N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18 § 432.2

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 43, October 23, 2024

Section 432.2 - Child protective service: responsibilities and organization

(a)General.

(1) The local commissioner of each social services district shall establish a child protective service within such district which shall operate as a single organizational unit. The child protective service shall perform those functions assigned to it by title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law. No other responsibilities may be assumed by the child protective service, except that the child protective service may provide for, arrange for and coordinate services to children named in a child abuse and/or maltreatment report and their families prior to a determination as to whether some credible evidence exists as to the alleged abuse or maltreatment.

(2) The child protective service shall have a sufficient number of staff with adequate qualifications to fulfill the purpose of title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law and shall be organized in such a way as to maximize the continuity of responsibility, care and service of individual workers towards children and families.

(3) Every social services district must provide to the child protective service information available to such district that is relevant to the investigation of a report of child abuse or maltreatment or to the family assessment response to such a report, except where the confidentiality of such information is expressly protected by law.

(b)Responsibilities of the child protective service.

(1) The child protective service shall be the sole public organizational entity responsible for receiving and investigating, or arranging with the appropriate society for the prevention of cruelty to children to investigate, all reports of suspected child abuse or maltreatment made pursuant to title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law, and for either investigating such reports for the purpose of determining if the allegations contained in such reports are indicated or unfounded, or providing or arranging for the provision of a family assessment response to those reports, pursuant to section 432.13 of this Part, for the purpose of assisting the family to assess and address any risk factors for their children. The child protective service shall also be the sole public organizational entity responsible for providing or arranging for and coordinating the provision of those services necessary to safeguard the child's well-being and development and to preserve and stabilize family life, wherever appropriate, for abused and maltreated children who are named in a report assigned to the investigative track and for children in a family served through a report assigned to the family assessment response track. Where a child protective service worker is not the primary service provider of an open indicated child abuse or maltreatment case, a child protective service worker shall monitor the provision of the rehabilitative services being provided to children named in abuse and/or maltreatment reports and their families, pursuant to the requirements in paragraph (5) of this subdivision. Where a child protective service contracts with another agency to provide a family assessment response, a child protective service worker shall monitor the provision of assistance to the family named in the report.

(2) Intake. Intake.

(i) The child protective service shall be responsible for receiving reports of suspected cases of child abuse and/or maltreatment from the State Central Register on a 24-hour, 7-day per week basis. When oral reports are made initially to the local child protective service, the child protective service shall immediately make an oral or electronic report to the State Central Register.

(ii) Each district is required to designate child protective services casework staff who will be responsible for receiving reports of child abuse and/or maltreatment during and after the district's normal business hours. After a district' s normal business hours, a child protective service worker may receive notification of the existence of a report of child abuse and/or maltreatment from a third party for the purpose of contacting the State Central Register. The use of after-hours third-party answering services must be approved by OCFS.

(iii) Caseworkers at the local district who are not normally employees of the child protective service may be designated to directly receive reports of suspected child abuse and/or maltreatment from the State Central Register after the district's normal business hours, if the organization and administrative requirements of the single organizational unit, as set forth in subdivision (d) of this section are adhered to.

(iv) Intake procedures shall be clearly delineated in the documentation file. At a minimum, such documentation file shall include:

(a) a copy of the current information provided to the State central register which lists emergency telephone numbers and names of contacts which would be used if contact through the designated on-call procedures could not be made; and

(b) procedures which describe after-hours coverage to be followed as well as letters of agreement with answering services or other local or State agencies or departments which assume any responsibility related to telephone coverage after normal working hours.

(3) Investigation/assessment. Investigation/assessment.

(i) The child protective service must commence or cause the appropriate society for the prevention of cruelty to children to commence, within 24 hours after receiving a child abuse and/or maltreatment report, an appropriate investigation or family assessment response for each report of suspected child abuse and/or maltreatment. Within 24 hours of receiving a child abuse and/or maltreatment report, the child protective service, or the appropriate society for the prevention of cruelty to children must conduct a face-to-face contact or a telephone contact with the subjects and/or other persons named in the report or other persons in a position to provide information about whether the child may be in immediate danger of serious harm. In addition, for any report assigned to the investigative track, within one business day of the oral report date, the child protective service must review State Central Register records pertaining to all prior reports involving members of the family, including legally sealed unfounded and family assessment response reports where the current report involves a subject of the unfounded or family assessment response report, a child named in the unfounded or family assessment response report or a child's sibling named in the unfounded or family assessment response report. Within five business days of the oral report date, the child protective service must review its own child protective service record(s) that apply to the prior reports, including legally sealed unfounded and family assessment response reports where the current report involves a subject of the unfounded or family assessment response report, a child named in the unfounded or family assessment response report or a child's sibling named in the unfounded or family assessment response report. For prior reports in which case records are maintained by another social services district, including legally sealed unfounded and family assessment response reports, the child protective service with investigative responsibility must request relevant portions of such record(s) within one business day of the oral report date. The social services district maintaining the case record must provide the inquiring child protective service with the requested pertinent portions of their records within five business days of receiving such request.

(ii) The full child protective investigation must include the following activities:

(a) face-to-face interviews with subjects of the report and family members of such subjects, including children named in the report. If at any time during an investigation the subject of the report or another family member refuses to allow a child protective service worker to enter the home and/or to observe or talk to any child in the household, or if a child in the household cannot be located, the child protective service worker must assess whether it is necessary to seek a court order to obtain access to the child or home or to compel production of the child or whether other emergency action must be taken. The assessment must be made, at a minimum, in consultation with a child protective service supervisor as soon as necessary under the circumstances, but no later than 24 hours after the refusal or failure to locate the child or access the home. When it is assessed that it may be appropriate to seek a court order, legal staff who represent the child protective service must also be consulted, if possible. The assessment and the decision must be clearly documented in the progress notes for the investigation;

(b) obtaining information from the reporting sources and other collateral contacts which may include, but are not limited to, hospitals, family medical providers, schools, police, social service agencies and other agencies providing services to the family, relatives, extended family members, neighbors and other persons who may have information relevant to the allegations in the report and to the safety of the children; provided, however, the name or other information identifying the reporter and/or source of a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment, as well as the agency, institution, organization, program and/or other entity with which such person(s) is associated must only be recorded or documented in progress notes and such documentation must be recorded in the manner specified by OCFS pursuant to section 428.5(c)(2) of this Title;

(c) within seven days of receipt of the report, conducting a preliminary assessment of safety to determine whether the child named in the report and any other children in the household may be in immediate danger of serious harm. If any child is assessed to be unsafe, undertaking immediate and appropriate controlling interventions to protect the child(ren); the results of each safety assessment must be documented in the case record in the form and manner required by OCFS;

(d) a determination of the nature, extent and cause of any condition enumerated in such report and any other condition that may constitute abuse or maltreatment;

(e) obtaining the name, age and condition of other children in the home; and

(f) after seeing that the child or children named in the report are safe, notifying the subjects and other persons named in the report, except children under the age of 18 years, in writing, no later than seven days after receipt of the oral report, of the existence of the report and the subject's rights pursuant to title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law concerning amendment or expungement of the report;

(g) in social services districts approved by OCFS to provide family assessment response, if within seven days of receipt of the report, the child protective service determines pursuant to the criteria in section 432.13(c)(4) of this Part that a report that has been assigned to the investigative track meets the requirements for assignment to the family assessment response track and that such assignment most effectively supports the safety of children named in the report and matches the family's needs, the assignment of the report may be changed to the family assessment response track. The reason(s) for the choice of assignment must be documented in the initial safety assessment.

