Marylou L. v. Tenecha L.

182 Misc. 2d 457, 698 N.Y.S.2d 827, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 474
CourtNew York City Family Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1999
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 182 Misc. 2d 457 (Marylou L. v. Tenecha L.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York City Family Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marylou L. v. Tenecha L., 182 Misc. 2d 457, 698 N.Y.S.2d 827, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 474 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Lee H. Elkins, J.

This is a proceeding for custody of a child in foster care, brought by the child’s maternal grandmother who also is the child’s foster mother. The Administration for Children’s Services supports the petition. The mother of the child, with the support of the Law Guardian, argues that the petitioner lacks standing to seek permanent custody of a child who has been placed, under article 10 of the Family Court Act, in the temporary custody of the Administration for Children’s Services. The petitioner argues that the child’s need for permanency, and the policy reflected in recent amendments to the Family Court Act and Social Services Law intended to expedite the formulation of a permanency plan for the child, should confer standing on such a relative to seek custody of a child in foster care. Amendments to the Family Court Act, Social Services Law and Domestic Relations Law {see, L 1999, ch 7), to conform with the Federal Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (Pub L 105-89, 111 US Stat 2115 [1997] [ASFA]), create a new proceeding, which the statute terms the permanency hearing. The petitioner notes that under the amended statutes, one of the dispositions following a permanency hearing is permanent placement with a fit and willing relative. (Family Ct Act § 1055 [b] [iv] [B] [5] [iv].) The petitioner contends that these amendments confer standing upon relatives to seek permanent custody of a child in foster care, independently of the common-law extraordinary circumstances analysis articulated in Matter of Bennett v Jeffreys (40 NY2d 543 [1976]). As noted previously, the Administration for Children’s Services also argues that the petitioner be granted standing to seek permanent custody of the child.

An order of this court placed the subject child in kinship foster care under Family Court Act § 1055 (a), upon a finding that the respondent mother neglected the child. The subject child initially was paroled to the petitioner grandmother in February 1998, pending trial of Family Court Act article 10 proceeding. The court subsequently found that the respondent mother neglected the child by failing to protect him from acts of violence perpetrated by her paramour, which resulted in the [459]*459child’s arm being fractured. Although the petitioner argued that the court should place the child directly in her custody as a relative, under Family Court Act § 1055 (a), the court placed the child in the custody of the Administration for Children’s Services, to reside with the petitioner for a period of 12 months. This order was effective September 15, 1998.

The disposition of matters relating to children placed into foster care under article 10 of the Family Court Act is governed by a detailed statutory scheme. This statute, which applies to all aspects of the process, supersedes any other statute or common-law principles of general applicability. (See, Matter of Sierra H., 138 Misc 2d 908 [Fam Ct, Broome County 1988]; and see, Matter of Michael B., 80 NY2d 299, 310 [1992].) Therefore, in determining the petition for custody, the court must refer to the statutes which specifically authorized the State to remove the child from the mother’s custody and which delimit the authority of the State to continue as custodian of the child. (Supra.) A foster parent does not have standing to seek custody of a child in temporary foster care. (Matter of Michael B., 80 NY2d 299, supra.) Under the specific terms of article 10 of the Family Court Act, this principle applies equally to kinship foster parents, where a parent appears in the proceeding and objects to the relative’s intervention. Family Court Act § 1035 (f) authorizes the “child’s adult sibling, grandparent, aunt or uncle not named as respondent in the petition” to move to intervene as an interested party intervenor in the proceeding for the purpose of seeking temporary or permanent custody of the child, only upon consent of the child’s parent appearing in the child protective proceeding, or where the parent fails to appear. The statute permits the intervenor relative, with the parent’s consent, to participate in the dispositional phase of the child protective proceeding. Accordingly, where the parent consents, a relative in the required relation to the child may obtain permanent custody, according to the court’s determination of the best interests of the child. (See, e.g., Matter of Wayne M. v Francis N., 154 AD2d 837 [3d Dept 1989].)

However, where the parent, appearing in the child protective proceeding, does not consent to the child being placed permanently in the custody of a relative, no other provision of article 10 of the Family Court Act, as it existed prior to the 1999 amendments, gives a relative the right to intervene in the child protective proceeding to obtain permanent custody of the child. (See, e.g., Matter of Sierra H., 138 Misc 2d 908, supra.) [460]*460Rather, the dispositional options available to the court upon a finding of neglect or abuse are limited to the five specified in Family Court Act § 1052 (a). These five dispositional alternatives are: (1) suspending judgment in accordance with Family Court Act § 1053; (2) releasing the child to the custody of the parent or other person legally responsible in accord with Family Court Act § 1054; (3) placing the child, in accordance with Family Court Act § 1055, with, inter alla, a relative or other suitable person for a one-year period; (4) making an order of protection under Family Court Act § 1056; or (5) placing the respondent under supervision in accordance with Family Court Act § 1057.

As noted by one appellate court, where a child had been placed with the Commissioner to reside in kinship foster care:

“The first, fourth and fifth alternatives are, on their face, inapplicable since a suspended judgment, order of protection or placement under supervision are not involved. The second alternative, release to the custody of a parent or ‘other person legally responsible’ in accord with Family Court Act § 1054, is also inapplicable. Pursuant to section 1054, a person ‘legally responsible’ is one who had legal responsibility for the child ‘at the time of the filing of the petition.’ At the time of the filing of the * * * petitions, the Commissioner had legal custody of the children. {See, Family Ct Act § 1017 [2] [a] [ii]; 18 NYCRR 443.1 [d].) Thus, section 1052 (a) (ii)’s use of the term ‘person legally responsible’ refers to the Commissioner, not to a kinship foster parent who had been approved by the Commissioner.

“While the third alternative of Family Court Act § 1052 (a) authorizes placement with ‘a relative or other suitable person’, such placement is limited to an initial period of one year, as are extensions of placement (Family Ct Act § 1055 [b] [i]), which, as already noted, require a hearing to consider, inter alla, the child’s best interests and the respondent’s compliance with the child services plan (Family Ct Act § 1055 [b] [iv] [A] [3]; [B]). Nothing in Family Court Act § 1055 authorizes the discharge of a child to a relative for an indefinite period of time” (Matter of H./M. Children, 217 AD2d 164, 169-170 [1st Dept 1995]; see also, Matter of Williams v Glass, 245 AD2d 66 [1st Dept 1997]).

[461]*461Prior to the 1999 amendments, the only statutorily authorized means1 to obtain permanent custody of a child in foster care, without consent of the child’s parents, was to seek adoption following termination of parental rights.

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Bluebook (online)
182 Misc. 2d 457, 698 N.Y.S.2d 827, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 474, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marylou-l-v-tenecha-l-nycfamct-1999.