Requires training regarding sexual assault for police officers and child protective services workers, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2295
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 16, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in  relation  to  requisite  training
   instruction  for police officers for crimes involving sexual assaults;
   and to amend the social services law,  in  relation  to  training  for
   child protective services workers in certain instances
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 840 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 8 to read as follows:
   8. THE COUNCIL SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS REQUIRING TRAIN-
 ING AND INSTRUCTION FOR ALL  POLICE  OFFICERS  WITH  RESPECT  TO  CRIMES
 INVOLVING  SEXUAL ASSAULT. SUCH TRAINING AND INSTRUCTION, WHICH SHALL BE
 DESIGNED AND PRESENTED IN CONSULTATION  WITH  THE  RAPE  CRISIS  CENTERS
 EXPERIENCED  IN  ASSISTING VICTIMS IN THIS STATE, SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT
 BE LIMITED TO UNDERSTANDING RAPE AND SEXUAL ABUSE TRAUMA AND  PSYCHOLOG-
 ICAL  ISSUES  CONFRONTED  BY  SUCH  CRIME  VICTIMS, COMMON ATTRIBUTES OF
 OFFENDERS, FAIR TREATMENT STANDARDS FOR CRIME VICTIMS PURSUANT TO  ARTI-
 CLE  TWENTY-THREE  OF  THIS CHAPTER, EVIDENCE GATHERING AND PRESERVATION
 ISSUES, INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES AND INFORMATION CONCERNING THE AVAILABILITY
 OF LOCAL SERVICES FOR THE VICTIMS OF SUCH  CRIMES.    ALL  NEW  OFFICERS
 SHALL  RECEIVE  SUCH  TRAINING  AND  INSTRUCTION,  AS  PART OF THE BASIC
 CURRICULUM AT THE STATE POLICE ACADEMY OR AT MUNICIPAL POLICE ACADEMIES,
 AS APPLICABLE. THE COUNCIL SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH RULES  AND  REGULATIONS
 AS  IT DEEMS NECESSARY CONCERNING PERIODIC RETRAINING OF POLICE OFFICERS
 REGARDING CRIMES INVOLVING SEXUAL ASSAULT.
   § 2. The opening and closing paragraphs of subdivision  3  of  section
 421  of  the  social  services  law, the opening paragraph as amended by
 chapter 718 of the laws of 1986 and the closing paragraph as amended  by
 chapter 320 of the laws of 1990, are amended to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06251-01-5
 S. 2295                             2
 
   promulgate  regulations setting forth requirements for the performance
 by local social services departments of the duties  and  powers  imposed
 and  conferred  upon them by the provisions of this title and of article
 ten of the family court act. Such regulations  shall  establish  uniform
 requirements  for  the  investigation  of  reports  of  child  abuse  or
 maltreatment under this title. The [department] OFFICE OF  CHILDREN  AND
 FAMILY  SERVICES  shall  also issue guidelines which shall set forth the
 circumstances or conditions under which:
   The [department] OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES shall  promul-
 gate  regulations to establish STANDARDS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRAIN-
 ING CURRICULUM FOR  CHILD  PROTECTIVE  SERVICES  WORKERS  WHICH  TEACHES
 APPROPRIATE  INVESTIGATORY  TECHNIQUES  FOR  REPORTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND
 MANDATES ON-GOING TRAINING FOR CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS, stand-
 ards for intervention, criteria for case closings, criteria  for  deter-
 mining  whether  or  not  to initiate a child protective proceeding, and
 criteria for the formulation of treatment plans and for the delivery  of
 child  protective services including specification of the services to be
 classified as child protective services, which shall also apply  to  any
 society for the prevention of cruelty to children which has entered into
 a currently valid contract with a local department of social services to
 investigate child abuse or maltreatment reports. The [department] OFFICE
 OF  CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES shall promulgate regulations establish-
 ing minimum standards and practices for the delivery of child protective
 services in connection with monitoring and supervising  respondents  and
 their  families  as  ordered  by  a family court pursuant to section ten
 hundred thirty-nine and paragraphs (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) of  subdivi-
 sion  (a) of section ten hundred fifty-two of the family court act. Such
 regulations shall also require local child protective services to comply
 with notification requirements of the family  court  act  in  connection
 with such monitoring and supervisory responsibilities.
   §  3.  Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  5 of section 421 of the social
 services law, as amended by chapter 470 of the laws of 2024, is  amended
 to read as follows:
   (b)  promulgate  regulations setting forth training requirements which
 shall specify, among other things, that all persons  hired  by  a  child
 protective  service on or after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six
 shall have satisfactorily completed a course approved  by  the  [depart-
 ment]  OFFICE  OF  CHILDREN  AND  FAMILY SERVICES within the first three
 months of employment, in the fundamentals of child protection, provided,
 however, that on or after April first, two  thousand  twenty-five,  such
 course may be satisfactorily completed through distance learning methods
 which evince that all participants are in attendance for the duration of
 the  course and are able to ask questions of the instructor. Each county
 shall be authorized to adopt a local law,  ordinance  or  resolution  to
 provide  for a local department of social services to fulfill the train-
 ing requirement established by this paragraph through a distance  learn-
 ing  method,  excluding the annual in service training requirement. Such
 course shall include at least basic training in the principles and tech-
 niques of investigations, including relationships  with  other  investi-
 gative  bodies, legal issues in child protection, and methods of remedi-
 ation, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Such regulations shall  also
 specify  that  all  persons employed by a child protective service on or
 after December first, two thousand six shall satisfactorily complete six
 hours of annual in service training, beginning in their second  year  of
 employment.  Such  annual  in service training shall include, but is not
 limited to, review of the protocols for identification and investigation
 S. 2295                             3
 
 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 services workers.
   §  4.  Subdivision  7  of  section  421 of the social services law, as
 amended by chapter 718 of the laws  of  1986,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   7.  take all reasonable and necessary actions to assure that the local
 departments of social services are kept apprised on a current  basis  of
 the  laws,  regulations and policies of the [department] OFFICE OF CHIL-
 DREN AND FAMILY SERVICES concerning child abuse and maltreatment.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.