NYS Child Safety Act for Children's Camps

Fact Sheet – February 2006

On July 19, 2005, Governor Pataki signed the Child Safety Act (Chapter 260 of the Laws of 2005) into law. The Act requires children's camp operators to ascertain whether prospective employees are listed on NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Sex Offender Registry prior to hiring them.

The law applies to all children's camps (day, traveling day and overnight) and requires children's camp operators to check the registry for all prospective employees regardless of their job title/responsibilities or employment status (full or part-time). Although the law does not specifically mandate camp operators to check volunteers, the DCJS advises that the practice is legal. Checking the register for volunteer staff is consistent with the NYS Health Department requirements for camp operators to thoroughly check the background of all camp staff.

How to conduct a search:

A search of the Sex Offender Registry is a free and simple service provided by DCJS. To check prospective employee(s) through the Sex Offender Registry, the prospective employee's full name (first and last) and one of the following: social security number, complete date of birth, or NYS driver's license number must be submitted to the registry.

All information must be submitted on company letterhead and/or on additional pages each containing the camp name, address, telephone and fax numbers and contact person for DCJS to call if there are questions. Information may be faxed to (518) 485-5805, or mailed to New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Sex Offender Registry, 4 Tower Place, Albany, NY 12203. The Registry will also check up to five names at a time by telephone (800-262-3257).

At this time, use of the DCJS website does not satisfy the requirement of the law because the website only contains Risk Level 3 offenders. The DCJS does not accept email submissions of requests to check the registry.

DCJS response:

The DCJS will respond to camp requests to search the registry in the same format as the request (Fax, mail, or during the phone call). When conducted by fax or mail, the returned document will have the ID number of the DCJS screener and one of the following responses by each submitted name:

  • "√ " (Check Mark) – Person was not listed on the registry
  • "RL 1" (Risk Level 1) – Person is listed as a sex offender with low risk of reoffending
  • "RL 2" (Risk Level 2) – Person is listed as a sex offender with moderate risk to reoffend
  • "RL 3" (Risk Level 3) – Person is listed as a sex offender with high risk to reoffend and threat to public safety
  • "P" (Pending) – Individual has been convicted of a sex crime but not yet assigned a risk level

Documentation:

Written documentation that employees have been screened through the registry must be kept on file at camp and available for review during health department inspections. Camps that use the telephone screening process must document the screening date, DCJS response and DCJS screener ID number.

Additional information

For more information regarding the Division of Criminal Services Sex Offender Registry, call (518) 457-3167 or visit their website www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us