Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, R-Ballston Spa, is pictured speaking on the state Assembly floor earlier this year. Walsh led opposition in the Assembly to legislation that would end anonymous child abuse reports to the statewide registry.

Gov. Kathy Hochul will soon have the final say over the future of anonymous reports to the state’s child abuse registry used to begin child abuse investigations.

Legislation passed by both houses of the state Legislature earlier this year that would end the practice of allowing the anonymous reports, which Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, D-Forest Hills, said totals about 7% of the calls to the statewide registry each year. The bill passed the state Assembly 109-36 with both Assemblymen Andrew Molitor, R-Westfield, and Joe Sempolinski, R-Canisteo, voting against it. The bill passed the state Senate 60-2, with state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, voting in favor.

“The majority of those calls come from mandated reporters who are required by law to leave their name and number,” Hevesi said during floor debate in June. “Then there’s a smaller portion of callers who call in voluntarily and then there is an even smaller portion of calls from anonymous callers – it’s about 7% of the annual calls. It’s those anonymous calls that we’re really having trouble with.”

Hevesi said in his legislative justification that anonymous calls have led to a waste of state resources in pursuing meritless allegations and racial disparities that disproportionately impact minority families being targeted too often for child welfare complaints. He said children are all too often removed from their homes by child welfare workers due to racial biases and circumstances related to poverty. Even investigations that do not go that far are extremely invasive, disruptive, and stressful for children and parents, who are often subjected to repeated investigations based on anonymous reports that are later found to be meritless.

Those on both sides of the legislative debate agree that too many child welfare complaints are brought on as part of domestic incidents in which one side is trying to hurt the other. While supporters say ending the anonymous complaints will help weed out meritless complaints, those with reservations say there are those – including neighbors – who have good reason to remain anonymous while trying to make sure children aren’t abused.

A version of A.66/S.550 was scheduled to advance to the Assembly floor during the 2024 session but was pulled from consideration. The amended version of the bill approved this year crafted by Hevesi and Sen. Jabari Brisport, D-Brooklyn, requires a hotline caller to be transferred to a supervisor if they refuse to attach a name to their complaint. The supervisor is required to explain that state and local governments are required to keep their information confidential, unless ordered otherwise by a judge. If the caller still refuses to give their contact information, the supervisor would be required to direct them to local services — including 911 if there’s an active emergency or a separate state hotline that connects families in need with food, housing and other services.

The bill has not yet been delivered to Hochul for her approval. She has three options: sign the legislation, veto the legislation or try to reach an agreement on a chapter amendment, a process by which an amended version is negotiated and approved with the state Legislature passing the negotiated agreement during the next legislative session.

Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, R-Ballston Spa and an attorney with background in family law, said she hopes the governor takes a close look at A.66/S.550 before signing it. Walsh debated the bill with Hevesi in June and questioned the possibility that more child abuse cases will go unreported because the complaint can’t be made anonymously.

“Confidential reporting of hotlines to the state central registry is the absolute basis, the lynchpin of what Child Protective Services is supposed to be about,” Walsh said. “I want to impress upon my colleagues that this bill turns it right on its head. I was distraught last year when I thought that this bill was going to come up. It was going to come up to the floor and when it didn’t I breathed a huge sigh of relief but here we are this year. I really am imploring my colleagues to take a second look at this bill. This is misguided. It is absolutely misguided. I really do hope that somebody after this vote really takes a hard look at it and thinks about it.”