(iii) Prior to making a determination that a report of abuse and/or maltreatment assigned to the investigative track should be indicated or unfounded, the investigation to be conducted by the child protective service shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) one home visit with one face-to-face contact with the subjects and other persons named in the report so as to evaluate the environment of the child named in the report as well as other children in the same home;

(b) an assessment of the current safety and the risk of future abuse and maltreatment to the child(ren) in the home and documenting such assessment in the form and manner provided by OCFS.

(iv) The child protective service has the sole responsibility for making a determination within 60 days after receiving the report as to whether there is some credible evidence of child abuse and/or maltreatment so as either to "indicate" or "unfound" a report of child abuse and/or maltreatment.

(v) A child protective service supervisor must review and approve the decision to either indicate or unfound the allegation(s) of child abuse and/or maltreatment.

(vi) The child protective service worker shall, in all cases where a child abuse or maltreatment report is being investigated, assess whether the best interests of the child require Family Court or Criminal Court action and shall initiate such action, whenever necessary.

(vii) Such investigation/assessment procedures shall be clearly delineated in the documentation file and shall support the district's assurances which are set forth in the district's consolidated services plan relating to child protective services. At a minimum, such documentation file shall include:

(a) the procedures which describe in detail the processes used for assigning child abuse and maltreatment cases and initiating an investigation of the case within the 24-hour time frame;

(b) if applicable, the interagency agreements entered into with the appropriate societies for the prevention of cruelty to children; and

(c) the procedures regarding notifying subjects and other persons named in a report, except children under the age of 18 years, no later than seven days of the existence of such report and notifying subjects and such other persons of an indicated determination within seven days of such indication.

(4) Providing, arranging for and/or coordinating services. Providing, arranging for and/or coordinating services.

(i) The child protective service shall be responsible for the provision and coordination of rehabilitative services and foster care services, where appropriate, or arranging for the provision and coordination of rehabilitative services and foster care services, where appropriate, to any child who is named in an indicated child abuse and/or maltreatment report and his/her family, including other children in the same household, in order to safeguard and ensure a child's well-being and development and to preserve and stabilize family life whenever appropriate.

(ii) The child protective service may, where appropriate, provide for or arrange for and coordinate services to children named in child abuse and/or maltreatment reports and their families prior to a determination as to whether some credible evidence exists as to the alleged abuse or maltreatment.

(iii) The provision of child protective services shall be limited to any child named in a child abuse and/or maltreatment report or any member of the child's family, including other children in the same home.

(iv) The child protective service worker shall, in all cases where subjects of an indicated abuse and/or maltreatment report refuse to accept rehabilitative services and/or foster care services, assess whether the best interests of the child require Family Court action to compel the subjects of the report to accept rehabilitative services and/or foster care services and shall initiate such action whenever necessary, unless there is insufficient evidence to initiate a Family Court petition to compel involvement in such service(s).

(v) In directly providing services to children named in an abuse and/or maltreatment report and their families, the child protective service worker must ensure:

(a) that any safety response initiated or maintained protects the child from immediate danger of serious harm; and

(b) that services planned and/or provided are likely to reduce the risk related to one or more identified risk elements.

(vi) In cases where the child protective service is the primary service provider to children named in indicated child protective services cases and their families, the child protective service worker must make casework contacts which, at a minimum, consist of at least two separate face-to-face contacts per month with the subject(s) and other persons named in the report, at least one of which must take place in the subject's home. Where the child protective service is coordinating the delivery of rehabilitative services pursuant to subparagraph (viii) of this paragraph, by providers of specialized rehabilitative services, supportive services and probation services as defined by section 432.1(x), (y) and (z) of this Part, such providers may make up to six of the contacts required during a six-month period. However, only contacts made by the case planner or caseworker, as directed by the case planner, may be counted as the required in-home contact and only two of the contacts made by other service providers may be made by supportive service providers. For purposes of this subparagraph, the first six-month period commences at the case initiation date or at the opening of an indicated child protective service case; subsequent six-month periods will be calculated from the service plan due date.

(vii) In cases where the child protective service is the primary service provider to children named in indicated child protective services cases and their families, the child protective service worker shall be responsible for the case management of the case.

(viii) In cases where the child protective service is the primary service provider to children named in indicated child protective services cases and their families, the child protective service is responsible for identifying, utilizing and coordinating other services in the community and provided by the social services district, to assist in the rehabilitation of individuals named in an indicated child abuse and/or maltreatment report and to reduce risk to children named in such cases. In coordinating the delivery of rehabilitative services, the child protective service worker must ensure that the roles, responsibilities and tasks and activities of all service providers are clearly defined and that the established plan of service is being implemented.

(ix) In cases where the child protective service is the primary service provider to children named in indicated child protective services cases and their families, a child protective service supervisor must review casework decisions made by the child protective service worker. Such review must include, at a minimum, a review of the family and children's services plan for the case and of the information periodically reported to the State central register.

(x) Any child protective service caseworker may provide and arrange for preventive services in addition to protective services for children to his own protective services case, as long as the case is eligible for mandated preventive services pursuant to section 430.9 of this Title and the caseworker is directly providing services to the children named in indicated abuse and/or maltreatment reports and their families.

(xi) Any child protective service caseworker may provide foster care services in addition to protective services for children in his own protective service case, as long as it has been determined that foster care placement was necessary pursuant to department standards set forth in section 430.10 of this Title.

(xii) For those cases under court-ordered supervision, where a child protective service worker is not the primary service provider of a child protective services case, a child protective service worker shall monitor the provision of the rehabilitative services being provided to children named in indicated abuse and/or maltreatment reports and their families, pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (b)(5) of this section.

(xiii)

(a) When the family court orders the child protective service to supervise or monitor the respondent(s) and the family involved, pursuant to section 1039 or section 1052 (a)(i) (iii) (iv) and (v) of the Family Court Act, the child protective service must undertake all practicable efforts to carry out the provisions of the order. In order to comply with such an order, the child protective service must meet the requirements of subparagraphs (i) through (xii) of this paragraph.

