§ 355.5. Permanency hearing. * 1. For the purposes of this section the
term "non-secure facility" means a facility operated by an authorized
agency in accordance with an operating certificate issued pursuant to
the social services law or a facility, not including a secure or limited
secure facility, with a capacity of twenty-five beds or less operated by
the office of children and family services in accordance with section
five hundred four of the executive law. The term shall not include a
limited secure facility within a social services district operating an
approved juvenile justice services close to home initiative pursuant to
section four hundred four of the social services law.

* NB Effective until March 31, 2028

* 1. For the purposes of this section the term "non-secure facility"
means a facility operated by an authorized agency in accordance with an
operating certificate issued pursuant to the social services law or a
facility, not including a secure or limited secure facility, with a
capacity of twenty-five beds or less operated by the office of children
and family services in accordance with section five hundred four of the
executive law.

* NB Effective March 31, 2028

2. Where a respondent is placed with a commissioner of social services
or the office of children and family services pursuant to section 353.3
of this article for a period of twelve or fewer months and resides in a
foster home or non-secure facility;

(a) The initial permanency hearing shall be held no later than twelve
months after the respondent who was placed with a commissioner of social
services or the office of children and family services entered foster
care and such permanency hearing shall be held in conjunction with an
extension of placement hearing held pursuant to section 355.3 of this
article.

(b) Subsequent permanency hearings shall be held no later than every
twelve months following the respondent's initial permanency hearing and
shall be held in conjunction with an extension of placement hearing held
pursuant to section 355.3 of this article.

3. Where a respondent is placed with a commissioner of social services
or the office of children and family services pursuant to section 353.3
of this article for a period in excess of twelve months and resides in a
foster home or in a non-secure facility;

(a) the initial permanency hearing shall be held no later than twelve
months after the respondent who was placed with a commissioner of social
services or the office of children and family services entered foster
care.

(b) subsequent permanency hearings shall be held no later than every
twelve months following the respondent's initial twelve months in
placement but in no event past the respondent's twenty-first birthday;
provided, however, that they shall be held in conjunction with an
extension of placement hearing held pursuant to section 355.3 of this
part.

4. For the purposes of this section, the respondent shall be
considered to have entered foster care sixty days after the respondent
was removed from his or her home pursuant to this article.

5. A petition for an initial or subsequent permanency hearing shall be
filed by the office of children and family services or by the
commissioner of social services with whom the respondent was placed.
Such petition shall be filed no later than sixty days prior to the end
of the month in which an initial or subsequent permanency hearing must
be held, as directed in subdivision two of this section.

6. The foster parent caring for the respondent or any pre-adoptive
parent or relative providing care for the respondent shall be provided
with notice of any permanency hearing held pursuant to this section by
the office of children and family services or the commissioner of social
services with whom the respondent was placed. Such foster parent,
pre-adoptive parent and relative shall have the right to be heard at any
such hearing; provided, however, no such foster parent, pre-adoptive
parent or relative shall be construed to be a party to the hearing
solely on the basis of such notice and right to be heard. The failure of
the foster parent, pre-adoptive parent, or relative caring for the child
to appear at a permanency hearing shall constitute a waiver of the right
to be heard and such failure to appear shall not cause a delay of the
permanency hearing nor shall such failure to appear be a ground for the
invalidation of any order issued by the court pursuant to this section.

7. At the permanency hearing, the court must consider and determine in
its order:

(a) where appropriate, that reasonable efforts were made to make it
possible for the respondent to return safely to his or her home, or if
the permanency plan for the respondent is adoption, guardianship or
another permanent living arrangement other than reunification with the
parent or parents of the respondent, that reasonable efforts were made
to make and finalize such alternate permanent placement including
consideration of appropriate in-state and out-of-state placements;

(b) in the case of a respondent who has attained the age of fourteen,
(i) the services needed, if any, to assist the respondent to make the
transition from foster care to successful adulthood; and (ii)(A) that
the permanency plan developed for the respondent, and any revision or
addition to the plan, shall be developed in consultation with the
respondent and, at the option of the respondent, with up to two members
of the respondent's permanency planning team who are selected by the
respondent and who are not a foster parent of, or case worker, case
planner or case manager for, the child, except that the local
commissioner of social services with custody of the respondent or the
commissioner of the office of children and family services if such
office has custody of the respondent may reject an individual selected
by the respondent if such commissioner has good cause to believe that
the individual would not act in the best interests of the respondent,
and (B) that one individual so selected by the respondent may be
designated to be the respondent's advisor and, as necessary, advocate,
with respect to the application of the reasonable and prudent parent
standard;

