Bill to create pre-petition right to counsel for parents dies in Committee

During the 2025-26 legislative session, New York introduced a bill to add a pre-petition right to counsel for adults subject to child protective services investigations.
AB 8272 would have added a new section to the Family Court Act, Section 1016-a to provide that “[a]n adult who is the subject of a child protective services investigation has the right to counsel prior to the initiation of any court proceeding.”  The New York State Bar Association submitted a Memorandum in Support of the bill, citing its 2022 Committee on Families and the Law’s Report and Recommendations on Racial Justice and Child Welfare, which made a number of recommendations including “ensur[ing] timely representation for children and families, particularly in matters involving the potential of family separation.”

Similar bills have been introduced in other states in recent years.  In 2024, the State of Washington considered a bill that contemplated providing a right to counsel for parents in regards to ‘voluntary’ placement agreements and in 2025, the Maryland legislature introduced a bill known as the “Know Before They Knock” Family Right to Notice Act.  Although the Maryland bill would not have provided any new substantive rights, it would have guaranteed that parents and caretakers subject to abuse/neglect investigations receive oral and written notice of their rights in plain language upon initial contact with either the local social services department or law enforcement.  A 2026 study from Texas also highlights the critical need for pre-petition representation.

Unfortunately, like the other states’ bills, NY AB 8272 did not make it out of Committee.