(b) When an order issued pursuant to Family Court Act section 1039 or section 1052(a) appears to be in conflict with other requirements of this section, or is unclear or ambiguous, the child protective service must so advise the court issuing the order and work with the court to resolve the conflict in order to both comply with the order and provide services to the respondent(s) and family involved. Nothing in this paragraph is to be construed as authorizing the child protective service to disregard or fail to comply with any provision of an order issued by a family court.

(c) When a child protective service is ordered to supervise or monitor the respondent(s) and family involved, the child protective service must comply with the applicable notification requirements of the Family Court Act.

(5) Monitoring. Monitoring.

(i) The child protective service shall be responsible for monitoring the provision of services, including foster care services, to children named in open indicated abuse and maltreatment reports and their families, when the child protective service worker is not the primary service provider for the case.

(ii) The purpose of monitoring is to ensure the continued safety of the child(ren) that risk reduction activities and services are being implemented in the established plan for services, and that the service plan is modified when progress has been insufficient.

(iii) Monitoring includes, but is not limited to, all of the following tasks:

(a) Preparing or receiving, reviewing and approving the reports required to be submitted to the State central register by section 432.3(c)(4) of this Part, and receiving and reviewing the family and children's services plan as defined in section 432.1 of this Part.

(1) The reports made to the State central register must be consistent with the family and children's services plan in order to establish a unified and consistent plan for all children named in abuse or maltreatment reports and their families.

(2) In reviewing the appropriate section(s) of the family and children's services plan, the monitor has the continuing responsibility to assess:

(i) whether a safety response has been initiated or maintained when necessary, and whether such response protects the child from immediate danger of serious harm;

(ii) whether services planned and/or provided are likely to reduce the risk related to one or more identified risk elements;

(iii) whether the family is cooperating with the other service providers;

(iv) whether the needs of all the children in a household are taken into consideration when formulating a treatment plan; and

(v) whether the best interests of the child require Family Court or Criminal Court action.

(3) If, after the face-to-face contact required in clause (b) of this subparagraph, or after telephone contact with the primary services providers, the monitor is unable to approve the reports required to be submitted to the State central register because of a discrepancy between the content of the family and children's services plan and the content of the plan for protective services which the monitor has determined to be necessary for reporting purposes to the state central register, the monitor must notify his or her supervisor, who will be responsible for ensuring that the issue in question is discussed by all relevant parties at an administrative level for purposes of seeking a final resolution. After the issues have been satisfactorily resolved, the highest level of child protective services staff involved in the resolution must approve the reports to be submitted to the State central register pursuant to paragraph (c)(4) of this section.

(4) In situations where the child protective service and other service units within a social services district are unable to come to an agreeement on a plan for care and services, the social services district commissioner must develop procedures for mediation, including the designation of an individual(s) who has the responsibility of approving the family and children's services plan as well as the reports required to be submitted to the State central register. Such individual is accountable for the decisions resulting from the mediation process. Such mediation process must be approved by the department.

(b) Conducting face-to-face contacts with the primary service provider(s) or, where applicable, other local district staff involved in the case, when a major change in the service plan for the case is being considered. For the purpose of this subparagraph, a major change in the service plan for the case shall be defined as:

(1) consideration of returning a child to his home or to relatives from a foster care placement, or consideration of placing a child into foster care from his present living arrangement;

(2) terminating the provision of mandated preventive services for the case;

(3) consideration of closing the case with the State central register pursuant to the standards in subdivision (c) of this section; and

(4) consideration of initiating a court petition under article 10 of the Family Court Act, or recommending a significant change in a court disposition for a case under such article.

The face-to-face contact may include, but need not be limited to, attendance at the service plan review for children who are presently in foster care who are also named in an open indicated child protective services report. In attending the service plan review, the child protective service monitor may serve as one of the individuals required to attend the service plan review for foster care cases pursuant to section 430.12(c)(2) of this Title.

(c) Direct dialogue with the primary service provider and other service providers, as applicable, either through a face-to-face contact or a telephone discussion, as often as is necessary to ensure continuity of service delivery, but at a minimum of every six months starting from the date that the appropriate case planning services, as defined in section 432.1(n) of this Part, were transferred from the child protective service to a caseworker in another service unit of the local district, or to a caseworker in an agency from which rehabilitative services are purchased. Such direct dialogue shall include informing the primary service provider of investigations of abuse and/or maltreatment reports.

(d) Ensuring that the results of investigations of reports of abuse and/or maltreatment, including any changes in the assessment of future risk of abuse or maltreatment, are incorporated into the formulation of the new treatment plan for the child(ren) and family.

(e) Ensuring that appropriate information exchange exists between the child protective service and other service providers. Completed department reporting forms relative to the child protective services allegations which are contained in the child protective services may be released to authorized agencies having the responsibility for the care and supervision of a child named in a report and to other service providers only if, in the latter case, informed consent is given by the subject(s) of or other persons named in the report.

(6) Fiscal requirements for child protective service. Fiscal requirements for child protective service.

(i) Activities completed by child protective services casework staff, such as the completion of the appropriate reporting forms to be sent to the statewide central register, the investigation of abuse and/or maltreatment reports and monitoring tasks as prescribed in paragraph (5) of this subdivision, shall be considered activities solely reimbursable as a protective service for children.

(ii)Rehabilitative service, as defined by section 432.1(i) of this Part, may be considered activities reimbursable as a protective service for children, pursuant to the definition of protective services for children contained in section 432.1(p) of this Part.

(c)Case closing on the State central register.

(1) Standards for case closing. A case may be closed with the State central register only when the local child protective service has documented compliance with the standards specified in clauses (i)(a), (b) and (c) of this paragraph, as applicable.

(i) General standards for case closing when all rehabilitative services are to be terminated to children named in indicated reports of abuse and/or maltreatment and their families. A case may be closed to the statewide central register only:

(a) if the local child protective service can show that all children in the household are assessed to be safe despite the withdrawal of controlling interventions that may have been provided to protect the children and it is concluded that the risk of future abuse or maltreatment has decreased sufficiently; or

(b) the child protective service has offered rehabilitative services to the children named in indicated abuse and/or maltreatment reports and their families, but such services have been rejected, and the child protective service worker has assessed that it would not be in the best interest of the child to initiate a Family Court petition for a determination that a child is in need of care and protection; or

(c) the child protective service has sought a Family Court order but the court has dismissed such a petition, and it is not in the child's best interest to continue additional Family Court action.

