Senate bill · S10670 (2025-26)
Enacts Joycelynn's Law
New York State Senate
Same as A11664, the matching bill in the Assembly.
Sponsor: James Tedisco (State Senator, District 44, Republican/Conservative)
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From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Oct 21, 2026. About our data
Summary
Establishes the offenses of aggravated endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death.
Summary from NY Open Legislation. How we handle summaries
Amends the Penal Law.
Purpose, from the sponsor's memo
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Joycelynn's Law". § 2. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 260.12 and 260.13 to read as follows: § _260.12 Aggravated endangering the welfare of a child. 1. A person is guilty of aggravated endangering the welfare of a child when such person being a parent or other person responsible for the care of another person under seventeen years of age and, with criminal negli- gence, acts or fails to act in a manner that is likely to cause protracted illness, physical injury, serious physical injury, death, or protracted developmental, psychological or emotional impairment to such person under seventeen years of age. 2. For the purpose of this section, criminal negligence includes, but is not limited to a parent or other person responsible for the care of such person under seventeen years of age failing to provide a minimum degree of care: (a) in supplying the person under seventeen years of age with adequate food, clothing, shelter or education in accordance with the provisions of part one of article sixty-five of the education law, or medical, dental, optometric or surgical care, though financially able to do so or offered financial or other reasonable means to do so; or (b) in providing the person under seventeen years of age with proper supervision or guardianship, by unreasonably inflicting or allowing to be inflicted harm, or a substantial risk thereof, including the Infliction of excessive corporal punishment; or by misusing a medical- ly-ordered or prescribed drug or drugs; or by misusing alcoholic bever- ages to the extent that the person under the age of seventeen years loses self-control of their actions; or by any other acts of a similarly serious nature requiring the aid of the court. 3. Nothing in this section shall prohibit such parent or guardian from Being charged with an offense requiring proof of recklessness or Depraved indifference to human life where appropriate. Aggravated endangering the welfare of a child is a class C felony. § 260.13 Aggravated endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death. 1. A person is guilty of aggravated endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death when being a parent or other person responsible for the care of another person under seventeen years of age, such person commits the offense of aggravated endangering the welfare of a child as defined in section 260.12 of this article and, by doing so, causes the death of the person under the age of seventeen. 2. Nothing in this section shall prohibit such parent or guardian from Being charged with an offense requiring proof of recklessness or Depraved indifference to human life where appropriate. Aggravated endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death is a Class A-I felony.
Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)
Where it stands
Assigned to a committee for review.
- Introduced
- In committee
- Up for a vote
- Passed one chamber
- Passed
- Enacted
Committee
Codes · New York State Assembly
Also referred to Codes · New York State Senate, Rules · New York State Assembly, Rules · New York State Senate.
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Cosponsors
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Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab)- Republican6
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The sponsor's argument
Why James Tedisco says this is needed
Currently, criminally negligent homicide is a Class E felony carrying a maximum sentence of 1 and 1/3 to 4 years in prison. There is no specific statutory hybrid crime called "aggravated endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death" that elevates the endangerment charge itself into a higher-level homicide. This was brought to light in a recent case following the sentencing of Corinth parents following the death of Joycelynn Dylewski of Corinth, a toddler who was just three years old when she lost her life last year due to a horrible case of child neglect in what the judge described as "deplorable and unsuitable" conditions "for any child to be living in." Her teeth were rotten and black, hair matted, had received no medical care in 10 months, and the prescription medication Clonidine was found in her system, given to her without a prescription. The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office ruled Joycelynn's death a homicide due to complications of "acute and chronic neglect." It's painfully obvious that the law in cases such as Joycelynn's does not go far enough and needs to be changed. "Joycelynn's Law" would raise the penalty for criminally negligent homi- cide resulting in the death of a child from a Class E felony to a Class A-1 felony, carrying a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life. Furthermore, this measure makes Aggravated Endangering the Welfare of a Child (not resulting in a child's death) a Class C felony which would carry a maximum prison sentence of five to 15 years.
This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.
Full history
- Sep 2, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO CODES
NY Assembly
- Jul 27, 2026
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO RULES
NY Senate
Read the record
- Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab) The official record on nysenate.gov.