In re the Guardianship & Custody of Jemanja B.

287 A.D.2d 298, 731 N.Y.S.2d 361, 2001 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 9350

Opinion

—Orders of disposition, Family Court, Bronx County (Rhoda Cohen, J.), entered on or about July 18, 1996, terminating respondent’s parental rights to the subject children upon a finding of mental illness, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Clear and convincing evidence of mental illness within the meaning of Social Services Law § 384-b (6) (a) as required by Social Services Law § 384-b (4) (c) to terminate parental rights was provided by the psychiatrist who interviewed respondent and reviewed her medical records (see, Matter of David T., 268 AD2d 309). Given such a finding, a dispositional hearing was not a prerequisite to the termination of parental rights (see, id.). We also note the evidence that the children have spent most of their lives in foster care. Concur — Tom, J. P., Andrias, Wallach and Buckley, JJ.