However, not all children who end up in the homes of "kinship
caregivers" after child protective intervention are supported. Many fall
through the cracks of the child welfare system because they are hidden
from court oversight and/or regulatory structures of the formal child
welfare system. This is often called "Hidden Foster Care," and this
legislation seeks to provide further insight into this practice.
The need for greater oversight over the "Hidden Foster Care" system is
made all the more necessary because of the practices we have observed
from child protective services ("CPS") agencies. In many cases, instead
of filing a petition to family court, CPS may insist the parents trans-
fer physical custody of the child to a relative or family member. To
ensure family compliance, CPS may use the threat of removal through the
court and placement into foster care with strangers. In New York, these
family separations, sometimes called "alternative living arrangements"
are instituted by CPS through a written or oral "safety plan" or "safety
agreement" created by CPS during the course of a safety assessment and
prior to obtaining a court order, and may be enforced through threats of
court action or placement of the child in stranger care. CPS dictates
conditions concerning the care of a child or children and/or the conduct
of the parent, caretaker, or legally responsible person, including
changing a child's physical residence and or care and control of the
child to someone other than the child's parent, caretaker or legally
responsible person.
Theoretically, CPS would choose to utilize safety plans to avoid pulling
a family deeper into the child welfare system and to give families time
to address safety concerns that may be swiftly ameliorated. However, it
has been argued that the way these practices/plans are implemented often
disempower parents, diminish a family's constitutional rights, cause
harm and trauma to the child, and damage trust of the agency and child
welfare system by the parents, children, and kin caregivers moving
forward.
An essential first step to considering any potential steps to address
this practice is to learn more about how it operates in New York. This
bill defines the term "alternative living arrangements" and requires
local CPS agencies to report the number of families separated following
agency involvement, how long the families are separated, whether chil-
dren return home, and the demographics of affected families, among other
data points. OCFS is then required to compile a report to the Governor
and Legislature.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: S9949
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the 90th day after it shall have become a
law.

Statutes affected:
S5242: 412 social services law, 424 social services law, 424(2) social services law