(ii) Standards when one or more children named in abuse and/or maltreatment reports are in foster care. A case may be closed with the statewide central register when one or more children named in abuse and/or maltreatment report(s) are in foster care, if all such children are:

(a) freed for adoption;

(b) continuing in out-of-home placement with a permanency planning goal of another planned living arrangement with a permanency resource or adult residential care; or

(c) it is documented in the family and children services plan that the necessity of foster care for all children who are named in abuse and/or maltreatment report(s) is not presently attributable to the reasons set forth in paragraph (1) or (4) of section 430.10(c) of this Title.

(iii) Standard when one or more children named in abuse and/or maltreatment reports are receiving mandated preventive services. A case may be closed with the statewide central register when one or more children named in abuse and/or maltreatment report(s) are receiving mandated preventive services if all such children are presently at risk of foster care because of reasons which are unrelated to circumstances set forth in paragraph (1) or (4) of section 430.9(c) of this Title.

(2) Necessary activities prior to case closing. Necessary activities prior to case closing.

(i) In considering the closing of a case with the State central register, the child protective services shall:

(a) review events, correspondence and summary of conversations included in the family and children's case record;

(b) review assessments of the family, including risk analysis, made by all service providers;

(c) review the accomplishments made by the family in achieving the outcomes set forth in the family and children's service plan; and

(d) discuss with the family and children directly, or with other service providers, the family's response to the termination of protective services for children.

(ii) Approval by a supervisor of the child protective services worker must be obtained prior to the case being closed with the State central register.

(3) Documentation of compliance with case closing standards. Documentation of compliance with case closing standards.

(i) General. Upon closing a case with the statewide central register, the local child protective service shall provide documentation to the department that the requirements of this subdivision were met. Such documentation shall include notifying the State central register, in a form and manner prescribed by the department, that the standards in this subdivision have been adhered to.

(ii) In documenting that children named in abuse and/or maltreatment report(s) are not placed in foster care due to a circumstance set forth in paragraph (1) or (4) of section 430.10(c) of this Title, the child protective service must document, or ensure that such documentation exists, in a form and manner prescribed by the department, that, if the child were to be returned home, the child would not be in danger of serious physical or emotional harm. In (re)assessing the risk to the child, the child protective service worker must cite one or more of the following factors: the parent's or caretaker's willingness to maintain regular contact with the child, their favorable behavior during visits, their favorable response to services offered or provided by the district or other involved agencies, their expressed willingness to take the child home and to plan for his or her welfare, the present favorable evaluation of safety factors and risk elements which in the past contributed to the original problems which necessitated the placement, and the overall progress of the parent toward achieving the outcomes established in the family and children's service plan.

(iii) In documenting that children named in abuse and/or maltreatment report(s) are not at risk of foster care because of a circumstance set forth in paragraph (1) or (4) of section 430.10(c) of this Title, the child protective service worker must document, in a form and manner prescribed by the department, that such children are not in danger of serious emotional or physical harm, or ensure that such documentation exists. In cases where such danger previously existed, the child protective service worker must document that the emotional, physical or mental condition which had impaired the ability of the child's parents or caretaker to function no longer places the child in danger of serious emotional or physical harm. In addition, if the ability to care for a child had been impaired because of prior financial problems, including a lack of adequate housing, the child protective service worker must document that such impairment no longer places the child in danger of serious emotional or physical harm.

(iv) A child protective service supervisor shall approve, in writing, that the case closing decision has been made in accordance with the requirements of this subdivision.

(d)Use of risk assessment.

(1) For child abuse or maltreatment reports that are assigned to the investigative track, risk assessment must be employed by the child protective service when key case decisions are made concerning a child named in the report, including but not limited to, whether controlling interventions which would provide safety and protection to the children, including but not limited to, intensive home base preservation services or foster care placement, must be immediately instituted; whether to keep an indicated case open for the provision of services after the determination of whether the report is indicated or unfounded is made; which outcomes that are intended to facilitate behavior change and/or alter the conditions affecting a family should be developed; whether there is a need to reassess a family's progress toward reducing the risk to children in the family; and whether an open child protective case may appropriately be closed.

(i) Supervisors must, at case conferences with staff and when reviewing case records, examine the caseworkers' use of risk assessment for arriving at key case decisions.

(ii) When a child protective service is the primary service provider, case records must contain documentation that key decisions were reached through consideration of the items described in paragraph (2) of this subdivision. This subparagraph does not apply to a determination that a report is to be indicated or unfounded.

(iii) When a child protective service is monitoring the provision of child protective services, it is responsible for ensuring that the items described in paragraph (2) of this subdivision are considered when making key case decisions.

(iv) Risk assessment activities for reports assigned to the investigative track must be documented in the form and manner required by OCFS pursuant to Part 428 of this Title and clause (b)(3)(iii)(b) of this section. Risk assessment activities for reports assigned to the family assessment response track must be completed and documented in the form and manner required by OCFS pursuant to section 432.13 of this Part.

(e)Administration and organization of the child protective service.

(1) The child protective service of each social services district shall be administered by a person designated by the local commissioner. This person shall have direct administrative control and accountability for the effective provision of the district's child protective service. This person shall be solely responsible for overseeing those functions assigned to the child protective service by title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law, and only such other functions which would aid in the rehabilitation of any individual who is named in a child abuse and/or maltreatment report.

(2) The local child protective service shall be comprised of staff of the district who are specifically designated and identifiable as the child protective service of a social services district. A local child protective service for that district may consist of one or more local district workers whose responsibilities may be designated in part, as performing child protective services functions, if such district receives less than 200 reports of abuse and/or maltreatment on an annual basis. Such organizational arrangement must be approved by OCFS.

(3) After-hours coverage. After-hours coverage.

(i) After a district's normal working hours, a child protective service worker may receive notification of the existence of reports of child abuse and/or maltreatment from a third party for the purpose of contacting the State Central Register. Such arrangement cannot be used unless it is approved by OCFS.

(ii) A local district may assign casework staff other than staff of the child protective service to perform the intake and/or the investigation functions during afterhours if OCFS has approved a district's after-hours organizational structure. For the purpose of this paragraph:

(a) staff performing child protective service functions shall have the powers and responsibilities assigned by title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law for the duration of the time the staff is functioning in the child protective service; and

(b) such staff shall have the background, skill and training as required by paragraph (b)(5) of this section.

