Senate Bill S10000

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Authorizes children who will be 18 or older on the date of a permanency hearing to apply to dispense with the provision of notice and copy of the hearing report

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Current 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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 22, 2026	referred to children and families

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Family Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §1089, Fam Ct Act

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes children who will be 18 or older on the date of a permanency hearing to apply to dispense with the provision of notice and copy of such hearing and to redact portions of the hearing report.

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S10000

SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to protection of the
confidentiality rights of youth over the age of 18 in foster care with
respect to permanency hearings

2.  
SOURCE OF BILL

This bill is being introduced at the request of the Unified Court
System, on the recommendation of the Chief Administrative Judge's Family
Court Advisory and Rules Committee.

3.  
PURPOSE OF BILL

Recognizing that youth who have reached the age of 18 are deemed adults
under New York State law, this bill provides a procedural vehicle for
youth over 18 who are in foster care to protect their confidentiality
rights with respect to their foster care peimanency planning hearings
and reports, while at the same time preserving the due process rights of

their parents and other necessary parties.

4.  
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS

Section 1 of the bill amends Section 1089 of the Family Court Act to
provide that youth who will be 18 years old or older at the time of
their next permanency hearing may apply by motion or order to show cause
at least 45 days in advance of the scheduled hearing date for an order
dispensing with the provision of notice and a copy of the permanency
report to the parents, other persons legally responsible and the foster
parents, who would otherwise be necessary parties, as well as to pre-a-
doptive parents and relatives who may be providing care to the child.
The application may alternatively request that the permanency report be
sent to the other parties in redacted form and may request that the
determination apply as well to subsequent permanency hearings without
the necessity of repeated motions. The application must state the
grounds, including why the requested order would protect the confiden-
tiality of the information and would be in the youth's best interests.
It must be sent by mail or electronically to the other parties, who have
an opportunity to respond no later than 30 days in advance of the sched-
uled hearing date. The court is required to determine the application no
later than 20 days in advance of the hearing and the process would in no
event delay the permanency hearing beyond the deadlines contained in
Family Court Act § 1089(a)(2).


Section 2 sets the effective date as the sixtieth day after the bill is
enacted.

5.  
JUSTIFICATION

Acknowledging that upon reaching the age of 18, youth in foster care may
not be ready to live independently, New York State law allows such youth
to remain in care upon their consent or to reenter foster care after
they have been discharged. See Family Court Act ("FCA") §§ 1055(e),
1091. In all cases, the Family Court conducts permanency hearings to
review their care, first after eight months and thereafter at six-month
intervals, at which the youth have the right to participate. See FCA §§
1087, 1090-a.  For older youth in care, the hearings provide vital
assistance in planning for their futures as independent adults. In
accordance with FCA § 1089(b)(1) and (2), their parents (including non-
respondent parents in cases involving youth not freed for adoption),
foster parents, pre-adoptive parents and relatives providing care for
the youth and any other individuals "legally responsible for the child's
care" must be given notice of all permanency hearings, along with copies
of the pelinanency hearing reports, which are detailed documents that
may include otherwise confidential medical, mental health and other
information about the youth.

In Matter of Parvati D., 227 AD3d 605 (1st Dept 2024), a foster youth
over the age of 18 requested that the Family Court dispense with notice
to her father of a permanency hearing regarding her foster care. The
Family Court denied the motion, holding that the father had an absolute
right under the clear language of Family Court Act § 1089 to notice of
the hearing and a copy of the permanency hearing report.  In its deci-
sion affirming the Family Court's order, the Appellate Division, First
Department, acknowledged that the youth's asserted privacy concerns were
"reasonable," but indicated that the prejudice to the youth would be
limited, noting that confidential medical information is protected from
use or disclosure for any purpose other than the current litigation
under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(HIPAA) and may be made the subject of a protective order under section
3103(a) of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.

By authorizing orders that are analogous to the protective orders that
may be available to civil litigants under CPLR § 3103(a), this measure
provides a vehicle for youth in foster care who have reached the age of
majority to protect their rights to privacy, while at the same time
protecting the rights of their parents and other parties to their
permanency proceedings to be heard regarding any request for confiden-
tiality made by the youth.

6.  
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY This is a new bill.

7.  
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS This bill would have no fiscal impact on the
State.

8.  
EFFECTIVE DATE
This bill would take effect on the sixtieth day after enactment.

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10000
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 22, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. BRISPORT -- (at request of the Unified Court System)
   -- 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 protection  of  the
   confidentiality rights of youth over the age of 18 in foster care with
   respect to permanency hearings

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Subdivisions (b) and (e) of section  1089  of  the  family
 court  act, as added by section 27 of part A of chapter 3 of the laws of
 2005, subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph 1 of  subdivision  (b)  as
 amended  by chapter 573 of the laws of 2015, subparagraph (iii) of para-
 graph 1 as amended and paragraph 1-a as added by chapter 14 of the  laws
 of  2016,  and paragraph 2 of subdivision (b) as amended by section 8 of
 part B of chapter 327 of the laws  of  2007,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (b)  Notice  of  permanency  hearings. (1) No later than fourteen days
 before the date certain for a permanency hearing scheduled  pursuant  to
 this  section, the local social services district shall serve the notice
 of the permanency hearing and the permanency hearing report  by  regular
 mail upon:
   (i)  EXCEPT  AS  PROVIDED  IN PARAGRAPH ONE-B OF THIS SUBDIVISION, the
 child's parent, including any non-respondent parent, unless the parental
 rights of the parent have been terminated or surrendered, and any  other
 person  legally  responsible  for  the  child's  care at the most recent
 address or addresses known to the  local  social  services  district  or
 agency, and the foster parent in whose home the child currently resides,
 each of whom shall be a party to the proceeding;
   (ii)  the  agency  supervising  the care of the child on behalf of the
 social services district with whom the child  was  placed,  the  child's
 attorney, and the attorney for the respondent parent; and
   (iii) the attorney for the child.
   (1-a)  If  the  child is age ten or older, no later than fourteen days
 before the date certain for a permanency hearing scheduled  pursuant  to
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14966-01-6
 S. 10000                            2
 
