S 899: Relates to unsealing unfounded child abuse and maltreatment reports upon a court order finding that justice requires the information in such reports is necessary for the determination of charges being investigated by a grand jury or for the purposes of prosecuting a violation of the penal law or otherwise necessary for the furtherance of justice.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 899 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MARTINEZ, MURRAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the unsealing of unfounded child abuse and maltreatment reports in certain circum- stances The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subparagraphs (iv) and (v) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 5 of section 422 of the social services law, subparagraph (iv) as 3 amended by chapter 555 of the laws of 2000 and subparagraph (v) as 4 amended by chapter 256 of the laws of 2014, are amended and a new 5 subparagraph (vi) is added to read as follows: 6 (iv) to the subject of the report; [and] 7 (v) to a district attorney, an assistant district attorney, an inves- 8 tigator employed in the office of a district attorney, or to a sworn 9 officer of the division of state police, of a city, county, town or 10 village police department or of a county sheriff's office (A) when such 11 official [verifies] affirms under oath that the report is necessary to 12 conduct an active investigation or prosecution of a violation of subdi- 13 vision four of section 240.50 of the penal law; or (B) upon a court 14 order finding that the information in such report is necessary for the 15 purpose of prosecuting a violation of the penal law or is otherwise 16 necessary for the furtherance of justice; and 17 (vi) to a grand jury, upon a court order finding it necessary for the 18 determination of charges being investigated by such grand jury or other- 19 wise necessary for the furtherance of justice. 20 § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 422 of the social 21 services law, as amended by section 7 of part D of chapter 501 of the 22 laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02774-01-5 
 S. 899 2 1 (b) Persons given access to unfounded reports pursuant to subparagraph 2 (v) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not redisclose such 3 reports except as necessary to conduct such appropriate investigation or 4 prosecution and shall request of the court that any copies of such 5 reports produced in any court proceeding be redacted to remove the names 6 of the subjects and other persons named in the reports or that the court 7 issue an order protecting the names of the subjects and other persons 8 named in the reports from public disclosure. The local child protective 9 service or state agency shall not indicate the subsequent report solely 10 based upon the existence of the prior unfounded report or reports. 11 Notwithstanding section four hundred fifteen of this title, section one 12 thousand forty-six of the family court act, or, except as set forth 13 herein, any other provision of law to the contrary, an unfounded report 14 shall not be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding or 15 action; provided, however, an unfounded report may be introduced into 16 evidence: (i) by the subject of the report where such subject is a 17 respondent in a proceeding under article ten of the family court act or 18 is a plaintiff or petitioner in a civil action or proceeding alleging 19 the false reporting of child abuse or maltreatment; [or] (ii) in a crim- 20 inal court for the purpose of prosecuting a violation of [subdivision 21 four of section 240.50 of] the penal law; or (iii) in a grand jury or 22 other judicial proceeding for the purpose of determining charges being 23 investigated by such grand jury. Legally sealed unfounded reports shall 24 be expunged ten years after the receipt of the report. 25 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 26 have become a law.