(4) Intra/inter-agency agreements. Each local district commissioner shall develop written procedures between the local district's child protective service and other units or bureaus of the district. In addition, each commissioner shall develop written agreements for use between the local district's child protective service and other service providers outside the local district. Such written agreements or procedures shall ensure:

(i) that appropriate information is received by the child protective service from other service units in the social services district and other provider agencies, in a timely manner, including but not limited to documentation of risk assessment activities and any component of the family and children's services plan, as defined by section 432.1(l) of this Part, so as to permit the child protective service to monitor the provision of services to children and families as described in paragraph (b)(5) of this section;

(ii) that the monitor and service providers receive information as to the kind and nature of reports being investigated or assessed in family assessment response, and the determinations of such investigations, except that such information may only be disclosed in conformity with subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 422 of the Social Services Law, subdivision 5 of section 427-a of the Social Services Law, and sections 357.5 and 432.13 of this Title;

(iii) that the child protective service is notified of the time and place of service plan reviews that are held for children in foster care who are named in indicated abuse and/or maltreatment reports open with the State Central Register;

(iv) that the child protective service receives appropriate information from other service providers, including information concerning contacts with children named in an indicated report and their family, to allow for the planning, administration and evaluation of the various components of the child and family services plan, and information concerning contacts with children named in a family assessment response report, to allow for implementation of assistance identified through a FLAG;

(v) that other units or bureaus in the district, and other agencies outside the district, receive information relating to the child protective aspects of the case, so as to facilitate continuity of service provision; provided, however, that the confidentiality restrictions in subdivision 4 of section 422 and subdivision 5 of section 427-a of the Social Services Law are adhered to;

(vi) a formal method of effectuating case planning decisions, when the child protective service and other service units within a local district do not agree on a plan for care, pursuant to the requirements set forth in paragraph (b)(5) of this section;

(vii) the timely and expeditious transfer of cases from the child protective service to other service units within the district or to other service agencies outside the district after the investigation of or family assessment response to the abuse and/or maltreatment report has concluded and such transfer is deemed to be appropriate; and

(viii) that the child protective service staff be notified of any court petition filed pursuant to article 10 of the Family Court Act by any other child protective agency as defined by subdivision (i) of section 1012 of the Family Court Act or by any other person so directed by the court to originate an article 10 proceeding as determined by section 1032 of the Family Court Act. In addition, the child protective service shall be notified of any complaint which initiates Criminal Court action involving subjects of abuse and/or maltreatment reports. Such notice shall occur prior to the time of the filing.

(5) Staffing. Staffing.

(i) Each local child protective service must have sufficient qualified staff to fulfill the purposes of title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law. The staffing qualifications in this paragraph apply to all employees hired to work in the child protective service on or after January 1, 1986. These requirements also apply to staff of the local social services district who are transferred from other units to employment in the local child protective service.

(ii)

(a) Each child protective service worker, including supervisors, must satisfactorily complete a basic training program in child protective services within the first three months of his/her employment in the child protective service. Such program must be approved by OCFS and must focus on the skills, knowledge and attitudes essential to working in the child protective service. Such training program must include, but need not be limited to: basic training in the principles and techniques of child protective service investigation, including relationships with other investigative bodies; legal issues in child protective service matters; diagnostic assessment of child abuse and maltreatment cases; methods of remediation, treatment and prevention of child abuse and maltreatment; and case management and planning of child protective services cases, including the relationship of the child protective service issues to permanency planning for children who remain at home or who are in out-of-home care.

(b) All persons employed by a child protective service on or after December 1, 2006 must satisfactorily complete six hours of annual in-service training approved by OCFS, beginning in their second year of employment. Pursuant to section 421 (5) of the Social Services Law, such annual in-service training shall include, but not be limited to: review of the protocols for identification and investigation of child abuse and maltreatment; any developments in legal, treatment, and prevention issues in child protection; and review and analysis of field experiences of child protective workers.

(c) All persons hired or assigned to be a supervisor by a child protective service on or after April 1, 1986 must satisfactorily complete a course in the fundamentals of supervising and managing child protective practice approved by OCFS, within three months of their employment as a supervisor. Any person employed as a child protective supervisor who has not completed such a course by the effective date of this regulation must satisfactorily complete such a course no later than three months following the effective date of this regulation. The content of such training shall be determined by OCFS, in compliance with paragraph (c) of subdivision 5 of section 421 of the Social Services Law. Additionally, all such supervisors must attend the core training required for child protective services caseworkers, if they have not already done so, and participate in an annual in service training program that is specifically tailored for child protective service supervisors.

(d) Social services districts must maintain documentation verifying compliance with the training requirements of this paragraph and must make this documentation available to OCFS upon request.

(iii) Each non-supervisory child protective service worker must have a baccalaureate or equivalent college degree and/or must have relevant human services experience. Persons employed as supervisory staff of the child protective service prior to the effective date of this regulation must have a baccalaureate or equivalent degree or must have a minimum of one year of experience in child welfare services. Supervisory staff of the child protective service hired on or after the effective date of this regulation must have a baccalaureate or equivalent college degree and a minimum of two years of relevant work experience in child welfare services.

(a) In any instance in which the education or work experience requirements for child protective supervisory staff creates an obstacle to hiring suitable staff, a social services district may request a waiver from OCFS exempting them from this provision. The waiver must be approved by the OCFS commissioner or the commissioner's designee.

(6)

(i) Staff review and evaluation. Each local child protective service must establish a procedure to review and evaluate the backgrounds of and information supplied by all applicants for employment in the local child protective service. This procedure must take into account any appropriate collective bargaining agreements and applicable provisions of the Civil Service Law. As part of this procedure, the child protective service must require such applicants to submit all of the following information:

(a) a statement or summary of each applicant's employment history, including but not limited to any relevant child-caring experience;

(b) the names, addresses and, where available, telephone numbers of references who can verify the applicant's employment history, work record and qualifications;

(c) the names, addresses and telephone numbers of at least three personal references, other than relatives, who can attest to the applicant's character, habits, reputation and personal qualifications; and

(d) a sworn statement by the applicant indicating whether, to the best of such applicant's knowledge, the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime in New York State or any other jurisdiction.

(ii) If an applicant discloses in the sworn statement furnished in accordance with subparagraph (i) of this paragraph that he/she has been convicted of a crime, the local child protective service must determine, in accordance with guidelines developed and disseminated by OCFS, whether to hire any such applicant, except that any local child protective service which had guidelines for the review of persons with conviction records in use prior to January 1, 1986 may continue to use the district guidelines in making the required determination. If the service determines it will hire the applicant, the service must maintain a written record, as part of the application file or employment or other personnel record of such person, of the reason(s) why such person was determined to be appropriate and acceptable as an employee.

(iii) Each local child protective service must inquire of OCFS whether any person who is actively being considered for employment or any person who is employed by an individual, corporation, partnership or association which provides goods or services to the local child protective service and who will have the potential for regular and substantial contact with children being cared for by the child protective service is the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment on file with the State Central Register. The local child protective service may make such an inquiry to OCFS regarding any current employee or a person who is being considered for use as a volunteer or for hiring as a consultant and who has or will have the potential for regular and substantial contact with children being cared for by the service. An inquiry regarding any current employee may be made only once in any six-month period. Inquiries made pursuant to this paragraph shall be subject to the following provisions.

