Children do not choose where they are born, who raises them, or the circumstances they grow up in. Yet every child deserves the same opportunity to be safe, healthy, and protected.

Today, New York law contains standards of care for children in foster care and state-supervised settings, but there is no single, comprehensive standard outlining the basic conditions every child should be able to rely on. Meanwhile, too many children continue to suffer from neglect, unsafe living conditions, inadequate medical care, chronic hunger, educational barriers, and abuse that is not identified until it is too late.

The Erin's Angels of CNY Minimum Standards of Care Act seeks to change that. This proposed legislation would establish a common-sense framework defining the minimum conditions necessary for a child's health, safety, and development while strengthening New York's response to severe child abuse and chronic neglect.

The Act Would Establish Minimum Standards for:

Food and Water
Every child should have reasonable access to sufficient nutritious food and safe drinking water.

Safe Housing
Every child should live in a home free from serious safety hazards, dangerous environmental conditions, and unhealthy living situations that threaten their well-being.

Sleep and Rest
Every child should have access to a safe sleeping space and basic bedding necessary for healthy development.

Hygiene and Clothing
Every child should have access to basic hygiene products, bathing facilities, clean clothing, and personal care items appropriate to their age and needs.

Education
Every child should have access to education and the resources necessary to participate in school and reach developmental milestones.

Medical and Mental Health Care
Every child should receive appropriate medical, dental, vision, behavioral health, and mental health care when needed.

Safety and Protection
Every child should live free from abuse, exploitation, severe neglect, dangerous supervision failures, and preventable harm.

Emotional Well-Being
Every child deserves an environment that supports healthy emotional development and access to appropriate mental health services.

Personal Rights and Future Independence
Every child should have access to essential records, legal protections, and opportunities to become a successful and independent adult.

Strengthening Child Protection in New York
In addition to establishing minimum standards of care, the Act would incorporate key child protection reforms inspired by the previously proposed "Erin's Law" legislation.

These reforms include:

• Strengthening the investigation and response to repeated reports of child abuse and neglect.
• Modernizing New York's definitions of child neglect to better reflect current child welfare knowledge.
• Expanding accountability for individuals who repeatedly fail to report serious child abuse.
• Enhancing collaboration between Child Protective Services and law enforcement in high-risk situations.
• Improving protections for children experiencing severe physical, emotional, psychological, or sexual abuse.
• Closing gaps that allow some of the most vulnerable children to fall through the cracks of the current system. 

What This Act Is NOT
The Erin's Angels of CNY Minimum Standards of Care Act is not intended to punish families simply because they are struggling financially. Poverty is not neglect. Children sharing bedrooms is not neglect. Living in a small home is not neglect. Needing assistance from a food pantry is not neglect. Having limited financial resources is not neglect. Instead, this legislation focuses on whether reasonable efforts are being made to provide for a child's basic needs and whether a child is being subjected to dangerous conditions, severe deprivation, abuse, or chronic neglect.

The goal is not punishment. The goal is prevention.

Why This Matters:
As a society, we establish minimum safety standards for schools, day care centers, foster homes, nursing homes, hospitals, apartment buildings, and even animals. Shouldn't we also clearly define the minimum standards of care that every child deserves? Children cannot advocate for themselves. They cannot vote. They cannot choose their living conditions. They depend on adults and public policy to protect them. The Erin's Angels of CNY Minimum Standards of Care Act would create a clear expectation that every child in New York deserves food, safety, medical care, education, protection from abuse, and the opportunity to grow into a healthy adult.

Because no child should have to earn the right to be safe.

No child should have to prove they deserve food.

And no child should fall through the cracks simply because the law failed to clearly define what every child deserves.

Sign this petition today and urge New York State lawmakers to introduce and support the Erin's Angels of CNY Minimum Standards of Care Act.
Every child deserves the basics. Every child deserves protection. Every child deserves a chance to thrive. ❤️