Senate Bill S3533

                                BILL NUMBER:S3533

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the family court act, in relation to an order of protection

PURPOSE:
This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the
request of the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of
his Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee.

JUSTIFICATION:
Reflecting the need to provide due
process to parents
in all proceedings in which their children may be placed in foster
care, the Adoption and Safe Families Act, as implemented in New York
State pursuant to chapter 7 of the Laws of 1999, requires that
petitions and orders regarding voluntary foster care placements and
reviews contain a notice in conspicuous print informing the parents
that "if the child remains in foster care for 15 of the most recent
22 months, the agency may be required by law to file a petition to
terminate parental rights. See. Social Services Law § 358-a((2) (a),
358-a(3), 392(6)). Prior to accepting an admission in a child abuse
or neglect case, the Family Court is required to give a similar
notice and such a notice must also be included in conspicuous print
on any orders of placement issued in such cases. See Family Court Act
              

§§1051(f) (ii), 1055(b) (vi) (8). However, the provisions of law
regarding initial summonses and petitions in child abuse and neglect
proceedings do not clearly require this notice; nor is the notice
that is given to parents, who are not named as respondents in these
cases, as complete as it should be with respect to the possible
consequences of prolonged foster care. Accordingly,
on the advice of our Family Court Advisory and Rules
Committee, we propose this measure to remedy this gap by amending
section 1035 of the Family Court Act.
In order to harmonize the notice required to be affixed to child abuse
summonses prior to enactment of the Adoption and Safe Families Act
with the ASFA notice regarding prolonged foster care, this measure
would amend subdivision (b) of section 1035 of the Family Court Act.
It also would amend subdivisions (d) and (e) of that section to
clarify that non-respondent parents in child abuse and neglect
proceedings would be required to be notified of their standing to
appear, to participate and to request custody of the children. The
parents would also have to be notified that if the children are
placed in foster care for a period of 15 months in a 22-month period,
the parents may be the subjects of proceedings to terminate their
parental rights, whether or not they were respondents in the child
neglect or abuse case.
The notice would further provide that the court, upon good cause,
would have discretion to order the child protective agency to
investigate whether the non-respondent parents should be added to
petitions as respondents. Finally, the notice would provide that if
the court determines that children must be removed from the home, the
court may order an investigation to determine whether the
non-respondent parents would be suit able custodians for the children.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:


03/27/07 REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
01/09/08 REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
04/07/09 REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
01/06/10 REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.