 this  section, the local social services district shall serve the notice
 of the permanency hearing by regular mail upon the child. Nothing herein
 shall be deemed to prevent an attorney for  the  child  from  consulting
 with the child about the child's participation in the permanency hearing
 as  required  by  section one thousand ninety-a of this article prior to
 the service of the notice required pursuant to this paragraph.
   (1-B) (I) IF THE CHILD WILL BE EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER  ON  THE
 DATE  CERTAIN  OF  THE  PERMANENCY  HEARING  SCHEDULED  PURSUANT TO THIS
 SECTION, NO LATER THAN FORTY-FIVE DAYS BEFORE  SUCH  DATE  CERTAIN,  THE
 CHILD  OR THE CHILD'S ATTORNEY MAY APPLY TO THE COURT BY MOTION OR ORDER
 TO SHOW CAUSE FOR AN ORDER DISPENSING WITH PROVISION OF THE  NOTICE  AND
 COPY  OF  THE  PERMANENCY HEARING REPORT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUBPARAGRAPH
 (I) OF PARAGRAPH ONE AND PARAGRAPH TWO OF THIS SUBDIVISION AND/OR FOR AN
 ORDER REDACTING PORTIONS OF  THE  PERMANENCY  HEARING  REPORT  PRIOR  TO
 DISSEMINATION  OF  THE  REPORT TO THE INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS NAMED IN
 SUCH SUBPARAGRAPH.  THE APPLICATION SHALL SET FORTH GROUNDS  AS  TO  WHY
 THE  PROVISION  OF  SUCH  NOTICE  AND  PERMANENCY  REPORT  OR UNREDACTED
 PORTIONS OF THE REPORT TO SUCH INDIVIDUAL OR INDIVIDUALS  WOULD  VIOLATE
 THE  CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL OR OTHER INFORMATION AND WOULD NOT BE IN
 THE CHILD'S BEST INTERESTS.  THE MOTION OR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE MAY  ALSO
 REQUEST  A COURT ORDER ON CONFIDENTIALITY THAT WOULD APPLY PROSPECTIVELY
 TO ANY FUTURE PERMANENCY HEARINGS  THAT  MAY  BE  SCHEDULED  DURING  THE
 REMAINDER OF THE CHILD'S STAY IN FOSTER CARE.
   (II)  THE  MOTION  OR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FILED PURSUANT TO THIS PARA-
 GRAPH SHALL BE SERVED BY MAIL OR BY ELECTRONIC MEANS UPON SUCH  INDIVID-
 UAL  OR  INDIVIDUALS  AND  THE AGENCY SUPERVISING THE CARE OF THE CHILD,
 EACH OF WHOM SHALL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD IN PERSON OR IN WRIT-
 ING NO LATER THAN THIRTY DAYS BEFORE THE DATE CERTAIN FOR THE PERMANENCY
 HEARING.
   (III) THE COURT SHALL DETERMINE THE APPLICATION NO LATER  THAN  TWENTY
 DAYS  BEFORE  THE  DATE  CERTAIN  FOR  THE  PERMANENCY HEARING AND SHALL
 PROVIDE ITS DETERMINATION FORTHWITH TO THE AGENCY SUPERVISING  THE  CARE
 OF  THE  CHILD, THE CHILD AND THE CHILD'S ATTORNEY, SUCH THAT THE AGENCY
 CAN PROVIDE NOTICES AND PERMANENCY REPORTS, IF ANY, IN  COMPLIANCE  WITH
 PARAGRAPH  ONE  OF  THIS SUBDIVISION.   IN NO EVENT SHALL AN APPLICATION
 UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH DELAY THE PERMANENCY HEARING BEYOND  THE  DEADLINES
 SPECIFIED IN PARAGRAPH TWO OF SUBDIVISION (A) OF THIS SECTION.
   (2)  [The]  EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH ONE-B OF THIS SUBDIVISION,
 notice and the permanency hearing report shall also be provided  to  any
 pre-adoptive  parent  or relative providing care for the child and shall
 be submitted to the court. The notice of  the  permanency  hearing  only
 shall  be  provided  to  a  former foster parent in whose home the child
 previously had resided for a  continuous  period  of  twelve  months  in
 foster  care, if any, unless the court, on motion of any party or on its
 own motion, dispenses with such notice on the  basis  that  such  notice
 would  not  be in the child's best interests. However, such pre-adoptive
 parent, relative, or former foster parent, on the basis of such  notice,
 shall have the right to be heard but shall not be a party to the perman-
 ency  hearing.  The  failure  of  such  pre-adoptive parent, relative or
 former foster parent to appear at a permanency hearing shall  constitute
 a  waiver  of  the  right  to be heard. Such failure to appear shall not
 cause a delay of the permanency hearing nor be a ground for the  invali-
 dation of any order issued by the court pursuant to this section.
   (e)  Service  of court order and permanency hearing report. [A] EXCEPT
 AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH ONE-B OF SUBDIVISION (B)  OF  THIS  SECTION,  A
 copy  of  the  court  order which includes the date certain for the next
 S. 10000                            3
 
 permanency hearing  and  the  permanency  hearing  report  as  approved,
 adjusted,  or  modified  by  the  court, shall be given to the parent or
 other person legally responsible for the child.
   §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S10000

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Actions

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Jabari Brisport

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Actions

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S10000 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments