Senate Bill S7580

2011-2012 Legislative Session

Provides that the court conduct a search for non-respondent alleged parents during a child protective and permanancy proceeding

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules 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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 05, 2012	referred to rules

2011-S7580 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Family Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1012, 1017, 1022-a, 1027, 1035, 1052, 1054 & 1055-b, Fam Ct Act

2011-S7580 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that the court conduct a search for non-respondent alleged parents during a child protective and permanancy proceeding.

2011-S7580 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S7580

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the family court act, in relation to non-respondent
parents in child
protective and permanency proceedings in family court

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

Recent years have witnessed a sea-change in attitudes and policies
concerning the role of non-respondent parents in child abuse and
neglect proceedings under Article 10 of the Family Court Act. While
child protective officials once ignored or discouraged non-respondent
parents, especially non-respondent fathers, from participating in
child protective proceedings concerning their children, these
officials, prompted by substantial statutory changes during the past
decade, now reach out to such parents to engage them in planning for
their children's care.

Article 10 was drafted before these changes in attitude and policy,
and, not surprisingly, it contains gaps and anomalies with respect to
treatment of non-respondent parents. This measure addresses some of
the more obvious shortcomings. It inserts statutory provisions

explicitly to encourage greater participation by non-respondent
parents in abuse or neglect proceedings concerning their children. It
also expands options available to Family Court judges so they can
craft appropriate orders respecting the rights of non-respondent
parents while assuring the safety and well being of their children.

First, the measure adds definitions of "parent," "alleged parent" and
"relative" to Family Court Act § 1012, to clarify the range of
persons who may assert a parent's superior rights to care and custody
of a child and to define a class of "alleged parents" entitled to
notice of child protective proceedings concerning their children.

The proposed definition of "parent" provides that only a person
recognized to be a child's legal parent may assert enhanced rights to
care and custody recognized under State
and Federal law. See, e.g., Bennett v. Jeffreys, 40 N.Y.2d 543
(1976)(state may not deprive parent of custody of child absent
extraordinary circumstances); Prince v.
Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 166(1944)("It is cardinal with us that
the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the
parents..."). Recognizing that legal standards for parenthood are
currently evolving, the measure adopts a flexible approach, providing
a list of persons who "may" be considered parents under New York law:
the birth mother, the spouse of the parent of a child born in
wedlock, an adoptive parent, the father as established through

acknowledgment of paternity or a court order declaring his paternity.
As case law on parenthood develops, persons in other relationships to
the child may legally be recognized, and this measure allows for this
possibility.

The proposed definition of "alleged parent" includes persons not
recognized to be a child's legal parent, but who are listed on the
putative father registry, have a pending paternity petition, were
married to the child's parent within six months after the child's
birth, or have been identified by the child's parent in a written
sworn statement or by the child as a parent. Concomitantly,
amendments to Family Court Act . 1017 include "alleged parents" in
the list of persons that social services officials must inform of the
pendency of child protective proceedings and advise of the opportunity
to seek custody and care of the child. Addition of this proposed
definition would establish a structure in Article 10 consistent with
the framework applicable to adoption proceedings under the Domestic
Relations Law, that is, "consent" fathers, whose consent is required
for an adoption, and "notice" fathers, who merely have a right to be
heard as to a child's best interests. See Domestic Relations Law
111, 111-a. It also would expand the scope of potential resources for
children who have been removed from their homes, and encourage
non-respondent birth fathers to establish their paternity and plan
for their children.

The measure further defines "relative" as a person related to a child
by blood, marriage or adoption, but not his or her parent or alleged
parent. This distinction between "parents" and "relatives" will
clarify the rights of each to the care and custody of a child in
later sections of Article 10 of the Family Court Act.

Second, the measure amends section 1017 of the Family Court Act, which
governs placement of a child who is the subject of an abuse or
neglect case, both at the outset and at disposition. It would add
"non-respondent alleged parents" and "other suitable persons
identified by a child over the age of five who (play) or (have)
played a significant positive role in his or her life" to the list of
persons that the local commissioner of social services must seek to
locate and inform of the pendency of the proceeding and of the
opportunity to seek to care for the child. This should expand the
universe of persons who potentially could provide care for a child
otherwise facing the prospect of a foster care placement with
strangers. To ensure uniformity in the information provided to those
persons entitled
to notice, the measure requires that the content of the notice be set
by court rule.

