Section 4314. Protection of pupils

The department shall:
    (a)  Promulgate regulations concerning standards for the protection of
  children in residential care  from  abuse  and  maltreatment,  including
  procedures for:
    (i)  consistent  with appropriate collective agreements and applicable
  provisions of the civil service law, the review and  evaluation  of  the
  backgrounds of and the information supplied by any person applying to be
  an  employee,  a volunteer or consultant, which shall include but not be
  limited to the following requirements: that the applicant set forth  his
  or  her  employment history, provide personal and employment references,
  and relevant experiential and educational information, and sign a  sworn
  statement  indicating  whether  the applicant, to the best of his or her
  knowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime in this state or any other
  jurisdiction;
    (ii) establishing for employees,  relevant  minimal  experiential  and
  educational   qualifications   consistent  with  appropriate  collective
  bargaining agreements and applicable provisions  of  the  civil  service
  law;
    (iii)  assuring  adequate  and  appropriate  supervision of employees,
  volunteers and consultants;
    (iv)  demonstrating  by  a  residential  facility  or   program   that
  appropriate  action  is  taken  to assure the safety of the child who is
  reported to the state central register as  well  as  other  children  in
  care,  immediately  upon  notification  that  a report of child abuse or
  maltreatment has been made with respect to a child in  such  residential
  facility or program;
    (v)  removing a child when it is determined that there is risk to such
  child if he or she continues to remain within a residential facility  or
  program; and
    (vi)  appropriate preventive and remedial action to be taken including
  legal  actions,  consistent  with  appropriate   collective   bargaining
  agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law.
    Such  standards  shall also establish as a priority requirements that:
  (1)  subject  to  the  amounts  appropriated  therefor,  administrators,
  employees,  volunteers  and consultants receive training in at least the
  following:   child  abuse  prevention  and  identification,  safety  and
  security   procedures,   the   principles   of  child  development,  the
  characteristics of children in care and techniques of  group  and  child
  management  including  crisis  intervention,  the  laws, regulations and
  procedures  governing  the  protection  of  children  from   abuse   and
  maltreatment,  and  other appropriate topics, provided however, that the
  department  may  exempt  administrators  and   consultants   from   such
  requirements upon demonstration of substantially equivalent knowledge or
  experience; and
    (2)  subject  to  the  amounts appropriated therefor, children receive
  instruction, consistent with their age, needs and circumstances as  well
  as  the  needs  and  circumstances  within  the  facility or program, in
  techniques and procedures which will enable  such  children  to  protect
  themselves from abuse and maltreatment.
    The  department  shall  take  all  reasonable and necessary actions to
  assure  that  employees,  volunteers  and  consultants  in   residential
  facilities  are  kept  apprised  on  a  current  basis of all department
  policies and procedures relating to  the  protection  of  children  from
  abuse  and maltreatment and shall monitor and supervise the provision of
  training to such employees, volunteers and consultants. Regulations  and
  standards  developed  pursuant  to  this  section  shall,  to the extent
  possible, be consistent with those promulgated by other  state  agencies
  for such purposes;

    (b)  Cooperate with the state department of social services to protect
  the health and safety of pupils at the school pursuant to title  six  of
  article  six of the social services law. Such cooperation shall include:
  the making of reports of alleged child abuse or maltreatment;  providing
  necessary  assistance  to the state department of social services in the
  department's investigation thereof and considering  the  recommendations
  of  the  state department of social services for preventive and remedial
  action including legal action and  provide  or  direct  the  residential
  facility  to  provide  such written reports thereon to the department of
  social services as to the implementation  of  plans  of  prevention  and
  remediation approved by the department; and
    (c)  Provide  for  the  development  and  implementation  of a plan of
  prevention and remediation with respect to an indicated report of  child
  abuse or maltreatment. Such action shall include: (i) within ten days of
  receipt   of  an  indicated  report  of  child  abuse  or  maltreatment,
  development and implementation of a plan of prevention  and  remediation
  to  be  taken with respect to a custodian or the residential facility in
  order to assure the continued health  and  safety  of  children  and  to
  provide  for the prevention of future acts of abuse or maltreatment; and
  (ii)  development  and  implementation  of  a  plan  of  prevention  and
  remediation,  in the event an investigation of a report of alleged child
  abuse or maltreatment determines that some credible evidence of abuse or
  maltreatment exists and such abuse or maltreatment may be attributed  in
  whole or in part to noncompliance by the residential facility or program
  with  provisions  of  this  chapter  or  regulations  of  the department
  applicable to the operation of such residential facility or program. Any
  plan of prevention and remediation required to be developed pursuant  to
  paragraph  (ii)  of  this  subdivision  by  a facility supervised by the
  department shall be submitted to  and  approved  by  the  department  in
  accordance   with   time   limits  established  by  regulations  of  the
  department. Implementation  of  the  plan  shall  be  monitored  by  the
  department.  In  reviewing the continued qualifications of a residential
  facility or program for an operating certificate, the  department  shall
  evaluate  such  facility's  compliance  with  plans  of  prevention  and
  remediation developed and implemented pursuant to this subdivision.