(c) in the case of a respondent placed outside of this state, whether
the out-of-state placement continues to be appropriate and in the best
interests of the respondent;

(d) with regard to the completion of placement ordered by the court
pursuant to section 353.3 or 355.3 of this part: whether and when the
respondent: (i) will be returned to the parent; (ii) should be placed
for adoption with the local commissioner of social services filing a
petition for termination of parental rights; (iii) should be referred
for legal guardianship; (iv) should be placed permanently with a fit and
willing relative; or (v) should be placed in another planned permanent
living arrangement with a significant connection to an adult willing to
be a permanency resource for the respondent if the respondent is age
sixteen or older and (A) the office of children and family services or
the local commissioner of social services has documented to the court:
(1) the intensive, ongoing, and, as of the date of the hearing,
unsuccessful efforts made to return the respondent home or secure a
placement for the respondent with a fit and willing relative including
adult siblings, a legal guardian, or an adoptive parent, including
through efforts that utilize search technology including social media to
find biological family members for children, (2) the steps being taken
to ensure that (I) the respondent's foster family home or child care
facility is following the reasonable and prudent parent standard in
accordance with guidance provided by the United States department of
health and human services, and (II) the respondent has regular, ongoing
opportunities to engage in age or developmentally appropriate activities
including by consulting with the respondent in an age-appropriate manner
about the opportunities of the respondent to participate in activities;
and (B) the office of children and family services or the local
commissioner of social services has documented to the court and the
court has determined that there are compelling reasons for determining
that it continues to not be in the best interest of the respondent to
return home, be referred for termination of parental rights and placed
for adoption, placed with a fit and willing relative, or placed with a
legal guardian; and (C) the court has made a determination explaining
why, as of the date of this hearing, another planned living arrangement
with a significant connection to an adult willing to be a permanency
resource for the respondent is the best permanency plan for the
respondent; and

(e) with regard to the completion or extension of placement ordered by
the court pursuant to section 353.3 or 355.3 of this article, the steps
that must be taken by the agency with which the respondent is placed to
implement the plan for release or conditional release submitted pursuant
to paragraph (c) of subdivision seven of section 353.3 of this article,
including consideration of appropriate in-state and out-of-state
placements, the adequacy of such plan and any modifications that should
be made to such plan.

8. At the permanency hearing, the court shall consult with the
respondent in an age-appropriate manner regarding the permanency plan
for the respondent; provided, however, that if the respondent is age
sixteen or older and the requested permanency plan for the respondent is
placement in another planned permanent living arrangement with a
significant connection to an adult willing to be a permanency resource
for the respondent, the court must ask the respondent about the desired
permanency outcome for the respondent.

9. The court shall not reduce or terminate the placement of the
respondent prior to the completion of the period of placement ordered by
the court pursuant to section 353.3 or 355.3 of this article.

10. Where the respondent remains placed in a qualified residential
treatment program, as defined in section four hundred nine-h of the
social services law, the commissioner of the local social services
district or the office of children and family services with legal
custody of the respondent shall submit evidence at the permanency
hearing with respect to the respondent:

(a) demonstrating that ongoing assessment of the strengths and needs
of the respondent cannot be met through placement in a foster family
home, that the placement in a qualified residential treatment program
provides the most effective and appropriate level of care for the
respondent in the least restrictive environment, and that the placement
is consistent with the short-term and long-term goals for the
respondent, as specified in the respondent's permanency plan;

(b) documenting the specific treatment and service needs that will be
met for the respondent in the placement and the length of time the
respondent is expected to need the treatment or services; and

(c) documenting the efforts made by the local social services district
or the office of children and family services with legal custody of the
respondent to prepare the respondent to return home, or to be placed
with a fit and willing relative, legal guardian or adoptive parent, or
in a foster family home.