§ 421. Responsibility of the office. The office shall: 1. in\nconjunction with local departments, both jointly and individually,\nwithin the appropriation available, conduct a continuing publicity and\neducation program for local department staff, persons and officials\nrequired to report including district attorneys, assistant district\nattorneys, police officers, peace officers, investigators employed in\nthe office of a district attorney, and any other appropriate persons to\nencourage the fullest degree of reporting of suspected child abuse or\nmaltreatment. Such program shall be developed and implemented in\ncoordination with those established pursuant to section 31.06 of the\nmental hygiene law, section twenty-eight hundred five-n of the public\nhealth law, section thirty-two hundred nine-a of the education law,\nsections two hundred fourteen-a and eight hundred forty of the executive\nlaw and article eleven of this chapter. The program shall include but\nnot be limited to responsibilities, obligations and powers under this\ntitle and chapter as well as the diagnosis of child abuse and\nmaltreatment, the procedures of the child protective service, the family\ncourt and other duly authorized agencies and the prevention, treatment\nand remediation of abuse and maltreatment of children in residential\ncare.\n 2. (a) provide technical assistance to local social services\ndepartments regarding case planning and provision of services and\nperformance of other responsibilities pursuant to this title. Such\nassistance shall be provided on a regular, ongoing basis and shall also\nbe made available as needed, upon request of any such local department.\n (b) issue guidelines to assist local social services departments in\nevaluating and establishing investigative priorities for reports\ndescribing situations or events which may pose a clear and present\ndanger to the life, health or safety of a child and which require\nimmediate, personal contact between the local child protective service\nand the subject of the report, the subject's family, or any other\npersons named in the report.\n (c) issue guidelines to assist local child protective services in the\ninterpretation and assessment of reports of abuse and maltreatment made\nto the statewide central register described in section four hundred\ntwenty-two of this article. Such guidelines shall include information,\nstandards and criteria for the identification of evidence of alleged\nabuse and maltreatment as required to determine whether a report may be\nindicated pursuant to this article. Provided further, the office of\nchildren and family services shall update such guidelines, standards and\ncriteria issued to the local child protective services to include\nprotocols to reduce implicit bias in the decision-making processes,\nstrategies for identifying adverse childhood experiences as defined in\nparagraph (c) of subdivision one of section twenty-d of this chapter,\nguidelines to assist in recognizing signs of abuse or maltreatment while\ninteracting virtually, and guidance on identifying an abused or\nmaltreated child when such child is an individual with an intellectual\nor developmental disability as defined in section 1.03 of the mental\nhygiene law. The office may utilize existing programs or materials\nestablished pursuant to section twenty-d of this chapter.\n 3. * promulgate regulations setting forth requirements for the\nperformance by local social services departments of the duties and\npowers imposed and conferred upon them by the provisions of this title\nand of article ten of the family court act. Such regulations shall\nestablish uniform requirements for the investigation of reports of child\nabuse or maltreatment under this title. The department shall also issue\nguidelines which shall set forth the circumstances or conditions under\nwhich:\n * NB Effective until December 12, 2026\n * promulgate regulations setting forth requirements for the\nperformance by
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