Int. No. 1736
By Council Members Rivera, Chin, Ayala, Ampry-Samuel, Lander, Brannan, Reynoso, Levin, Adams, D. Diaz, Rosenthal, Koslowitz, Dinowitz, Louis, Gibson and the Public Advocate (Mr. Williams)
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring child protective specialists to orally disseminate information to parents or caretakers about their rights during initial contact at the start of an ACS investigation
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 9 of title 21 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 21-919 to read as follows:
§ 21-919 Information regarding the rights of parents and guardians. a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the term “office of advocacy” means the office within ACS which provides information and responds to the concerns of parents, youth, foster parents, and others affected by the child welfare system, juvenile justice system, and other ACS services.
b. At the initial point of contact with a parent or caretaker during a child protective investigation, ACS shall orally disseminate to the parent or caretaker information regarding their rights during the investigation. Such information shall include, but need not be limited to:
1. Information regarding the right to appeal a case, request a copy of records in a case and request that such records be expunged;
2. Resources which may be available to parents and caretakers during a child protective investigation;
3. The telephone number of ACS’ office of advocacy; and
4. Any other information ACS deems appropriate.
§ 2. This local law takes effect 90 days after it becomes law.
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LS 8039
7/18/2019