NY State Senate Bill 2011-S66

Senate Bill S66

2011-2012 Legislative Session

Provides that a child shall not be placed with the office of children and family services at the conclusion of a dispositional hearing unless the court finds that discharge would not be appropriate

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 04, 2012	referred to children and families
Feb 28, 2011	notice of committee consideration - requested
Jan 05, 2011	referred to children and families

co-Sponsors

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2011-S66 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Family Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §352.2, Fam Ct Act
Versions Introduced in 2009-2010 Legislative Session:: S6709

2011-S66 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that a child shall not be placed in the custody of the office of children and family services at the conclusion of a dispositional hearing unless the court finds that conditional discharge would not be appropriate and that the respondent poses a significant threat to public safety.

2011-S66 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S66

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the family court act, in relation to orders of disposition

PURPOSE OF BILL:
To prevent the inappropriate placement of children in juvenile justice
facilities.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the Family Court Act to require that a youth for whom
conditional discharge or probation is not appropriate to be placed in
an alternative to placement program unless placement is necessary to
protect the community, such placement is in the child's best
interests, and no appropriate alternative to placement program are
available.

Section 2 makes a corresponding change in the Family Court Act.

Section 3 contains the effective date.

EXISTING LAW:
The Family Court Act currently requires family court judges to
consider "the best interests of the respondent as well as the need
for protection of the community" when deciding a disposition in a

delinquency case. The law further directs, except for designated
felony cases, "the court shall order the least restrictive available
alternative...which is consistent with the needs and best interests
of the respondent and the need for protection of the community." This
bill clarifies that it is not in a youth's best interest or in the
best interest of the public for a youth to be placed in a juvenile
justice facility unless such placement is necessary to protect the
community and there are no adequate means to rehabilitate the youth
within their community.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Passed Senate 6/22/10; delivered to Assembly; referred to and died in
Judiciary Committee.

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:
This bill is in response to the Governor's Task Force on Transforming
Juvenile Justice recommendation to reduce the state's reliance on
institutional placements for youth who pose no significant risk to
public safety.

Over 53% of the youth who were placed in institutional facilities in
2007 were admitted for low level adjudications. The Task Force
reports that many of these youth were placed because judges believed
that the youth's community lacked necessary mental health and
substance abuse resources. This punishes children for circumstances
that are beyond their control. Moreover, an investigation released by
the federal Department of Justice in August of 2009 revealed that
these youth do not receive the mental health and substance abuse
treatment that they need in these facilities, and that indeed the
problems which youth suffer from become more severe when they are


uprooted from their communities and placed in these stressful
environments.

If enacted, this bill would require that judges place youth within
their community, unless there are not adequate services available to
avert placement, or placement is needed to protect the community. It
is time New York reserved placement in juvenile justice institutions
for those youth who pose a risk to public safety.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:
This legislation, if enacted, would significantly reduce juvenile
justice placements. Each OCFS placement costs more than two hundred
thousand dollars, for which the State reimburses the local government
for fifty percent of the cost. Even a modest reduction in placements
would save the State and local governments millions of dollars.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
60 days after enactment.

2011-S66 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                   66

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 5, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced by Sens. MONTGOMERY, ADAMS, DUANE, HASSELL-THOMPSON, KRUEGER,
  PARKER, SAMPSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to
  be committed to the Committee on Children and Families

AN  ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to orders of disposi-
  tion

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 352.2 of the family court act, as
added by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
  1. (A) Upon the conclusion of the  dispositional  hearing,  the  court
shall enter an order of disposition:
  [(a)]  (I)  conditionally  discharging  the  respondent in accord with
section 353.1 OF THIS PART; or
  [(b)] (II) putting the respondent on probation in accord with  section
353.2 OF THIS PART; or
  [(c)]  (III)  continuing  the proceeding and placing the respondent in
accord with section 353.3 OF THIS PART; or
  [(d)] (IV) placing the respondent in accord with section 353.4 OF THIS
PART; or
  [(e)] (V) continuing the proceeding and placing the respondent under a
restrictive placement in accord with section 353.5 OF THIS PART.
  (B) NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF  THIS  SUBDIVI-
SION,  THE  COURT  SHALL  NOT  PLACE  A RESPONDENT IN THE CUSTODY OF THE
COMMISSIONER OF THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES  PURSUANT  TO
EITHER  SUBPARAGRAPHS (III) OR (IV) OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION
UNLESS THE COURT DETERMINES THAT:
  (I) CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE OF THE RESPONDENT  IN  ACCORD  WITH  SECTION
351.1  OF  THIS  PART,  OR PUTTING THE RESPONDENT ON PROBATION IN ACCORD
WITH SECTION 353.2 OF THIS PART, WOULD NOT BE APPROPRIATE; AND

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01548-02-1

S. 66                               2

  (II) THAT PLACEMENT OF THE RESPONDENT IS CONSISTENT WITH THE NEED  FOR
THE PROTECTION OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, AND
THAT  NO  AVAILABLE  ALTERNATIVES TO PLACEMENT COULD ADEQUATELY MITIGATE
SUCH NEED.
  S 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 and subdivision 3 of section 352.2
of  the  family  court act, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by
chapter 880 of the laws of 1985 and subdivision 3 as  added  by  chapter
920 of the laws of 1982, are amended to read as follows:
  (a)  In  determining an appropriate order the court shall consider AND
SHALL DIRECT A DISPOSITION THAT SPECIFICALLY MEETS the  needs  and  best
interests  of  the  respondent as well as the need for protection of the
community. If the respondent has committed a designated felony  act  the
court shall determine the appropriate disposition in accord with section
353.5  OF THIS PART.  In all other cases the court shall order the least
restrictive available alternative enumerated in subdivision one which is
consistent with the needs and best interests of the respondent  and  the
need for protection of the community.
  3. The order shall state the court's reasons for the particular dispo-
sition, including[,]:
  (A)  in  the case of a restrictive placement pursuant to section 353.5
OF THIS PART, the specific findings of fact required in such section[.];
AND
  (B) IN THE CASE OF PLACEMENT OF THE RESPONDENT IN THE CUSTODY  OF  THE
OFFICE  OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES EITHER PURSUANT TO SECTION 353.3
OR 353.4 OF THIS PART, THE SPECIFIC FINDINGS OF FACT REQUIRED  BY  PARA-
GRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION.
  S  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law.

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Senate Bill S66

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Sponsored By

Velmanette Montgomery

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

co-Sponsors

Eric Adams

Thomas K. Duane

Ruth Hassell-Thompson

Liz Krueger

2011-S66 (ACTIVE) - Details

2011-S66 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2011-S66 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2011-S66 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments