Senate Bill S512

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    512
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. PALUMBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the family court act,  in
   relation to orders for child custody

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subparagraph 4 of  paragraph  (a-1)  of  subdivision  1  of
 section  240 of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter 295 of
 the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   (4) Notifying counsel and issuing orders. Upon consideration of  deci-
 sions  pursuant  to  article  ten  of the family court act, and registry
 reports and notifying counsel involved in  the  proceeding,  or  in  the
 event  of  a self-represented party, notifying such party of the results
 thereof, including any court appointed attorney for children, the  court
 may issue a temporary, successive temporary or final order of custody or
 visitation;  PROVIDED, THAT A FINAL ORDER OF CUSTODY OR VISITATION SHALL
 BE ISSUED WITHIN SIX MONTHS  FOLLOWING  THE  PRELIMINARY  CONFERENCE  OR
 INITIAL APPEARANCE ON THE PETITION.
   § 2. Paragraph 4 of subdivision (e) of section 651 of the family court
 act,  as  amended by chapter 295 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read
 as follows:
   4. Notifying counsel and issuing orders. Upon consideration  of  deci-
 sions  pursuant  to  article  ten  of this act, and registry reports and
 notifying counsel involved in the proceeding, or in the event of a self-
 represented party, notifying such party of the results thereof,  includ-
 ing  any  court  appointed  attorney for children, the court may issue a
 temporary, successive temporary or final order of custody or visitation;
 PROVIDED, THAT A FINAL ORDER OF CUSTODY OR VISITATION  SHALL  BE  ISSUED
 WITHIN  SIX  MONTHS  FOLLOWING  THE  PRELIMINARY  CONFERENCE  OR INITIAL
 APPEARANCE ON THE PETITION OR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02118-01-5
 S. 512                              2
 
   § 3. Subdivision (a) of section 1089 of the family court act, as added
 by section 27 of part A of chapter 3 of the laws of 2005, paragraph 1 as
 amended by chapter 342 of the laws of 2010, paragraph 2  as  amended  by
 chapter  605  of  the laws of 2011 and paragraph 3 as amended by chapter
 437 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   (a)  Scheduling,  commencement  and completion of permanency hearings.
 (1) Children freed for adoption. (i) At the conclusion of  the  disposi-
 tional hearing at which the child was freed for adoption in a proceeding
 pursuant  to section three hundred eighty-three-c, three hundred eighty-
 four or three hundred eighty-four-b of  the  social  services  law,  the
 court  shall  set  a date certain for the initial freed child permanency
 hearing and advise all parties in court of the date set, except for  the
 respondent  or respondents. The permanency hearing shall be commenced no
 later than thirty days after the hearing at which the  child  was  freed
 and  shall  be completed within thirty days, unless the court determines
 to hold the permanency hearing immediately upon completion of the  hear-
 ing  at  which  the  child  was freed, provided adequate notice has been
 given.
   (ii) At the conclusion of the hearing pursuant to section one thousand
 ninety-one of this act where the court has  granted  the  motion  for  a
 former  foster  care  youth who was discharged from foster care due to a
 failure to consent to continuation of placement to return to the custody
 of the local commissioner of social services or other officer, board  or
 department  authorized  to receive children as public charges, the court
 shall set a date certain for a permanency hearing and advise all parties
 in court of the date set. The permanency hearing shall be  commenced  no
 later than thirty days after the hearing at which the former foster care
 youth was returned to foster care.
   (III)  A  FINAL  ORDER OF CUSTODY IN A PERMANENCY HEARING ISSUED UNDER
 THIS SECTION SHALL BE ISSUED WITHIN SIX  MONTHS  FOLLOWING  THE  INITIAL
 PERMANENCY HEARING.
   (2)  All  other  permanency hearings. At the conclusion of the hearing
 pursuant to section one thousand twenty-two, one thousand  twenty-seven,
 one  thousand  fifty-two, one thousand eighty-nine, one thousand ninety-
 one, one thousand ninety-four or one thousand ninety-five of this act at
 which the child was remanded or placed and upon the court's approval  of
 a  voluntary  placement  instrument  pursuant  to  section three hundred
 fifty-eight-a of the social services law, the court  shall  set  a  date
 certain  for  an initial permanency hearing, advise all parties in court
 of the date set and include the date in  the  order.  Orders  issued  in
 subsequent  court  hearings  prior to the permanency hearing, including,
 but not limited to, the order of placement issued  pursuant  to  section
 one  thousand fifty-five of this act, shall include the date certain for
 the permanency hearing. The FINAL ORDER IN THE initial permanency  hear-
 ing  shall  be [commenced] ISSUED no later than six months from the date
 [which is sixty days after] the child was  removed  from  [his  or  her]
 THEIR home[; provided, however, that if a sibling or half-sibling of the
 child  has  previously  been  removed from the home and has a permanency
 hearing date certain scheduled within the next eight months, the perman-
 ency hearing for each child subsequently removed from the home shall  be
 scheduled on the same date certain that has been set for the first child
 removed  from  the  home,  unless  such sibling or half-sibling has been
 removed from the home pursuant to article three or seven  of  this  act.
 The  permanency  hearing  shall  be  completed within thirty days of the
 scheduled date certain].
 S. 512                              3
 
   (3) Subsequent permanency hearings for a child who continues  in  out-
 of-home  placement or who is freed for adoption shall be scheduled for a
 date certain which shall be no later than six months from the completion
 of the previous permanency hearing and such subsequent permanency  hear-
 ings  shall  be completed within thirty days of the date certain set for
 such hearings.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have  become a law and shall apply to proceedings commenced on and after
 such date.