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The purpose of this directive is to advise local departments of social services (LDSS) and child protective services (CPS) staff of recent changes to Section 424 of the Social Services Law (SSL) and Section 1034 of the Family Court Act (FCA) through Chapter 740 of the Laws of 2006. These changes affect the ability of CPS caseworkers to seek court assistance when CPS is denied access to allegedly abused or maltreated children or to their homes during a CPS investigation and prior to filing a family court petition of neglect or abuse under Article 10 of the FCA. This directive describes the circumstances in which a child protective service may obtain a pre-petition court order to gain access to an allegedly abused or neglected child, the child’s residence, or other children living in the home, as well as the specific steps and actions that a child protective service must take in order to obtain such a court order. Additionally, included herein is a description of the protocols that the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) has developed to be used to obtain such a court order during hours in which the local family court is not in session.
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