2023 New York Laws › SOS - Social Services › Article 9-B - Adult Protective Services › Title 2 - Short-Term Involuntary Protective Services Orders › 473-C - An Order to Gain Access to Persons Believed to Be in Need of Protective Services for Adults.

§  473-c. An order to gain access to persons believed to be in need of
protective services for adults. 1. A social services official may  apply
to  the  supreme  court or county court for an order to gain access to a
person to assess whether such person is in need of  protective  services
for  adults  in  accordance  with the provisions of section four hundred
seventy-three of this article  when  such  official,  having  reasonable
cause to believe that such person may be in need of protective services,
is  refused  access  by  such  person  or  another  individual. A social
services official who is refused access shall  assess,  in  consultation
with a person in a supervisory role, whether or not it is appropriate to
apply  for  an order to gain access to such person. Such assessment must
be made as soon as necessary under the circumstances, but no later  than
twenty-four  hours  after  the investigating official is refused access.
The determination of whether or not to apply for an order to gain access
and the reasons therefor shall be documented in the investigation  file.
Such application for an order to gain access shall state, insofar as the
facts can be ascertained with reasonable diligence:
(a)  the  name  and  address  of  the  person  who  may  be in need of
protective services for adults and the premises on which this person may
be found;
(b) the reason the social services official believes the person may be
in need of protective services for adults, which may include information
provided by other agencies or individuals  who  are  familiar  with  the
person who may be in need of protective services for adults;
(c)  the  person  or  persons  who  are responsible for preventing the
social services official from gaining access to the person who may be in
need of protective services for adults;
(d) the efforts made by the social services official to gain access to
the person who may be in need of protective services for adults;
(e) the names of any individuals, such as  physicians  or  nurses,  or
other  health or mental health professionals qualified to participate in
the assessment, who shall  accompany  and  assist  the  social  services
official conducting an assessment of the need of a person for protective
services for adults;
(f) the manner in which the proposed assessment is to be conducted;
(g)  that  the  social services official seeks an order solely for the
purpose of assessing the need of a person for  protective  services  for
adults  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section  four hundred
seventy-three  of  this  article  and  applicable  regulations  of   the
department;
(h)  that  no prior application has been made for the relief requested
or for any similar relief, or if prior application has  been  made,  the
determination  thereof,  and  the  new  facts,  if  any,  that  were not
previously shown which warrant a renewal of the application.
2. Any allegations which are not based upon personal  knowledge  shall
be  supported  by affidavits provided by a person or persons having such
knowledge. Such affidavits shall be attached to the application.
3. The applications authorized in this section shall  have  preference
over  all other causes in all courts of appropriate jurisdiction, except
those with a similar statutory preference.
4. If the court is satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe
that a person in need of protective services for adults may be found  at
the  premises  described  in the application, that such person may be in
need of protective services for adults, and that access to  such  person
has  been  refused,  it  shall  grant the application and issue an order
authorizing the social services official and such other  individuals  as
may be designated by the said official, accompanied by a police officer,
to  enter the premises to conduct an assessment to determine whether the

person named in the application is in need of  protective  services  for
adults.  The  standard for proof and procedure for such an authorization
shall be the same as for a search warrant under the  criminal  procedure
law.
5.  The provisions of this section shall not be construed to authorize
a social services official  to  remove  any  person  from  the  premises
described  in  the application, or to provide any involuntary protective
services to any  person  other  than  to  assess  a  person's  need  for
protective  services  for  adults.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall be
construed to impair any existing right or remedy.