The measure also deletes the definition of "non-respondent parent"
currently in section 1017(1) in light of the proposed addition of a
definition of "parent" in section 1012. It clarifies the format by
referring specifically to "non-respondent parent, relative, or other
suitable person" as potential resources a court may consider after

determining that a child must be removed from his or her home.
Likewise, section 1017(2)(a)(i) would specify that a court may grant
a temporary order of custody or guardianship to a non-respondent
parent, relative, or other suitable person prior to disposition, or
may grant a final order of custody or guardianship to such persons
pursuant to section 1055-b at the dispositional stage.

The measure also would modify section 1017(2)(a)(ii), which currently
provides that upon determining that a child may reside with a
suitable non-respondent parent or other relative or suitable person,
the court may place the child directly in the "care" of such person
pursuant to Article 10. The measure would substitute the word "care"
for "custody" to highlight the difference between an order of custody
under Article 6 of the Family Court Act, as provided in section
1017(2)(a)(i), and an order of direct placement of the child under
section 1017(2)(a)(ii).

Moreover, subdivision three of section 1017 would be amended to
require that non-respondent parents, as well as relatives or other
suitable persons, consent to a court's jurisdiction if a child is
placed in their care under such section. It would replace the current
authorization for a court to place "the person" with whom a child has
been directly placed under the supervision of social services
officials with authorization to order officials to supervise "the
child" during the pendency of the proceeding. By requiring all persons
in whose care a child is placed pursuant to section 1017 to consent
to jurisdiction of the court, the court will be able to tailor
orders, inter alia, to enlist cooperation of the caretaker to ensure
that a child receives appropriate services, is produced for regular
visitation by a respondent parent, siblings or others and is made
available for interviews with the child's attorney. By so providing,
the measure strikes a proper balance between intervention to ensure
the child's well-being and respect for the non-respondent parent's or
other caretaker's interests in minimal interference in their everyday
child-rearing decisions. To this end, any order of supervision issued
pursuant to section 1017 must specify
terms and conditions that a non-respondent parent, relative or
other suitable person must meet, and also actions that the social
services agency must take.(1) These changes should provide a
court with authority to issue appropriate orders to
ensure a child's well-being during the pendency of the proceeding
while giving all parties notice of what is to be required of them in
order to facilitate effective implementation.

Third, the measure amends Article 10 of the Family Court Act relating
to preliminary orders. It would amend section 1 022-a to clarify that
non-respondent parents who qualify for assignment of counsel under
section 262 of the Act are eligible for such assignments at
pre-petition hearings held pursuant to section 1022. It also amends
section 1027(d) to provide that a court may release a child to the
"care" (as opposed to custody) of his or her parent pending a final
order of disposition. It further deletes reference to section 1054 as

the source of a court's authority to do this, since that section only
addresses dispositional orders, and instead substitutes a reference
to section 1017, which pertains to pre-dispositional orders.
Additionally, to facilitate and encourage the participation of
non-respondent parents in proceedings regarding their children,
section 1035 would be modified to require that notices of pendency of
child protective proceedings sent to non-respondent parents also
advise them that they have a right to counsel, including assigned
counsel, if they are indigent. See Matter of Sasha S., 256 AD.2d 468
(2nd Dept., 1998) (required notice to non-respondent father of the
right to counsel, including the right to appointment
of counsel if he is indigent).

Fourth, as to dispositional proceedings, the measure makes several
changes to section 1054, which authorizes release of children at
disposition to a parent's care and is applicable to releases of
children both to respondent and non-respondent parents. As currently
drafted, section 1054 is unclear as to a court's ability to place a
non-respondent parent under the supervision of a child protective
agency, and also as to whether the scope of that supervision must be
specified in the court order. The statute now provides that if an
order of disposition releases a child to his or her "parent," the
court may place "the person" to whose custody the child is released
under the supervision of a child protective agency, social services
official or duly authorized agency. The statute further provides,
however, that an order of supervision entered under this section
shall set forth, inter alia, the terms and conditions of such
supervision that "respondent" must meet. Read literally, the statute
suggests that if a court releases a child to a non-respondent or a
respondent parent at disposition, it may place that parent under
supervision at disposition, but only need specify the terms and
conditions of that supervision in the case of a respondent
parent. Accordingly, this measure amends § 1054 to parallel the
proposed amendment of § 1017 by permitting a court, when it
releases a child to a parent as a disposition, to order a child
protective agency to supervise the child for a specified time period.
It also would require the parent to consent to the court's
jurisdiction for the period of such supervision, which may initially
be for up to one year.

