N.Y. Social Services Law § 473: Protective services

§ 473. Protective services. 1. In addition to services provided by

social services officials pursuant to other provisions of this chapter,

such officials shall provide protective services in accordance with

federal and state regulations to or for individuals without regard to

income who, because of mental or physical impairments, are unable to

manage their own resources, carry out the activities of daily living, or

protect themselves from physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse,

active, passive or self neglect, financial exploitation or other

hazardous situations without assistance from others and have no one

available who is willing and able to assist them responsibly. Such

services shall include:

(a) receiving and investigating reports of seriously impaired

individuals who may be in need of protection;

(b) arranging for medical and psychiatric services to evaluate and

whenever possible to safeguard and improve the circumstances of those

with serious impairments;

(c) arranging, when necessary, for commitment, guardianship, or other

protective placement of such individuals either directly or through

referral to another appropriate agency, provided, however, that where

possible, the least restrictive of these measures shall be employed

before more restrictive controls are imposed;

(d) providing services to assist such individuals to move from

situations which are, or are likely to become, hazardous to their health

and well-being;

(e) cooperating and planning with the courts as necessary on behalf of

individuals with serious mental impairments; and

(f) other protective services for adults included in the regulations

of the department.

2. (a) In that the effective delivery of protective services for

adults requires a network of professional consultants and services

providers, local social services districts shall plan with other public,

private and voluntary agencies including but not limited to health,

mental health, aging, legal and law enforcement agencies, for the

purpose of assuring maximum local understanding, coordination and

cooperative action in the provision of appropriate services.

(b) Each social services district shall prepare, with the approval of

the chief executive officer, or the legislative body in those counties

without a chief executive officer, after consultation with appropriate

public, private and voluntary agencies, a district-wide plan for the

provision of adult protective services which shall be a component of the

district's multi-year consolidated services plan as required in section

thirty-four-a of this chapter. This plan shall describe the local

implementation of this section including the organization, staffing,

mode of operations and financing of the adult protective services as

well as the provisions made for purchase of services, inter-agency

relations, inter-agency agreements, service referral mechanisms, and

locus of responsibility for cases with multi-agency services needs.

Commencing the year following preparation of a multi-year consolidated

services plan, each local district shall prepare annual implementation

reports including information related to its adult protective services

plan as required in section thirty-four-a of the social services law.

(c) Each social services district shall submit the adult protective

services plan to the department as a component of its multi-year

consolidated services plan and subsequent thereto as a component of its

annual implementation reports and the department shall review and

approve the proposed plan and reports in accordance with the procedures

set forth in section thirty-four-a of this chapter.

3. Any social services official or his designee authorized or required

to determine the need for and/or provide or arrange for the provision of

protective services to adults in accordance with the provision of this

section, shall have immunity from any civil liability that might

otherwise result by reason of providing such services, provided such

official or his designee was acting in the discharge of his duties and

within the scope of his employment, and that such liability did not

result from the willfull act or gross negligence of such official or his

designee.

4. For the purpose of developing improved methods for the delivery of

protective services for adults, the department with the approval of the

director of the budget, shall authorize a maximum of five demonstration

projects in selected social services districts. Such projects may serve

a social services district, part of a district or more than one

district. These demonstration projects shall seek to determine the most

effective methods of providing the financial management component of

protective services for adults. These methods shall include but not be

limited to: having a social services district directly provide financial

management services; having a social services district contract with

another public and/or private agency for the provision of such services;

utilizing relatives and/or friends to provide such services under the

direction of a social services district or another public and/or private

agency and establishing a separate public office to provide financial

management services for indigent persons. The duration of these projects

shall not exceed eighteen months. Furthermore, local social services

districts shall not be responsible for any part of the cost of these

demonstration projects which would not have otherwise accrued in the

provision of protective services for adults. The total amount of state

funds available for such financial management services demonstration

projects, exclusive of any federal funds shall not exceed three hundred

thousand dollars. The commissioner shall require that a final

independent evaluation by a not-for-profit corporation be made of the

demonstration projects approved and conducted hereunder, and shall

provide copies of such report to the governor and the legislature.

5. Whenever a social services official, or his or her designee

authorized or required to determine the need for, or to provide or

arrange for the provision of protective services to adults in accordance

with the provisions of this title has a reason to believe that a

criminal offense has been committed, as defined in the penal law,

against a person for whom the need for such services is being determined

or to whom such services are being provided or arranged, the social

services official or his or her designee must report this information to

the appropriate police or sheriff's department and the district

attorney's office when such office has requested such information be

reported by a social services official or his or her designee.

6. Definitions. When used in this title unless otherwise expressly

stated or unless the context or subject matter requires a different

interpretation:

(a) "Physical abuse" means the non-accidental use of force that

results in bodily injury, pain or impairment, including but not limited

to, being slapped, burned, cut, bruised or improperly physically

restrained.

(b) "Sexual abuse" means non-consensual sexual contact of any kind,

including but not limited to, forcing sexual contact or forcing sex with

a third party.

(c) "Emotional abuse" means willful infliction of mental or emotional

anguish by threat, humiliation, intimidation or other abusive conduct,

including but not limited to, frightening or isolating an adult.

(d) "Active neglect" means willful failure by the caregiver to fulfill

the care-taking functions and responsibilities assumed by the caregiver,

including but not limited to, abandonment, willful deprivation of food,

water, heat, clean clothing and bedding, eyeglasses or dentures, or

health related services.

(e) "Passive neglect" means non-willful failure of a caregiver to

fulfill care-taking functions and responsibilities assumed by the

caregiver, including but not limited to, abandonment or denial of food

or health related services because of inadequate caregiver knowledge,

infirmity, or disputing the value of prescribed services.

(f) "Self neglect" means an adult's inability, due to physical and/or

mental impairments to perform tasks essential to caring for oneself,

including but not limited to, providing essential food, clothing,

shelter and medical care; obtaining goods and services necessary to

maintain physical health, mental health, emotional well-being and

general safety; or managing financial affairs.

(g) "Financial exploitation" means improper use of an adult's funds,

property or resources by another individual, including but not limited

to, fraud, false pretenses, embezzlement, conspiracy, forgery,

falsifying records, coerced property transfers or denial of access to

assets.

7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the purposes of

this article an Indian tribe that has entered into an agreement with the

office of children and family services pursuant to section thirty-nine

of this chapter, which includes the provision of adult services by such

Indian tribe, shall have the duties, responsibilities and powers of a

social services district or a social services official for the purpose

of providing adult protective services.

8. The office of children and family services shall create and keep

current best practice guidelines for the provision of adult protective

services pursuant to this article. Such guidelines shall be distributed

for use to local social services districts, and posted on such office's

website, and shall include, but not be limited to, the procedures for:

(a) reviewing any previous child or adult protective involvement;

(b) assessing and identifying abuse and neglect of persons believed to

be in need of protective services;

(c) interviewing persons believed to be in need of protective services

and their caretakers;

(d) reviewing when it is appropriate to seek a warrant to gain access

to persons believed to be in need of protective services;

(e) identifying and making referrals for appropriate services; and

(f) communicating the rights of persons believed to be eligible for

protective services.