BILL NUMBER:  S4836

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the family court act, in relation to
provision of services and assistance to respondent parents during the
pendency of child protective 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 his Family
Court Advisory and Rules Committee.

While a child abuse or neglect proceeding is pending in Family Court,
where the child or children who are the subjects of the proceeding are
not shown to be in imminent risk of harm to their life or health,
Family Court must deny an application to remove a child from a
respondent parent or a respondent person legally responsible pursuant
to section 1027 of the Family Court Act. Where the child had already
been removed from a respondent or respondents, the child must be
returned. Where, alternatively, Family Court grants an application
pursuant to section 1028 of the Family Court Act by a respondent for
return of a child who had already been removed - as in the case of
section 1027, for lack of proof the child is in imminent risk of harm
the child must be returned. In each of these circumstances, the child
and the respondents remain under the jurisdiction of Family Court
during the pendency of the proceeding. The child protective agency may
be directed to provide services or assistance pursuant to section
1015-a of the Family Court Act and may monitor the respondents'
              

compliance with the services. However, an ambiguous cross-reference in
section 1027 to section 1017(2)(a)(ii) has caused confusion as to the
agency's authority in this regard and section 1028 of the Family Court
Act is entirely silent on the issue.

This measure would provide clarity to both sections 1027 and 1028 of
the Family Court Act. Where the court determines that a child should
be returned to, or not be removed from, a respondent parent or a
respondent person legally responsible during the pendency of a child
abuse or neglect proceeding, the measure incorporates section 1015-a
of the Family Court Act by reference, underscoring what section 1015-a
already provides, that is, that it is applicable at any stage of a
child protective proceeding. The court may order child protective
agencies to provide or arrange for the provision of services and
assistance to the family that are authorized within the State's
comprehensive annual services program plan in effect.  Finally, child
protective agencies may provide oversight and monitoring to ensure not
only that the services are provided but also that the respondent
complies as necessary.

This measure neither changes nor adds to the responsibilities of child
protective agencies or of respondent parents and persons legally
responsible for children; it simply clarifies the law in light of
questions that have been raised. This clarification is essential to
ensure the safety of children during the pendency of child protective
proceedings. In cases in which children are returned or are not
removed because imminent risk has not been demonstrated, provision of
services, along with monitoring of compliance, may nonetheless be
essential to foster the wellbeing of children before Family Court and
may greatly facilitate resolution of the issues that gave rise to the
child protective proceeding.

This measure, which would have no fiscal impact upon the State, would
take effect immediately.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None. New proposal.