BILL NUMBER: S9498
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the establish-
ment of a statewide supervised visitation initiative to support safe and
structured parenting time
 
PURPOSE:
To establish a statewide supervised visitation initiative to support
safe and structured parenting time in New York state.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the social services law to add a new section 398-f
directing the Office of Victim Services (OVS), in consultation with the
Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence to establish a statewide
supervised visitation initiative to provide services throughout the
state and require each county and New York City to submit annual assess-
ments of local needs for such services.
Section 2 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
More than half the counties in New York State lack supervised visitation
services, a key resource providing safe, supervised contact between
children and parents in custody and domestic violence disputes. In a
comprehensive report compiled by the Unified Court System's Office of
Justice Initiatives detailed the "serious gap in the availability of
programs for professional supervision of visitation." The report found
that even in areas that do have supervised visitation programs, the
service offerings are so limited as to have length wait-lists and high
costs to litigants, as well as limitations on the number of visits they
can offer.
Families and children have a right to maintain relationships through
legal proceedings - especially when family court backlogs mean cases can
spend months, if not years, in limbo. Cost and limited programming
should not be prohibitive to accessing this crucial service.
This bill would authorize the Office of Victim Services, in consultation
with the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, to establish a
statewide supervised visitation initiative throughout the state. It
would also require counties and New York City to submit annual assess-
ments of the need for such services in their area and require OVS to
report annually to the legislature and governor data regarding each
program's success in meeting local need and recommendations for improve-
ment.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2026: New Bill in Senate
2025: S3938A (Hoylman-Sigal)/A65A; Died in Finance in Senate, Passed in
Assembly
2023/24: S8661A (Hoylman-Sigal)/A10521; Died in Finance in Senate, Died
in Children and Families in the Assembly
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.