Terms & Definitions

State Central Registry (SCR)

When people talk about calling “the hotline” or “calling in a case,” they mean calling the State Central Registry (SCR), which is run by the NY State Office of Family and Children’s Services (OCFS). The SCR answers calls reporting neglect or abuse, and if a caller can provide basic information about the family and describe a concern that meets the state definition of neglect (see below) or abuse, the SCR report will be “referred” to the local child welfare agency for investigation. In NYC, that’s ACS (the Administration for Children’s Services).

Investigation / Indicated Case

In an investigation, there is a “finding” at the end — a determination by the investigator — that a parent did or didn’t neglect or abuse their child. A case is “indicated” or “not indicated.” Another way of saying this is that abuse or neglect is “substantiated” or “not substantiated.” All of these terms mean that a ACS investigator believed there was a “preponderance of evidence” that a parent neglected or abused their child — or that there wasn’t. If an investigation is indicated, that doesn’t mean a parent will lose their child or even have to do services. It does mean that a parent will be registered with the state as having an indicated neglect or abuse case, which can affect employment, such as working with children or elderly people, or working in schools or daycares.

CARES Case

CARES is a type of investigation for lower-risk cases. (It is called Family Assessment Response, or FAR, in upstate New York.) At any time, a CARES case can become an investigation if a child is suspected of being in danger. Parents are usually contacted by phone to set up a time for the CARES investigator to visit the home. CARES cases begin with a 7-day safety assessment that is nearly identical to the safety assessment protocol used in all investigations. After that, the focus is not on building evidence to determine whether to indicate the case or not. CARES cases are neither substantiated or unsubstantiated. Instead, there is a detailed assessment of family life and needs. CARES workers are expected to connect families to voluntary resources and services if parents and children would like support. The case should close whenever the child has been assessed as safe and the family is not seeking support. It’s not required that parents accept the CARES approach rather than a traditional investigation; you have the option of either pathway. Both are safety assessments and both are invasive in different ways. By accepting CARES, parents may be less likely to have the case indicated. Parents can access free legal defense as soon as they are contacted by ACS to get help with this decision and get support during the case.

“Preponderance of Evidence”

The state child welfare agency, OCFS, described this legal term this way in an Administrative Directive that described SCR reform legislation that took effect Jan. 1, 2022.

SCR reform legislation changes the legal standard of evidence, or “proof,” required for CPS to indicate a report of alleged child abuse or maltreatment. Specifically, this new law raises the legal standard of proof that is required: from “some credible evidence” to “a fair preponderance of the evidence.”

Existing New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) regulations at 18 New York Code Rules and Regulations (18 NYCRR) section 434.10 define these terms as follows:

• “Some credible evidence” is evidence that is worthy and capable of being believed.

• “A fair preponderance of the evidence” is evidence that outweighs other evidence that is offered to oppose it.

In other words, under the “some credible evidence” standard, CPS only needs to find that “some” evidence that is “credible” exists to substantiate a specific allegation in a report of alleged child abuse or maltreatment that is under investigation. In contrast, to establish “a fair preponderance of the evidence,” CPS must weigh the information collected in its totality and determine whether the evidence collected that supports the allegation is stronger than the evidence gathered that does not.

Statutory Definition of Physical Abuse Citation: Soc. Serv. Law §§ 371; 422-a

‘Abused child’ means a child younger than age 18 whose parent or other person legally responsible for their care does any of the following:

• Inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon such child physical injury, by other than accidental means, that causes or creates a substantial risk of death, serious or protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of physical or emotional health, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ
• Creates or allows to be created a substantial risk of physical injury to such child, by other than accidental means, that would be likely to cause death, serious or protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of physical or emotional health, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ

‘Near fatality’ means an act that results in the child being placed, as certified by a physician, in serious or critical condition.

Statutory Definition of Neglect Citation: Soc. Serv. Law § 371; Family Court Act § 1012

‘Neglected child’ means a child younger than age 18 whose physical, mental, or emotional condition has been impaired or is in imminent danger of becoming impaired as a result of the failure of their parent or other person legally responsible for their care to exercise a minimum degree of care, as follows:

• In supplying the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, education, or medical or surgical care, although financially able to do so or offered financial or other reasonable means to do so
• In providing the child with proper supervision or guardianship
• By unreasonably inflicting or allowing harm to be inflicted, or a substantial risk thereof, including the infliction of excessive corporal punishment
• By misusing drugs or alcoholic beverages to the extent that they lose self-control of their actions
• By any other acts of a similarly serious nature requiring the aid of the court

Required Elements to Accept a Hotline Call as a Report of Abuse or Neglect under New York State Social Service Law and the Family Court Act

Mandated Reporters vs. Non-Mandated Reporters

Mandated reporters are people who are required to report suspected neglect or abuse to the SCR.