Section 1054 also would authorize a court to release a child to the
care of a non-respondent parent while, at the same time, ordering that
a respondent parent be placed under supervision under section 1057.
This amendment would address the situation where a child's interests
would best be served by residing with a non-respondent parent while
the respondent parent receives services needed to enable the child's
eventual return to him or her. Such arrangement would by its terms be
of limited duration, since any orders for supervision of a child
released to a non-respondent parent under section 1054 may last only
up to one year, with provision for limited extension. If, during the
period of a dispositional order, a respondent parent successfully
completes the services or programs ordered, the court may, if

appropriate, utilize section 1061 to modify the order releasing the
child to the non-respondent parent to permit release of the child to
the respondent parent. Such order may continue supervision of the
respondent parent pursuant to section 1057. Conforming amendments to
the dispositional alternatives would also be made to section 1052.

Finally, the measure amends Family Court Act § 1055-b to clarify
procedures for considering parents' requests for custody under
article 6 of the Act at the dispositional stage of a child protective
proceeding. It would resolve a serious inconsistency between sections
1055-b and 1017. Section 1017(2)(a)(i) currently provides that when a
court determines that a child may reside with a suitable
non-respondent parent, it may "grant an order of custody or
guardianship to such non-respondent parent... pursuant to section
one thousand fifty-five-b." However, section 1055-b now only pertains
to "(c)ustody or guardianship with relatives or suitable persons
pursuant to article six of (the Family Court Act)" and does not
mention non-respondent parents; nor does it specify the standard by
which to determine parents' requests for custody in this context.
This measure would insert "parents" into the list of persons who may
be granted article 6 custody pursuant to section 1055-b. It further
makes clear that if someone other than a child's parents contests the
custody petition, the court must grant custody to the parents in the
absence of a showing of extraordinary circumstances pursuant to
Bennett v. Jeffreys, supra. It also provides that, as in
custody proceedings generally, if a respondent parent contests a
non-respondent parent's request for custody, the standard by which to
determine the custody application is the best interests of the child.

This measure would have no fiscal impact upon the State, and would
take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None. New proposal.

FOOTNOTE:
(1) This is consistent with the holding in Doe v. Mattingly, 2006 WL
3498564 (E.D.N.Y., 2006)(Unpub.), which required a court order,
absent an emergency, as a prerequisite to a caseworker
entering the home of a non-respondent parent and conducting a body
search of the baby in her care.

2011-S7580 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  7580

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 5, 2012
                               ___________

Introduced by Sen. GALLIVAN -- (at request of the Office of Court Admin-
  istration)  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
  committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the family court  act,  in  relation  to  non-respondent
  parents in child protective and permanency proceedings in family court

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

  Section 1. Section 1012 of the family court act is amended  by  adding
three new subdivisions (l), (m) and (n) to read as follows:
  (L)  "PARENT"  MEANS  A PERSON WHO IS RECOGNIZED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK TO BE THE CHILD'S LEGAL PARENT, WHICH MAY INCLUDE  (I)
THE  BIRTH  MOTHER  OF  THE  CHILD, (II) THE SPOUSE OF THE PARENT OF ANY
CHILD BORN IN WEDLOCK, (III) A PARENT LISTED ON THE  BIRTH  CERTIFICATE,
(IV)  AN  ADOPTIVE  PARENT  OF THE CHILD, (V) THE FATHER OF THE CHILD AS
ESTABLISHED THROUGH A VALIDLY EXECUTED ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF  PATERNITY,  OR
(VI)  THE  FATHER  OF  THE  CHILD  AS  ESTABLISHED THROUGH A COURT ORDER
DECLARING HIS PATERNITY.
  (M) "ALLEGED PARENT" MEANS ANY PERSON WHO IS NOT RECOGNIZED TO BE  THE
CHILD'S LEGAL PARENT UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK BUT WHO (I)
HAS  FILED WITH A PUTATIVE FATHER REGISTRY, (II) HAS A PENDING PATERNITY
PETITION, (III) WAS MARRIED TO THE  CHILD'S  PARENT  WITHIN  SIX  MONTHS
AFTER  THE  CHILD'S  BIRTH,  OR  (IV) HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BY THE CHILD'S
PARENT IN A WRITTEN SWORN STATEMENT OR BY THE CHILD AS A PARENT.
  (N) "RELATIVE" MEANS ANY PERSON WHO IS RELATED TO THE CHILD BY  BLOOD,
MARRIAGE  OR  ADOPTION  AND WHO IS NOT A PARENT OR ALLEGED PARENT OF THE
CHILD.
  S 2. Subdivision 1, subparagraphs (i) and (ii)  of  paragraph  (a)  of
subdivision 2 and subdivision 3 of section 1017 of the family court act,
subdivision  1  as  amended  by section 10 of part A of chapter 3 of the
laws of 2005, the opening  paragraph  of  subdivision  1  as  separately
amended  by  chapter 671 of the laws of 2005, subparagraphs (i) and (ii)
of paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended and subdivision 3 as  added
by chapter 519 of the laws of 2008, are amended to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14895-01-2

