216. Additional duties of the chief administrator; certain cases. 1. The chief administrator of the courts shall designate the appropriate persons, including but not limited to district attorneys, criminal and family court clerks, corporation counsels, county attorneys, victims assistance unit staff, probation officers, warrant officers, sheriffs, police officers or any other law enforcement officials, to inform any petitioner bringing a proceeding under article eight of the family court act or a complainant in an action which would be subject to the provisions of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law, before such proceeding or action is commenced, of the procedures available for the institution of family offense proceedings, including but not limited to the following:
(a) That there is concurrent jurisdiction with respect to family offenses in both family court and the criminal courts;
(b) That a family court proceeding is a civil proceeding and is for the purpose of attempting to keep the family unit intact. Referrals for counseling, or counseling services, are available through probation for this purpose;
(c) That a proceeding in the criminal courts is for the purpose of prosecution of the offender and can result in a criminal conviction of the offender;
(d) That a proceeding or action subject to the provisions of this section is initiated at the time of the filing of an accusatory instrument or filing a family court petition, not at the time of arrest, or request for arrest, if any;
(f) That an arrest may precede the commencement of a family court or a criminal court proceeding, but an arrest is not a requirement for commencing either proceeding.
2. No official or other person designated pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall discourage or prevent any person who wishes to file a petition or sign or initiate a proceeding in a criminal court from having access to any court for that purpose.
3. The chief administrator shall prescribe an appropriate form to implement subdivision two of this section.
4. The chief administrator of the courts shall collect data in relation to the number of cases in which the basic child support obligation, as defined in section two hundred forty of the domestic relations law and section four hundred thirteen of the family court act, was ordered; the number of cases in which the order deviated from such basic child support obligation and the reasons therefor; the incomes of the parties; the number of children, and the amount of child support awarded pursuant to the child support standards act; and amounts of alimony or maintenance, or allocations of property included in orders or judgments that include a provision for child support pursuant to the child support standards act, and shall report such data to the temporary president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chairpersons of the judiciary and children and families committees, and the governor on or before the first day of April of each year. In collecting such data, the chief administrator shall not disclose the identities of the parties or disclose information that would tend to reveal the identities of the parties.
Last modified: February 3, 2019