Senate Bill S2007

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2007

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to endangering the welfare
of a child


 PURPOSE :
To create the new felony offense Endangering the Welfare of a Child in
the First Degree and strengthen existing law relative to crimes
committed against children.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section one of the bill would name the bill "Laura Mae's Law."

Section two of the bill reclassifies the existing crime of Endangering
the Welfare of a Child, under Penal Law Section 260.10, and designates
it as Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the second degree and adds
a new subdivision 3 which makes it a crime to commit an act of
violence against another person by a parent or person legally
responsible for the care and custody of the child, in front of such
child.

Section three of the bill renumbers the existing Penal Law section
260.11 as 260.12.

              

Section four of the bill adds a new section 260.11 creating the crime
of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the first degree.
Subdivision one will penalize an individual who acts in a manner
likely to be injurious to the physical, mental, emotional or moral
welfare of a child less than 13 years old. Subdivision two will
penalize an individual who commits Endangering the Welfare of a Child
in the second degree where the child involved suffers a physical
injury, serious physical injury or death.  Subdivision three will
penalize an individual who commits Endangering the Welfare of a Child
in the Second Degree where the person committing the offense has
previously been convicted of one of an enumerated list of offenses.
Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the first degree is a class E
felony.

Section five of the bill amends Penal Law section 260.15, which
relates to Endangering the Welfare of a Child defenses, to now include
a reference to both Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the second
and first degree.

Section six of the bill provides that it takes effect on the first of
November following enactment.

 EXISTING LAW :
Penal Law section 260.10, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, is a
class A misdemeanor and punishes a person who acts in a manner likely
to be injurious to the physical, mental, emotional or moral welfare of
a child less than 17 years old, or is a parent or guardian who fails
or refuses to exercise reasonable control to prevent the child from
becoming an abused, neglected child or a juvenile delinquent or person
in need of supervision.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :
Child abuse can be committed by a stranger or a family member and it
occurs in all environments, including the home, schools, churches,
mentoring organizations and day care centers. Child abuse can be
physical, mental, emotional or even sexual. In many ways, it is the
most heinous crime faced by society because it is perpetrated on the
most defenseless segment of our population, often by the very people
who should be protecting them. These young victims may suffer in
silence, frequently over a period of time, due to fear of retaliation,
confusion or embarrassment and guilt over the attacks.  The physical
and emotional harm that these children endure causes scars that can
not easily be healed.

A recent study by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services found that in 2002 1,400 children died from abuse or neglect
nationally -- a rate of 1.98 per 100,000 children.  This rate has
increased each year since 2000.  In New York State, 68 children died
from abuse or neglect, a rate of 1.47 per 100,000 children.  In New
York State in 2002, there were 155,678 reports of child abuse and
neglect, and 79,049 of these incidents were substantiated for abuse or
neglect.  The large majority of the victims in the substantiated
incidents experienced neglect -- 13% of the victims were physically
abused (over 10,000 cases) and 4% of the victims were sexually abused
(over 3,000 cases).  Nationally, it is estimated that for 2002,
counting local and federal funds, states spent at least $22,2 billion
dollars on child welfare activities.

The law has long recognized the need to protect children through the
Endangering the Welfare of a child statute. In recent years highly
publicized cases have focused attention on the unfortunate reality
that all too often the abuse is extremely cruel or heinous in
character, and yet lacks a manifest physical injury. For example,
children in this state have been locked in closets, starved, scalded,
forced to eat their own feces and yet this conduct has only resulted
in the perpetrator being punished as a misdemeanor. The law should be
amended to recognize that certain behavior, which may not be able to
be prosecuted as a felony assault or a homicide offense, nonetheless
should be punished at a felony level. The bill creates a new first
degree class E felony endangering statute which will appropriately
penalize these individuals.

In 1996, Governor Pataki appointed the Commission on Domestic Violence
Fatalities and charged them with the responsibility of investigating
select domestic violence fatalities and recommending preventive and
protective strategies, guidelines, and legislation to reduce the
incidence of domestic violence. Among the recommendations made by the
Commission in its final report was a call to amend the Penal Law to
provide that the commission of an act of violence against another
person by a parent or person legally responsible for the care and
custody of the child, in front of such child, should be sufficient
basis to constitute the crime of endangering the welfare of a child.
The cases studied by the Commission showed a direct and immediate link
between domestic violence and child abuse. Of the 57 cases in the
study, 36 of the victims (63%) had children and of the 36 victims with
children, in 24 (67%) cases, at least one child was physically present
at the time of the homicide. Further, in four of these cases, two
children were killed and three were physically injured.

Clearly, children in homes where domestic violence occurs face a
greater risk that their emotional, physical and mental development
will be harmed. Studies indicate that children who witness domestic
violence exhibit more aggressive behavior, depression, anxiety, low
self-esteem and low cognitive, verbal and motor skills. In one study,
the medical records of mothers of child abuse victims showed a high
percentage (59.4%) of reports or indications of domestic violence.
The inextricable link between domestic violence and child abuse and
the increased chances that children who witness domestic violence will
suffer physically and emotionally emphasizes the need for the
inclusion of such behavior in Endangering the Welfare of a child in
the second degree as proposed in this legislation. (1)

Society as a whole must recognize the potential dangers faced by our
children and take the necessary steps to protect their future. In
order to ensure that the law provides the highest level of protection

possible to child abuse victims, the enactment of this legislation is
critical.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
S.2034:  2007-08 - Referred to Codes, Passed Senate

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :
None.

(1)  The study cited was not repeated.  There have been other studies
of co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse and most show an
overlap of 30-60% (Edleson, J.L. (1999).  "The overlap between child
maltreatment and women battering," Violence Against Women, 5(2),
134-154.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
November 1 next succeeding passage.