S. 7580                             2

  1.  In  any  proceeding  under this article, when the court determines
that a child must be removed from his or her home, pursuant to part  two
of  this article, or placed, pursuant to section one thousand fifty-five
of this article, the court shall direct the local commissioner of social
services to conduct an immediate investigation to locate any non-respon-
dent  parent OR NON-RESPONDENT ALLEGED PARENT of the child and any rela-
tives of the child, including all of the child's grandparents, all suit-
able relatives identified by any respondent parent or any non-respondent
parent and any relative OR OTHER SUITABLE PERSON identified by  a  child
over  the  age  of five as a [relative] PERSON who plays or has played a
significant positive role in his or her life[, and]. THE  LOCAL  COMMIS-
SIONER  SHALL  inform  them of the pendency of the proceeding and of the
opportunity [for becoming foster parents or for seeking] TO SEEK custody
or care of the child AND, IN THE CASE OF RELATIVES  AND  OTHER  SUITABLE
PERSONS,  THE  OPPORTUNITY  TO BECOME FOSTER PARENTS, WHO MAY SEEK, [and
that] TO ADOPT the child [may be adopted by foster parents] if  attempts
at  reunification  with  the birth parent are not required or are unsuc-
cessful.  RULES OF COURT SHALL SPECIFY THE CONTENTS OF THE  NOTICE.  The
local  commissioner  of social services shall record the results of such
investigation, including, but not  limited  to,  the  name,  last  known
address,  social security number, employer's address and any other iden-
tifying information to the extent  known  regarding  any  non-respondent
parent,  in  the uniform case record maintained pursuant to section four
hundred nine-f of the social services law.  [For  the  purpose  of  this
section,  "non-respondent  parent"  shall  include  a person entitled to
notice of the pendency of the proceeding and of the right  to  intervene
as  an interested party pursuant to subdivision (d) of section one thou-
sand thirty-five of this article, and a non-custodial parent entitled to
notice and the right to enforce visitation rights pursuant  to  subdivi-
sion (e) of section one thousand thirty-five of this article.] The court
shall determine:
  (a) whether there is a suitable non-respondent parent [or other person
related  to the child], RELATIVE OR OTHER SUITABLE PERSON with whom such
child may appropriately reside; and
  (b) in the case of a relative OR OTHER SUITABLE PERSON,  whether  such
[relative]  INDIVIDUAL seeks approval as a foster parent pursuant to the
social services law for the purposes of providing care for  such  child,
or  wishes  to  provide  free  care and custody for the child during the
pendency of any orders pursuant to this article.
  (i) grant [an] A TEMPORARY order of custody or  guardianship  to  such
non-respondent  parent, [other] relative or other suitable person pursu-
ant to A PETITION FILED UNDER ARTICLE SIX OF THIS  ACT  PENDING  FURTHER
ORDER  OF  THE COURT, OR AT DISPOSITION OF THE PROCEEDING, GRANT A FINAL
ORDER OF CUSTODY OR GUARDIANSHIP TO SUCH NON-RESPONDENT PARENT, RELATIVE
OR OTHER SUITABLE PERSON PURSUANT TO section one  thousand  fifty-five-b
of this article; or
  (ii)  place  the child directly in the [custody] CARE of such non-res-
pondent parent, other relative or other suitable person pursuant to this
article during the pendency of the proceeding or until further order  of
the  court,  whichever  is  earlier  and  conduct such other and further
investigations as the court deems necessary; or
  3. An order placing a child [with] IN THE  CARE  OF  a  NON-RESPONDENT
PARENT,  relative  or other suitable person pursuant to this section may
not be granted unless the NON-RESPONDENT PARENT, relative or other suit-
able person consents to the jurisdiction of the  court.  The  court  may
[place  the  person  with  whom the child has been directly placed under