(a) Prior to making an inquiry to OCFS, the local child protective service must notify, in the form prescribed by OCFS, the person who will be the subject of the inquiry that an inquiry will be made to determine whether such person is the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment on file with the State Central Register.

(b)

(1) Except as set forth in subclause (2) of this clause, a child protective service may not permit a person hired by the service or a person who is employed by an individual, corporation, partnership or association which provides goods or services to the service to have contact with children in the care of the service prior to obtaining the result of the inquiry required by this subparagraph.

(2) An employee of a child protective service or an employee of a provider of goods and services to the child protective service may have contact with children cared for by the service prior to the receipt by the service of the result of the inquiry required by this subparagraph only where such employee is visually observed or audibly monitored by an existing staff member of the service. Such employee must be in the physical presence of an existing staff member for whom:

(i) the result of an inquiry required by section 424-a of the Social Services Law has been received by the child protective service and the service hired the existing staff member with knowledge of the result of the inquiry; or

(ii) an inquiry was not made because such staff member was hired before the effective date of section 424-a of the Social Services Law.

(c)

(1) When the person who is the subject of the inquiry is an applicant for employment, a fee, as established by law, will be charged by OCFS when it conducts a search of its records within the State Central Register to determine whether such applicant is the subject of an indicated report.

(2) The required fee must either accompany the inquiry form submitted to OCFS or, for an inquiry submitted by a social services district, the district may elect to have the fee subtracted from its claims for reimbursement submitted pursuant to section 601.1 of this Title.

(3) Fees must be paid in a manner specified by OCFS "New York State Office of Children and Family Services". For social services districts electing to have the fees subtracted from their claims for reimbursement submitted pursuant to section 601.1 of this Title, the fees will be subtracted quarterly to match the number of inquiries made. Personal checks and cash are not acceptable forms of payment.

(d) If, an applicant, employee, or other person about whom the service has made an inquiry is found to be the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment, the local child protective service must determine, on the basis of information it has available and in accordance with guidelines developed and disseminated by OCFS, whether to hire, retain or use the person as an employee, volunteer, or consultant or permit the person providing goods or services to have access to children being cared for by the service, except that any local child protective service which had guidelines for the review of persons who are subjects of indicated reports of child abuse or maltreatment in use prior to January 1, 1986 may continue to use the local guidelines in making the required determination. Whenever such person is hired, retained, used or given access to children, the child protective service must maintain a written record, as part of the application file or employment or other personnel record of any such person, of the specific reason(s) why such person was determined to be appropriate and acceptable as an employee, volunteer, consultant or provider of goods with access to children being cared for by the service.

(e) If the local child protective service denies employment or makes a decision not to retain an employee, use a volunteer, hire a consultant, or not permit a person providing goods or services to have access to children being cared for by the child protective service, the service must provide a written statement to the applicant, employee, volunteer, consultant, or other such person indicating whether the denial or decision was based in whole or in part on the existence of the indicated report and, if so, the reasons for the denial or decision. If the denial or decision is based in whole or in part on the existence of such report of child abuse or maltreatment the statement must also include, in the form prescribed by OCFS, written notification to the applicant, employee, volunteer, consultant or other person that:

(1) he/she has the right, pursuant to section 424-a of the Social Services Law, to request a hearing regarding the record maintained by the State Central Register;

(2) A request for such a hearing must be made within 90 days of the receipt of the notice of denial or decision indicating that the denial or decision was based in whole or in part on the existence of the indicated report; and

(3) the sole issue at any such hearing will be whether the applicant, employee, volunteer, consultant, or other person has been shown by a fair preponderance of the evidence to have committed the act or acts of child abuse or maltreatment giving rise to the indicated report.

(f) If in a hearing held pursuant to a request made in accordance with clause (c) of this subparagraph and section 424-a of the Social Services Law, OCFS fails to show by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the applicant, employee, volunteer, consultant, or other person committed the act or acts upon which the indicated report is based, OCFS must notify the local child protective service which made the inquiry to OCFS that, pursuant to the hearing decision, the decision of the service to deny the application, discharge the employee, or not to use the volunteer, not to hire the person as a consultant, or not to permit the person providing goods or services to have access to children being cared for by the service should be reconsidered. Upon receiving such notification from OCFS, the local child protective service should review its decision without considering the indicated report.

(iv) Reimbursement by OCFS will be withheld from a local social services district for the salary of any employee of the local child protective service who does not comply with the background review, educational, experience or training requirements of this paragraph or paragraph (5) of this subdivision.

(f)Local plan for the administration of child protective services.

(1) Pursuant to section 34-a of the Social Services Law and Part 407 of this Title, each local social services district shall prepare and submit to OCFS a multi-year consolidated services plan, hereinafter referred to as the "plan," which shall include information on protective services for children, provided directly or contracted for through purchase of services agreements. The plan shall be updated through the preparation of annual implementation reports, which shall be submitted to OCFS for approval.

(2) The child protective services component of the plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(i) input from consultation with law enforcement agencies, the Family Court, and appropriate public or voluntary agencies;

(ii) a summary of the required public hearing, indicating the composition of the audience, the nature of the testimony given, and the impact the public hearing had in the development of the plan or annual implementation report. The summary shall include documentation that notice of the public hearing was provided at least 15 days prior to the date of the hearing and that such notice specified the time and place for the discussion of the child protective services component. The summary should also include copies of newspaper clippings related to the public hearings;

(iii) an organizational chart of the child protective service, including the total number of professional staff involved in the provision of such services, as well as any anticipated or planned changes in the structure of the child protective service;

(iv) a list of services that would be necessary and appropriate to help fulfill the function and responsibilities of the child protective service which are not available through the district or the community;

(v) information concerning the financing of local protective services for children, including the amount of money allocated for purchasing services from other agencies and the amount of money allocated by the local district for the direct provision of services;

(vi) the legal assurances set forth in paragraph (3) of this subdivision;

(vii) a listing of the sworn police officials of a city police department other than the police department of the City of New York, or of a county, town or village police department or county sheriff's department who have received permission from the local social services district to receive records and reports of child abuse and maltreatment. Such permission may be granted only for records and reports that have been assigned to the investigative track and only when such officer certifies that the records and reports are necessary in order to conduct a criminal investigation of the subject of the report, and that such investigation is reasonably related to the allegations contained in the report;

(viii) a summary of the understanding between the local social services district and the district attorney's office, which outlines the cooperative procedures to be followed by both parties in investigating incidents of child abuse and maltreatment consistent with their respective obligations for the investigation or prosecution of such incidents, as required by law and in accordance with the responsibilities of the child protective service as set forth in subdivision (b) of this section or a summary of the reasons why such an understanding has not been developed in spite of a good faith effort being made to do so; and

(ix) a description of the terms and conditions to be set forth in any written agreement between the local district and a provider or coordinator of services which authorizes redisclosure of child protective services information including records, reports or other information by such service provider or coordinator to other persons or agencies providing services to the child and family.

