Office of Children and Family Services NEW YORK STATE ANDREW M. CUOMO. SHEILA J. POOLE Governor Acting Commissioner January 2, 2018 Corinda Crossdale, Commissioner Monroe County Department of Human Services 111 Westfall Rd Rochester, NY 14620, . pave Dear Commissionef Crossdale: 11am in receipt 6f your letter and amendment to the annual 2017 Child and Family Services Plan Update proposing Monroe County Department of Social Services (MCDSS) reinstitute a local hotline for child abuse and maltreatment reports. As you are aware, the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) operates the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR) which is the single point of entry to the child protective system statewide. The SCR responds to over 300,000 calls annually from all 58 counties, including the five boroughs of New York City, as welll as the St. Regis Mohawk reservation. All calls are answered by staff with extensive training in interviewing, the applicable legal definitions, child welfare laws and standards, who also receive rigorous on-the-job training that includes close supervision and quality assurance mechanisms to monitor skills and performance. Standardization in the training protocols supports uniform compliance with NYS's statute when accepting and registering reports for suspected child abuse and maltreatment. Historically only MCDSS and one other jurisdiction operated local child protective hotlines, and both were discontinued with OCFS support over the past two years. When the MCDSS closed the hotline in 2015, there was a sharp increase in the number of reports registered to the county for investigation. Upon review, it was determined that MCDSS's hotline'staff had been screening out calls that should have been registered as reports rising to the standard of “reasonable cause to suspect” and requiring investigation. This history, coupled with the current challenges Monroe County is facing with staffing and achieving quality child protective practice, is deeply concerning. Therefore, OCFS denies the request by MCDSS to reinstitute the local hotline. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact Deputy Commissioner, Laura Velez at (518)474-3377. oe fla’ J. Poole Acting Commissioner Sit ly, sl 52 Washington Street, Rensselaer, NY 12144 | (518) 473-8437 |ocfs.ny.gov