S. 7580                             3

supervision during the pendency  of  the  proceeding.  Such  supervision
shall  be  provided  by]  ORDER  THAT  a child protective agency, social
services official or duly authorized agency SUPERVISE THE  CHILD  DURING
THE  PENDENCY  OF THE PROCEEDING.  [The court also may issue a temporary
order of protection under subdivision (f) of section one thousand  twen-
ty-two,  section one thousand twenty-three or section one thousand twen-
ty-nine of this article.] An order of  supervision  issued  pursuant  to
this  subdivision shall set forth the terms and conditions that the NON-
RESPONDENT PARENT, relative or OTHER suitable person must meet  and  the
actions  that  the  child protective agency, social services official or
duly authorized agency must take to  exercise  such  supervision.    THE
COURT  ALSO  MAY ISSUE A TEMPORARY ORDER OF PROTECTION UNDER SUBDIVISION
(F)  OF  SECTION  ONE  THOUSAND   TWENTY-TWO,   SECTION   ONE   THOUSAND
TWENTY-THREE OR SECTION ONE THOUSAND TWENTY-NINE OF THIS ARTICLE.
  S  3.  Section 1022-a of the family court act, as added by chapter 336
of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
  S 1022-a. Preliminary orders; notice and appointment of counsel. At  a
hearing  held  pursuant to section [ten hundred] ONE THOUSAND twenty-two
of this [act] ARTICLE at which the respondent OR  NON-RESPONDENT  PARENT
is  present, the court shall advise the respondent of the allegations in
the application and shall appoint counsel for the respondent OR NON-RES-
PONDENT PARENT pursuant to section two hundred  sixty-two  of  this  act
where the respondent OR NON-RESPONDENT PARENT is indigent.
  S 4. Subdivision (d) of section 1027 of the family court act, as added
by chapter 962 of the laws of 1970, is amended to read as follows:
  (d)  Upon  such  hearing, the court may, for good cause shown, release
the child to the [custody] CARE of his OR HER  parent  or  other  person
legally responsible for his OR HER care, pending a final order of dispo-
sition,  in  accord  with section one thousand [fifty-four] SEVENTEEN OF
THIS ARTICLE.
  S 5. The opening paragraph of subdivision (d) of section 1035  of  the
family  court  act,  as  amended  by chapter 526 of the laws of 2003, is
amended to read as follows:
  Where the respondent is not the child's parent, service of the summons
and petition shall also be ordered on both of the child's parents; where
only one of the child's  parents  is  the  respondent,  service  of  the
summons  and petition shall also be ordered on the child's other parent.
The summons and petition shall be accompanied by a notice of pendency of
the child protective proceeding advising the parents or  parent  of  the
right to appear and participate in the proceeding as an interested party
intervenor for the purpose of seeking temporary and permanent custody of
the  child,  and  to  participate  thereby in all arguments and hearings
insofar as they affect the temporary [custody] CARE of the child  during
fact-finding   proceedings,   and   in   all   phases  of  dispositional
proceedings. The notice shall also ADVISE THE PARENT OR PARENTS  OF  THE
RIGHT TO COUNSEL, INCLUDING ASSIGNED COUNSEL IF INDIGENT, AND ALSO indi-
cate that:
  S  6.  Paragraphs  (ii) and (vi) of subdivision (a) of section 1052 of
the family court act, paragraph (ii) as amended and  paragraph  (vi)  as
added  by  chapter  519  of  the  laws  of  2008, are amended to read as
follows:
  (ii) releasing the child to the [custody]  CARE  of  [his  parents  or
other person legally responsible] A PARENT OR PARENTS OR LEGAL CUSTODIAN
OR GUARDIAN in accord with section one thousand fifty-four of this part;
or

