NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6420
SPONSOR: McDonald TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to including phar-
macists in the list of persons and officials required to report child
abuse
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To add pharmacists to the list of mandated reporters.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends section 413 of the Social Services law to add pharma-
cists to the list of mandated reporter
Section 2. Establishes the effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
As health care professionals, pharmacists are in a position to identify
and report suspected cases of child abuse.
In 2019, pharmacists received additional authorization to immunize chil-
dren 2 years of age and older for seasonal influenza. As health care
professionals who regularly encounter young children, they are in a
position to observe suspected cases of child abuse, thus should added to
the list of mandated reporter's. Currently, 25 states and the District
of Columbia have laws that require pharmacists to report suspected cases
of child abuse or neglect.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6420
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 6, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD, GOODELL -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to including phar-
macists in the list of persons and officials required to report child
abuse
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social
2 services law, as amended by section 7 of part C of chapter 57 of the
3 laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
4 (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or
5 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
6 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their
7 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
8 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or
9 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person
10 legally responsible for such child comes before them in their profes-
11 sional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge facts,
12 conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an
13 abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician assist-
14 ant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygienist;
15 osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern;
16 psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni-
17 cian; licensed creative arts therapist; licensed marriage and family
18 therapist; licensed mental health counselor; licensed psychoanalyst;
19 licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant; hospi-
20 tal personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment
21 of persons; a Christian Science practitioner; school official, which
22 includes but is not limited to school teacher, school guidance counse-
23 lor, school psychologist, school social worker, school nurse, school
24 administrator or other school personnel required to hold a teaching or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10699-01-3
A. 6420 2
1 administrative license or certificate; full or part-time compensated
2 school employee required to hold a temporary coaching license or profes-
3 sional coaching certificate; social services worker; pharmacist; employ-
4 ee of a publicly-funded emergency shelter for families with children;
5 director of a children's overnight camp, summer day camp or traveling
6 summer day camp, as such camps are defined in section thirteen hundred
7 ninety-two of the public health law; day care center worker; school-age
8 child care worker; provider of family or group family day care; employee
9 or volunteer in a residential care facility for children that is
10 licensed, certified or operated by the office of children and family
11 services; or any other child care or foster care worker; mental health
12 professional; substance abuse counselor; alcoholism counselor; all
13 persons credentialed by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse
14 services; employees, who are expected to have regular and substantial
15 contact with children, of a health home or health home care management
16 agency contracting with a health home as designated by the department of
17 health and authorized under section three hundred sixty-five-l of this
18 chapter or such employees who provide home and community based services
19 under a demonstration program pursuant to section eleven hundred fifteen
20 of the federal social security act who are expected to have regular and
21 substantial contact with children; peace officer; police officer;
22 district attorney or assistant district attorney; investigator employed
23 in the office of a district attorney; or other law enforcement official.
24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