(3) Legal assurances. Each local district shall include in the child protective services component of its plan assurances that the child protective service is implementing each duty and responsibility assigned to it by title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law and this Part. Such assurances shall include, but not be limited to, assurances:

(i) that a separate organizational unit responsible for child protective services operates within the local district according to the requirements specified in this section;

(ii) [Reserved]

(iii) that the State Central Register is kept fully informed and up-to-date concerning the receipt and disposition of reports by the entry of all appropriate reports and information into CONNECTIONS;

(iv) that the appropriate district attorney is immediately informed by telephone of any child who has died as a result of suspected child abuse and/or maltreatment, and that copies of all reports on such children are forwarded to the district attorney's office;

(v) that the appropriate medical examiner or coroner is informed if there is a reasonable cause to suspect that a child has died as a result of suspected child abuse and/or maltreatment;

(vi) that the findings from the medical examiner or coroner are secured on any case where there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child has died as a result of child abuse or maltreatment;

(vii) that telephone notice is provided and a copy of any or all reports of suspected abuse or maltreatment that have been assigned to the investigative track are forwarded immediately to the appropriate district attorney if a prior request in writing for such notice and copies has been received by the child protective service and provided that such request specifies the kinds of allegations concerning which the district attorney requires such notice and copies and provides a copy of the relevant provisions of law;

(viii) that a copy of any or all reports of suspected abuse and/or maltreatment is forwarded to any appropriate duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to children or to any other duly authorized child protective agency, if a prior written request for such copies has been received from such society or agency by the child protective service;

(ix) that the district commences or causes the appropriate society for the prevention of cruelty to children to commence, within 24 hours after receiving a report of child abuse and/or maltreatment, an appropriate investigation or, for approved social service districts, a family assessment response to all reports of suspected child abuse and/or maltreatment. Such investigation or response must meet the requirements of paragraph (b)(3) of this section, or section 432.13 of this Part;

(x) that upon receipt of a report of suspected abuse or maltreatment that is assigned to the investigative track, and after seeing to the safety of the child or children named in the report, but in no event later than seven days after the receipt of the oral report, the local district delivers or mails to the subject(s) and other persons named in the investigative track report, except children under the age of 18 years, a written notification, in such form as required by OCFS, informing them of the existence of the report and of the subject(s)' rights with regard to amendment of information contained in the report; and, upon receipt of a report that is assigned to the family assessment track, and after seeing to the safety of the child or children named in the report, but in no event later than seven days after the receipt of the report, the local district delivers or mails to the parent(s), guardian(s), or other legally responsible person(s) of any child named in the report a written notification, in such form as required by OCFS, informing them of the existence of the report and of the nature of family assessment response; except that, when a new report is received that is consolidated into an open child protective services investigation or family assessment response, the child protective service may provide only verbal notification of the new report to all persons who were notified of the open report unless such person requests written notification;

(xi) that the local district determines, within 60 days, whether a report assigned to the investigative track is "indicated" or "unfounded" and, if "indicated," delivers or mails to the subject(s) and other persons named in the report, except children under the age of 18 years, a written notification, within seven days of the determination, in such form as required by OCFS, informing the subject(s) of their rights to request the commissioner to amend or, for any report received by the State Central Register prior to February 12, 1996, expunge the report and their right to request a fair hearing;

(xii) that upon receipt of written notice from the State Central Register of any expungement or amendment of the record of a report made pursuant to a subject's request or pursuant to a hearing, the local district expunges from or amends as directed all records of the report, and informs, for the same purposes, any other agency or person that received such report or information;

(xiii) that the local district shall take all appropriate measures to protect a child's life and health including, when appropriate, taking or keeping a child in protective custody without the consent of a parent or guardian, if there is reasonable cause to believe that the circumstances or condition of the child are such that continuing in his place of residence or in the care and custody of the parent, guardian, custodian or other person responsible for the child's care presents an imminent danger to the child's life or health;

(xiv) that upon being notified that a child is retained in protective custody, the child protective service staff shall commence a proceeding at the next regular weekday session of the appropriate Family Court, or recommend to the court, at that time, that the child be returned to his parents or guardian;

(xv) that, based upon the investigation and evaluation, the local district offers appropriate services to any child believed to be suffering from abuse or maltreatment and to the child's family, or both, and, in offering these services, explains to the family that the child protective service has no legal authority to compel the family to accept services;

(xvi) that, in those cases in which an appropriate offer of services is refused and the child protective services determines that the best interests of the child require court action, the local district initiates such action or makes a referral to the appropriate district attorney, or both;

(xvii) that the local district assists the Family Court or the Criminal Court during all stages of the court proceeding, in accordance with the purposes of title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law;

(xviii) that the local district provides or arranges for, coordinates and monitors rehabilitative services for children and their families on a voluntary basis or under a final or intermediate order of the Family Court according to the standards set forth in paragraphs (b)(1)-(6) of this section;

(xviv) that the local child protective service receives, in accordance with title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law and paragraph (b)(2) of this section, reports of suspected abuse or maltreatment on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week basis;

(xix) that, in local districts in which oral reports are made initially to the local child protective service, all reports are immediately upon receipt transmitted orally or electronically to the State Central Register;

(xx) that the local child protective service has sufficient staff, of sufficient qualifications, to fulfill the purposes of title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law, and that with respect to such staff the local child protective service has complied with the background review, educational, experience and training requirements of subdivision (d) of this section;

(xxi) that, when necessary, the commissioner of a local district gives consent for medical, dental, health or hospital services for any child who has been found by the Family Court to be an abused or neglected child or has been taken into or kept in protective custody or removed from the place where such child is residing or who has been placed in the custody of such commissioner, pursuant to section 417 of the Social Services Law or section 1022, 1024 or 1027 of the Family Court Act;

(xxii) that the local district conducts continuing publicity and education programs for local department staff, persons required to report cases of suspected abuse and maltreatment, and any other appropriate persons, to encourage the fullest degree of reporting of suspected child abuse or maltreatment, and that such educational programs include, but are not limited to, subjects relating to the responsibilities, obligations and powers imposed by title 6 of article 6 of the Social Services Law, as well as the diagnosis of child abuse and maltreatment and the procedures of the child protective services, the Family Court and other duly authorized agencies;