S. 7580                             4

  (vi)  granting  custody of the child to A PARENT OR PARENTS, relatives
or suitable persons pursuant to section  one  thousand  fifty-five-b  of
this part.
  S  7. Section 1054 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 1039
of the laws of 1973, subdivision (a) as amended by  chapter  41  of  the
laws  of  2010 and subdivision (b) as amended by chapter 458 of the laws
of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
  S 1054. Release to [custody] CARE of parent or [other person responsi-
ble for care] LEGAL CUSTODIAN  OR  GUARDIAN;  supervision  or  order  of
protection.    (a) If the order of disposition releases the child to the
[custody] CARE of his or her parent or [other person legally responsible
for his or her care] LEGAL CUSTODIAN OR GUARDIAN  at  the  time  of  the
filing  of  the  petition,  the court may [place] REQUIRE the [person to
whose custody the child is released under] PARENT OR LEGAL CUSTODIAN  OR
GUARDIAN  TO  CONSENT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT FOR THE PERIOD IN
WHICH THE COURT ORDERS supervision of THE CHILD BY  a  child  protective
agency  or  [of] a social services official or duly authorized agency[,]
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBDIVISION (B) OF THIS SECTION.  THE COURT MAY  ALSO
ENTER  AN  ORDER OF SUPERVISION OF A RESPONDENT PARENT UNDER SECTION ONE
THOUSAND FIFTY-SEVEN OF THIS PART or may enter an  order  of  protection
under  section one thousand fifty-six OF THIS PART, or both, IN CONJUNC-
TION WITH THE ISSUANCE OF AN ORDER UNDER THIS  SECTION.    An  order  of
supervision  OF THE CHILD entered under this section shall set forth the
terms  and  conditions  [of  such  supervision]  that  the  [respondent]
NON-RESPONDENT  PARENT,  LEGAL  CUSTODIAN  OR GUARDIAN must meet and the
actions that the child protective agency, social  services  official  or
duly authorized agency must take to exercise such supervision. Except as
provided  for  herein, in any order issued pursuant to this section, the
court may require the child protective agency to make  progress  reports
to  the  court, the parties, and the child's attorney on the implementa-
tion of such order. Where the order of disposition is  issued  upon  the
consent  of  the  parties  and  the  child's attorney, such agency shall
report to the court, the parties and the child's attorney no later  than
ninety days after the issuance of the order, unless the court determines
that  the facts and circumstances of the case do not require such report
to be made.
  (b) Rules of court shall define permissible terms  and  conditions  of
THE  supervision  OF  THE  CHILD under this section. The duration of any
period of supervision OF THE CHILD shall be for an initial period of  no
more  than one year and the court may, at the expiration of that period,
upon a hearing and for good cause shown, [make successive extensions of]
EXTEND such supervision FOR A PERIOD of up to one year  [each]  AND  MAY
MAKE  SUCCESSIVE EXTENSIONS OF SUCH SUPERVISION FOR PERIODS OF UP TO ONE
YEAR EACH UPON A SHOWING OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.
  S 8. The section heading and subdivision (a) of section 1055-b of  the
family court act, as amended by section 7 of part F of chapter 58 of the
laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:
  Custody  or  guardianship with A PARENT OR PARENTS, relatives or suit-
able persons pursuant to article six of this act  or  guardianship  with
[such a person] RELATIVES OR SUITABLE PERSONS pursuant to article seven-
teen  of  the surrogate's court procedure act.  (a) At the conclusion of
the dispositional hearing under this article, the  court  may  enter  an
order  of disposition granting custody or guardianship of the child to a
PARENT, relative or other suitable person under article six of this  act
or  an  order of guardianship of the child to [such] a RELATIVE OR SUIT-