Mandated Reporters: Child Care Worker, Day Care Facility/Provider, Institutional Staff, Director, Attend Teacher, Guidance Counselor, Principal, School Personnel, Teacher, Court, District Attorney, Detective, Law Enforcement, Probation Officer, Police Officer, Physicians Asst., Dental Hygienist, EMS\EMT, Medical Examiner/Coroner, Medical Facility Staff, Nurse, Public Health, Physician, Mental Health Professional, Psychologist/Psychiatrist, Therapist, Dept of Social Services/ACS Worker, Social Worker, Substance Abuse Counselors, Christian Scientist Practitioner, Family Violence Shelter, Other State Agency. Staff in agencies contracted with ACS are mandated reporters, no matter their title.

Non-Mandated Reporters: Father, Mother, Parent, Anonymous, Foster Parents, Friend, Neighbor, Aunt/Uncle, Cousin, Daughter/Son, Other Family Member, Grandchild, Grandparent, Niece/Nephew, Sibling, Attorney, Community Agency, Concerned Citizen, Clergy, Guardian, Other Shelter, Parent Substitute, Unrelated Home Members, others not listed as mandated reporters.

Allegations

An allegation is the suspected neglect or abuse reported to the SCR. Allegations are grouped as follows: Physical Abuse – burn, fatality, fracture, choking, twisting, shaking, excessive corporal punishment, internal injuries, lacerations, bruises, welts, poisoning, noxious substances; Other Neglect – inadequate food, clothing, shelter, lack of supervision, malnutrition, failure to thrive, swelling, dislocations, sprains (does not include “inadequate guardianship”); Psychological Abuse – isolation, emotional neglect; Substance Abuse – parental drug use, child drug use; Other – abandonment, inappropriate custodial conduct, labor trafficking, all else. “Inadequate guardianship,” which is included in the large majority of all reports, is extremely loosely defined on p.77 of this New York State Child Protective Services Manual.

Warmlines

Both ACS and OCFS have phone numbers that mandated reporters can call to find out about services and resources in the community to refer families to instead of calling in a report.

• In NYC, it’s the ACS preventive technical assistance unit that receives the call: 212-676-7667
• OCFS has a line called HEARS that is described as a parent helpline, but parents should know that it is staffed by mandated reporters at OCFS

Parents in NYC can get free legal support when facing an investigation. Here is information on your rights and support during an investigation: https://yourfamilyyourrights.org/

Rates of SCR Calls and Investigations

Most public child welfare data shows only the number of investigations in a community district (CD). The charts below use zip code data and present rates of hotline calls in addition to numbers. Looking at the rate of hotline calls per 1,000 children or households in a zip code allows us to accurately compare which zip codes are most impacted. For example, Hunts Point ranks 81^st in the number of hotline calls because it’s a small neighborhood, but it ranks 4^th citywide in its rate, which is 140 per 1,000 households with children (or 7 calls for every 50 families). That means that many families probably know a neighbor who was recently investigated. ACS’ presence is high.

“Unique” vs. “Duplicate” Data

Data on ACS cases, indicated investigations and foster care entries can be reported by the number of “unique” children or families, or by the number of “duplicate” children and families. These terms are used not only in NYC but in data reported by the federal government. “Unique” counts mean that a child or family is counted only once, even if the family was investigated multiple times in a year, or a child re-entered foster care. “Duplicate” counts mean that children and families are counted every time there is a case. Each type of count is useful. Unique counts allow us to understand the actual numbers of children and families impacted by child welfare involvement. Duplicate counts allow us to understand the total volume of cases. In NYC, half of all ACS cases involve families that have been previously investigated in the past 24 months. Note that data that uses duplicate counts cannot be directly compared to data that uses unique counts, and FPP switched a number of data points over from duplicate to unique counts in our analyses of 2019 and 2023 data. Please be in touch with any questions when making data comparisons or encountering what may appear to be discrepant or mistaken data in FPP analyses or ACS public data reporting.