(xxiv) that the local district shall, when notified by a physician, take custody of any child treated by such physician, whether or not additional medical treatment is required, if such physician has reasonable cause to believe that the circumstances or condition of the child are such that the continuation of the child in his place of residence or in the care and custody of the parent, guardian, custodian, or other person responsible for the child's care presents an imminent danger to the child's life or health;

(xxv) that the local district must, when notified by the person in charge of any hospital or similar institution that such person has retained custody of a child because such person has reasonable cause to believe that the circumstances or conditions of the child are such that continuing in his/her place of residence or in the care and custody of the child's parent, guardian, custodian or other person responsible for the child's care presents an imminent danger to the child's life or health, immediately commence an investigation, and, if no further medical treatment is necessary, take all necessary measures to protect the child's life and health, including, where appropriate, taking custody of the child;

(xxvi) that the local district has made a good faith effort to develop a written understanding between the local district and the district attorney's office which specifies the cooperative procedures to be followed by both parties in investigating incidents of child abuse and maltreatment consistent with the respective obligations for the investigation or prosecution of such incidents as otherwise required by law, and in accordance with the responsibilities of the child protective service as set forth in subdivision (b) of this section;

(xxvii) that the local district makes current procedural manuals and service directories available to employees of the district's child protective service, service providers and professionals involved in the prevention of child abuse and maltreatment; and

(xxviii) that upon receipt of written notice from the State Central Register that a report received by the State Central Register on or after February 12, 1996 has been "unfounded," the local district immediately seals the report and updates, as appropriate, information regarding such report in other records of the district and informs, for the same purposes, any other agency or person that received such report or any information about such report, or for any report received by the State Central Register prior to February 12, 1996, expunges the report and informs, for the same purposes, any other agency or person that received such report or information about such report. Legally sealed unfounded reports may be made available only to:

(a) OCFS for the purpose of supervising a social services district;

(b) OCFS and local or regional fatality review team members for the purpose of preparing a fatality report pursuant to section 20 or 422-b of the Social Services Law;

(c) a local child protective service, the OCFS, all members of a local or regional multidisciplinary investigative team established pursuant to section 423 (6) of the Social Services Law, or the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, when investigating a subsequent report of suspected abuse or maltreatment involving a subject of the unfounded report, a child named in the unfounded report, or a child's sibling named in the unfounded report;

(d) the subject of the report; and

(e) a district attorney, an assistant district attorney, an investigator employed in the office of a district attorney; or a sworn officer of the Division of State Police, or of a city, county, town or village police department or of a county sheriff's office when such official verifies that the report is necessary to conduct an active investigation or prosecution of a violation of subdivision 4 of section 240.50 of the Penal Law. Information from a legally sealed unfounded report that is relevant to the investigation of the current report may be made a part of a subsequent report involving a subject of the unfounded report, a child named in the unfounded report or a child's sibling named in the unfounded report. Information from the legally sealed unfounded report that is not made part of the subsequent report remains legally sealed;

(xxix) that, upon receiving a written request from the State Central Register for all records, reports or other information maintained by the local child protective service pertaining to an indicated report of child abuse and maltreatment, the local child protective services provides such reports, records or information to the State Central Register within no more than 20 calendar days of receiving the request;

(xxx) that, for those local districts approved for family assessment response, when a report received by the State Central Register has been assigned to the family assessment response track, the local district immediately seals the report and updates, as appropriate, information regarding such report in records maintained by the district and informs the State Central Register, any other agency or person that received such report or any information about such report that the report is legally sealed, in accordance with Social Services Law 427-a(4)(c)(i). Legally sealed family assessment response reports shall be made available only to:

(a) the social services district responsible for the family assessment response track case;

(b) the child protective services staff of a social services district that receives a subsequent report of suspected child abuse and maltreatment involving the same subject or the same child or children named in the family assessment response report. When the subsequent report has been assigned to the investigative track and the family assessment response report, record, or information is relevant to the investigation of the subsequent report of suspected child abuse and maltreatment, such relevant information may be used by the child protective services for its investigation and may be included in the record of the investigation of the subsequent report and used in a related family court action. Information from the family assessment response case that is included in the record of the subsequent report shall then be subject to all laws and regulations regarding confidentiality that apply to the record of the subsequent investigation;

(c) staff of OCFS and persons designated by OCFS, which shall include:

(1) local or regional child fatality review team members, provided that the child fatality review team is preparing a fatality report pursuant to section 20 or 422-b of the Social Services Law;

(2) all members of a local or regional multidisciplinary investigative team established pursuant to section 423 (6) of the Social Services Law, when investigating a subsequent report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment involving a member of a family that was part of a family assessment response, provided that only the information from the family assessment response record that is relevant to the subsequent report be entered into the record of the subsequent report, which is to be provided to the multidisciplinary review team or agency; and

(3) citizen review panels, provided that any information obtained shall not be re-disclosed and shall only be used for the purposes set forth in section 371-b of the Social Services Law;

(d) a court, but only while the family is receiving services provided under the family assessment and services track and only pursuant to a court order or judicial subpoena, issued after notice and an opportunity for the subject of the report and all parties to the present proceeding to be heard, based on a judicial finding that such reports, records, and any information concerning such reports and records, are necessary for the determination of an issue before the court. The report must be submitted to the court for inspection and such directions as may be necessary to protect confidentiality, including but not limited to redaction of portions of the record, and to determine any further limits on re-disclosure;

(e) community-based agencies that have contracts with the social services district to carry out activities for the district under the family assessment response track;

(f) providers of services under the family assessment response track; and

(g) the subject of the report;

(xxxi) that the local district authorizes a provider or coordinator of services to which it has referred a child reported to the State Central Register to redisclose child protective services information, including records, reports or other information, to other persons or agencies providing services to the child and the family only if the district has a written agreement with the provider or coordinator of services, which includes the specific agencies and categories of individuals to whom redisclosure by the provider or coordinator of services is authorized and which has been reviewed and approved by OCFS; and

(xxxii) that nothing in article 27-F of the Public Health Law limits a social services official's or agency's responsibility or authority to report, investigate, or redisclose information necessary for the provision or monitoring of child protective services.

(4) Documentation file. Each local district must maintain program information, in the form of a documentation file, which must describe the operations of local child protective services and which provides evidence as to the methods by which the local district adheres to the legal assurances set forth in paragraph (3) of this subdivision, in a format determined by OCFS. Such documentation file must be made available to OCFS upon request.

(5) Procedures for review and approval of the plan and annual implementation report. The procedures for the review and approval of the plan and the annual implementation report shall be consistent with the procedures cited in Part 407 of this Title.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18 § 432.2

Amended, New York State Register October 22, 2014/Volume XXXVI, Issue 42, eff. 10/22/2014