Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Kevan M. Abrahams (D – Freeport) and his colleagues in the Minority Legislature Caucus re-introduced legislation that would equip community leaders with the tools and resources they need to identify and report cases of suspected child abuse and maltreatment.
Filed again on Tuesday, Feb. 18 by Minority Leader Abrahams and co-sponsored by each of his Minority Caucus colleagues, the proposal would require youth-based organizations and agencies that enter contracts with the County to provide child abuse recognition training to all adult employees and volunteers who have unsupervised or regular and substantial contact with children. Those employees and volunteers would be required to report all incidents of suspected abuse, neglect, and maltreatment of a child.
In addition, prior to the issuance of any special event or field permit for an event involving children, Minority Leader Abrahams’ proposal would require applicants to prove that current and prospective adult employees and volunteers who will have unsupervised or regular and substantial contact with children have completed child abuse recognition training.
In 2018, Nassau County Child Protective Services received 6,263 reports of child abuse or maltreatment. Nationwide, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau, approximately 674,000 reports of child abuse, neglect or maltreatment were substantiated in the United States in 2017. Nearly 71,000 of those reports came from New York. However, studies indicate child abuse is significantly underreported due to confusion or misunderstanding of the laws and a lack of awareness of the warning signs of child abuse.
Minority Leader Abrahams previously introduced this proposal in August 2019. The item was not added to the Legislature’s calendar for a hearing or vote at that time.
“No child should ever suffer in silence at the hands of an abuser – especially when we have the educational tools at our disposal to empower residents to identify and report suspected cases of child abuse,”Minority Leader Abrahams said. “When I introduced a version of this proposal last summer, I adamantly believed then, as I do now, thattraining coaches and other community leaders will add an essential layer to Nassau County’s safety net of resources dedicated to protecting our children. Let’s roll up our sleeves and work together to pass this law.”
Mandated trainees would have 60 days after enactment of this legislation to complete a minimum of two hours of classroom or other interactive child abuse recognition training. New hires or volunteers at covered entities would have 30 days from their start date to complete training.
Nassau County’s Departments of Human Services and Social Services will maintain a list of New York State approved child abuse recognition training providers and post the list on their respective websites. Qualified County personnel will also be authorized to provide the training.Individuals who have undergone New York State-approved child abuse recognition will be deemed to have complied with the law.Certification remains valid for two years.
Noncompliance would be considered a material breach of contract and subject to a maximum $250 civil penalty per violation; denial of the permit application; and additional contractual remedies.Entities seeking a special event or field permit for organized school trips to a County park are not required to comply with these requirements.
