New York S 8374: Establishes a pilot program to provide alternative dispute resolution and navigator services in child support matters

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8374
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      June 5, 2025
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. PERSAUD -- (at request of the Unified Court System)
          -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
          the Committee on Rules
        AN ACT to amend the family court act and the judiciary law, in  relation
          to the establishment of a pilot program to provide alternative dispute
          resolution and navigator services in child support matters
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 425 of the family court act, as amended by  chapter
     2  81 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  425.  Agreement  to  support;  pilot program for use of alternative
     4  .   If dispute resolution to obtain agreements to support(a)the  parties
     5    an  agreement  for the support of the  petitionerreachchild and/or the
     6  [], it must be reduced to writing and submitted  to  theis brought about
     7  family  court or a support magistrate appointed pursuant to section four
     8  hundred thirty-nine of this act for approval in  accordance  with  para-
     9  graph  (h)  of  subdivision one of section four hundred thirteen of this
    10  . If the court or support magistrate approves it, the court with-article
    11  out further hearing may thereupon enter an order and  findings  of  fact
    12  for  the support of the  petitioner []  the respond-child and/or thebyor
    13  ent in accordance with the agreement, which shall be  binding  upon  the
    14  []    and  shall  in  all respects be a valid order respondentpartiesand
    15   as though made after process had been issued out of thefindings of fact
    16  court. The court record shall show that such order  []  wasand  findings
    17   made upon agreement.were
    18    (b)  The  chief  administrator of the courts shall promulgate rules to
    19  establish and implement a pilot program for the provision of alternative
    20  dispute resolution and navigation services to litigants in child support
    21  matters in the family court. The cost of the pilot program shall be paid
    22  for with state funds appropriated  for  that  purpose  and  may  include
         EXPLANATION--Matter in  (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
                              [] is old law to be omitted. 
                                                                   LBD08941-01-5

        S. 8374                             2
     1  federal funds received by the state under title IV-D of the social secu-
     2  rity act.
     3    (i)  The pilot program, which shall be conducted under the auspices of
     4  the community dispute resolution  center  program  pursuant  to  article
     5  twenty-one-A  of  the  judiciary  law,  shall be located in at least two
     6  counties in a city with a population of one million or more, and  in  at
     7  least one other county in the state, and shall be available at no charge
     8  to parties in cases under this article. The program shall be equipped to
     9  provide  services  that  are  culturally sensitive to, and in the native
    10  language of, the litigants in the community.
    11    (ii) At the parties' initial appearance before the court, pursuant  to
    12  section  four  hundred  thirty-three  or subdivision two of section four
    13  hundred fifty-one of this article, in a participating county, the  court
    14  shall  advise  the parties of the availability of the dispute resolution
    15  program and of their right to consult with counsel  during  the  dispute
    16  resolution process. Unless the case is deemed inappropriate for a refer-
    17  ral  to  the  dispute  resolution  program  after a review of records in
    18  accordance with subdivision (e) of section six hundred fifty-one of this
    19  act, the court shall, if the parties consent to participate,  refer  the
    20  matter promptly to the program.
    21    (iii)  Prior  to referring the parties to the program, the court shall
    22  issue a preliminary order of child  support  pursuant  to  section  four
    23  hundred thirty-four of this article unless the petition is for a modifi-
    24  cation  of  an  existing order of support pursuant to subdivision two of
    25  section four hundred fifty-one of this article.
    26    (iv) Prior to referral pursuant to paragraph (iii)  of  this  subdivi-
    27  sion,  the  court  shall  also  issue  an order directing the parties to
    28  provide financial disclosures in accordance with  section  four  hundred
    29  twenty-four-a  of