S. 7580                             5

ABLE person under article seventeen of the surrogate's  court  procedure
act if:
  (i)  the  PARENT, relative or suitable person has filed a petition for
custody or guardianship of the child pursuant to article six of this act
or, IN THE CASE OF A RELATIVE OR SUITABLE PERSON, a petition for guardi-
anship of the child under article seventeen  of  the  surrogate's  court
procedure act; and
  (ii)  the  court  finds  that  granting custody or guardianship of the
child to the PARENT, relative or suitable person is in the  best  inter-
ests  of the child and that the safety of the child will not be jeopard-
ized if  the  respondent  or  respondents  under  the  child  protective
proceeding  are  no  longer  under supervision or receiving services. In
determining whether the best interests of the child will be promoted  by
the  granting  of  guardianship of the child to a relative who has cared
for the child as a foster parent, the court shall give due consideration
to the permanency goal of the child, the relationship between the  child
and  the  relative,  and  whether  the  relative and the social services
district have entered into an agreement to provide kinship  guardianship
assistance  payments  for  the  child to the relative under title ten of
article six of the social services law, and, if so,  whether  the  fact-
finding  hearing pursuant to section one thousand fifty-one of this part
and a permanency hearing pursuant to section one thousand eighty-nine of
this chapter [has] HAVE occurred and whether  compelling  reasons  exist
for  determining  that  the return home of the child and the adoption of
the child are not in the best interests of the child and are, therefore,
not appropriate permanency options; and
  (iii) the court finds that granting custody  or  guardianship  of  the
child  to  the  PARENT, relative or suitable person under article six of
this act or granting guardianship of the child to the relative or  other
suitable  person under article seventeen of the surrogate's court proce-
dure act will provide the child with a safe and permanent home; and
  (iv) all parties to the child protective  proceeding  consent  to  the
granting of custody or guardianship under article six of this act or the
granting  of  guardianship  under  article  seventeen of the surrogate's
court procedure; or
  (v) after a consolidated dispositional hearing on the child protective
petition and the petition under article six of this act or under article
seventeen of the  surrogate's  court  procedure  act[;]  WHERE  NOT  ALL
PARTIES CONSENT TO THE GRANTING OF CUSTODY OR GUARDIANSHIP:
  (A)  if a parent or parents [fail] FAILS to consent to the granting of
custody or guardianship TO THE RELATIVE OR OTHER SUITABLE  PERSON  under
article  six  of  this act or the granting of guardianship under article
seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act, the court  finds  that
extraordinary  circumstances  exist  that  support  granting an order of
custody or guardianship TO THE RELATIVE OR  OTHER  SUITABLE  PERSON  AND
THAT THE GRANTING OF THE ORDER WILL SERVE THE CHILD'S BEST INTERESTS; or
  (B)  if  a  party  other  than  the  parent or parents [fail] FAILS to
consent to the granting of custody or guardianship TO  THE  RELATIVE  OR
OTHER  SUITABLE  PERSON under article six of this act or the granting of
guardianship under article seventeen of the surrogate's court  procedure
act,  the court finds that granting custody or guardianship of the child
to the relative or suitable person is  in  the  best  interests  of  the
child[.]; OR
  (C)  WHERE  A  PARENT  IS PETITIONING FOR CUSTODY UNDER ARTICLE SIX OF
THIS ACT, IF A PARTY OTHER THAT THE OTHER PARENT FAILS TO CONSENT TO THE
GRANTING OF CUSTODY, THE COURT FINDS EITHER  THAT  THE  OBJECTING  PARTY

S. 7580                             6

FAILED  TO  ESTABLISH  EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, OR, IF EXTRAORDINARY
CIRCUMSTANCES WERE ESTABLISHED, THAT GRANTING CUSTODY TO THE PETITIONING
PARENT WOULD NONETHELESS BE IN THE CHILD'S BEST INTERESTS; OR
  (D)  WHERE  A  PARENT  IS PETITIONING FOR CUSTODY UNDER ARTICLE SIX OF
THIS ACT, IF THE OTHER PARENT FAILS TO CONSENT TO THE GRANTING OF CUSTO-
DY TO THE PETITIONING PARENT, THE COURT FINDS THAT GRANTING  CUSTODY  TO
ONE OR THE OTHER OF THE PARENTS IS IN THE CHILD'S BEST INTERESTS.
  S  9.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law; provided, however  that  the  amendments  to  section
1055-b of the family court act, made by section eight of this act, shall
take  effect  on  the  same  date and in the same manner as such section
takes effect.

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Senate Bill S7580

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Sponsored By

Patrick M. Gallivan

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Actions

2011-S7580 (ACTIVE) - Details

2011-S7580 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2011-S7580 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2011-S7580 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments