The SUPPORTING FAMILIES TOGETHER ACT

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MANY FAMILIES AVOID accessing SUPPORT BECAUSE THEY FEAR BEING REPORTED TO CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES.

The Supporting Families Together Act (A9283A/S8602A) would help change that by removing the civil and criminal penalties that pressure professionals to report families “just in case,” even when they don’t have child safety concerns. All families should be able to ask for help from doctors, teachers, therapists, and other professionals without fearing a CPS report and investigation.

In 2024, New York investigated 143,836 CPS reports.

4 out of 5 were not substantiated.

Mandated reporters made 73% of CPS reports.

Source: NYS Office of Children and Family Services

Right now, professionals can get in legal trouble for not reporting a family to CPS - even if they don’t believe a child is in danger or would benefit from CPS involvement. The Supporting Families Together Act would remove these legal penalties. This is an important step toward:

  1. Building trust between families and the professionals who serve them, so families can ask for help without fear.

  2. Letting professionals focus on support, not self-protection, so they can do what’s best for families, not what keeps them out of legal trouble.

  3. Helping CPS focus on real safety concerns, so caseworkers can spend their time on children who truly need protection.