• Social Service Law
• NYS Penal Law
• Family Court Act
• NYS Laws Regarding Falsely Reporting Child Abuse and Maltreatment
• Social Service Law
• Penal Law
• Abandoned Infant Protection Act Fact Sheet
• Legal Protections for Mandated Reporters

1. Click Bills & Laws on the left side
2. Scroll down to the main heading Search and click on Laws of New York
3. Under Select Law, Consolidated Laws scroll down and click on SOS Social Service Law
4. Scroll down below Article 6 – CHILDREN to Title 6 – (411- 428) CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
5. Under that heading, you will find the following topics:

411 - Findings and purpose.
412 - Definitions.
413 - Persons and officials required to report cases of suspected child abuse or maltreatment.
414 - Any person permitted to report.
415 - Reporting procedure.
416 - Obligations of persons required to report.
417 - Taking a child into protective custody.
418 - Mandatory reporting to and post-mortem investigation of deaths by medical examiner or coroner.
419 - Immunity from liability.
420 - Penalties for failure to report.
421 - Responsibility of the department.
422 - Statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment.
422-A - Child abuse and neglect investigations; disclosure.
422-B - Local and regional fatality review teams.
423 - Child protective service responsibilities and organization; purchase of service and reimbursement of cost; local plan.
424 - Duties of the child protective service concerning reports of abuse or maltreatment.
424-A - Access to information contained in the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment.
424-B - Children in the care of certain public and private agencies.
424-C - Duties of the commissioner concerning reports of abuse or maltreatment of children in residential facilities or programs.
425 - Cooperation of other agencies.
426 - Annual reports.
427 - Regulations of the commissioner.
428 - Separability.

1. Click Bills & Laws on the left side
2. Scroll down to the main heading Search and click on Laws of New York
3. Under Select Law, Consolidated Laws scroll down and click on PEN Penal
4. Scroll down below Part 3 – SPECIFIC OFFENSES to Title H, Article 130 – (130.00-130.90) SEX OFFENSES
5. Under that heading, you will find the following topics:

PEN - Penal
Article 130 - SEX OFFENSES
130.00 - Sex offenses; definitions of terms.
130.05 - Sex offenses; lack of consent.
130.10 - Sex offenses; limitation; defenses.
130.16 - Sex offenses; corroboration.
130.20 - Sexual misconduct.
130.25 - Rape in the third degree.
130.30 - Rape in the second degree.
130.35 - Rape in the first degree.
130.40 - Criminal sexual act in the third degree.
130.45 - Criminal sexual act in the second degree.
130.50 - Criminal sexual act in the first degree.
130.52 - Forcible touching.
130.53 - Persistent sexual abuse.
130.55 - Sexual abuse in the third degree.
130.60 - Sexual abuse in the second degree.
130.65 - Sexual abuse in the first degree.
130.65-A - Aggravated sexual abuse in the fourth degree.
130.66 - Aggravated sexual abuse in the third degree.
130.67 - Aggravated sexual abuse in the second degree.
130.70 - Aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree.
130.75 - Course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree.
130.80 - Course of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree.
130.85 - Female genital mutilation.
130.90 - Facilitating a sex offense with a controlled substance.

1. Click Bills & Laws on the left side
2. Scroll down to the main heading Search and click on Laws of New York
3. Under Select Law, Consolidated Laws scroll down and click on PEN Penal
4. Scroll down below Part 3, Title M - OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC HEALTH AND MORALS, Article 230 - (230.00 - 230.40) PROSTITUTION OFFENSES
5. Under that heading, you will find the following topics:

PEN - Penal
Article 230 - PROSTITUTION OFFENSES
230.00 - Prostitution.
230.02 - Patronizing a prostitute; definitions.
230.03 - Patronizing a prostitute in the fourth degree.
230.04 - Patronizing a prostitute in the third degree.
230.05 - Patronizing a prostitute in the second degree.
230.06 - Patronizing a prostitute in the first degree.
230.07 - Patronizing a prostitute; defense.
230.10 - Prostitution and patronizing a prostitute; no defense.
230.15 - Promoting prostitution; definitions of terms.
230.20 - Promoting prostitution in the fourth degree.
230.25 - Promoting prostitution in the third degree.
230.30 - Promoting prostitution in the second degree.
230.32 - Promoting prostitution in the first degree.
230.35 - Promoting prostitution; accomplice.
230.40 - Permitting prostitution.

1. Click Bills & Laws on the left side
2. Scroll down to the main heading Search and click on Laws of New York
3. Under Select Law, Consolidated Laws scroll down and click on PEN Penal
4. Scroll down below Part 3, Title O, Article 263 - (263.00 - 263.25) SEXUAL PERFORMANCE BY A CHILD
5. Under that heading, you will find the following topics:

Article 263 - SEXUAL PERFORMANCE BY A CHILD
263.00 - Definitions.
263.05 - Use of a child in a sexual performance.
263.10 - Promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child.
263.11 - Possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child.
263.15 - Promoting a sexual performance by a child.
263.16 - Possessing a sexual performance by a child.
263.20 - Sexual performance by a child; affirmative defenses.
263.25 - Proof of age of child.

§ 422.14 The department shall refer suspected cases of falsely reporting child abuse and maltreatment in violation of subdivision three of section 240.55 of the penal law to the appropriate law enforcement agency or district attorney. *

*[The relevant portions of the Penal Law were amended and the sections renumbered. The Penal Law reference to intentional false reports is now at Section 240.50(4) of the Penal Law. The Social Service Law has not yet been changed to reflect that.]

§ 240.50 Falsely reporting an incident in the third degree. A person is guilty of falsely reporting an incident in the third degree when, knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be false or baseless, he:

2. Reports, by word or action, to an official or quasi-official agency or organization having the function of dealing with emergencies involving danger to life or property, an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of a catastrophe or emergency which did not in fact occur or does not in fact exist; or

3. Gratuitously reports to a law enforcement officer or agency (a) the alleged occurrence of an offense or incident which did not in fact occur; or (b) an allegedly impending occurrence of an offense or incident which in fact is not about to occur; or (c) false information relating to an actual offense or incident or to the alleged implication of some person therein; or

4. Reports, by word or action, to the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment, as defined in title six of article six of the social services law, an alleged occurrence or condition of child abuse or maltreatment which did not in fact occur or exist.

Falsely reporting an incident in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor.

Source Confidentiality
The Social Service Law provides confidentiality for mandated reporters and all sources of child abuse and maltreatment reports. OCFS and local CPS are not permitted to release to the subject of the report any data that would identify the source of a report unless the source has given written permission to do so. Information regarding the source of the report may be shared with court officials, police, and district attorneys but only in certain circumstances.

Immunity from Liability
If a mandated reporter makes a report with earnest concern for the welfare of a child, he or she is immune from any criminal or civil liability that might result. This is referred to a making a report in "good faith".

Penalties for Failure to Report
Anyone who is mandated to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment - and fails to do so - could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor and subject to criminal penalties. Further, mandated reporters can be sued in a civil court for monetary damages for any harm caused by the mandated reporter's failure to make the report to the SCR.