N.Y. Social Services Law § 473 (2026)

§ 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.