Legislature looks to curb anonymous child abuse reporting

The controversial system of anonymous reports to the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment could be changing in New York.

According to child welfare stakeholders and Democratic state lawmakers, there is an expectation that a bill will move through the legislature implementing a system of confidential reports to Child Protective Services instead of allowing anonymous reporting, which has been blamed with creating unnecessary and painful investigations into families. The contact information would be retained by the state Office of Children and Family Services and county agencies.

“Anonymous calls to the State Central Register are consistently being weaponized to harass New York families,” said Assembly Children & Families Committee Chair Andrew Hevesi, a Queens Democrat, who sponsors the measure.

“By switching to a system of confidential reporting, we can actively eliminate intentionally false and malicious reports of neglect and abuse while maintaining the confidentiality of the reporter,” he said. “It is an urgent imperative to end the unnecessary disruption and destruction of black families caused by the child welfare system.”

The updated language was approved on June 9 by the state Senate and was sent to the floor in the Assembly on June 6. It previously passed the state Senate, but had been stalled in the Assembly.

Speaking about the issue in late 2024, Hevesi told The Capitol Pressroom that moving away from anonymous reporting required a change in thinking for his colleagues. “This is going to be not the normal lobbying effort,” he said.

The forward momentum of the legislation was credit to an amendment that creates a process for handling abuse reporters who insist on retaining their anonymity. The update requires briefing callers who want to be anonymous about the confidentiality rules and then give information about alternative avenues to support a child they’re concerned about if they are unwilling to provide contact information.