Matter of Dashawn N. (Youvonne N.)

127 A.D.3d 976, 4 N.Y.S.3d 913

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: April 15, 2015
• Docket: 2014-07643
• Status: Published

Opinion

Appeals from (1) an order, made after a permanency hearing, of the Family Court, Westchester County (Michelle I. Schauer, J.), entered June 13, 2014, and (2) an order of the same court, also made after a permanency hearing, entered August 21, 2014. Both orders, insofar as appealed from, directed the Westchester County Department of Social Services to provide the mother with visitation with the children Dashawn N. and Judae N. only at the request of the subject children, and did not direct it to facilitate her ability to telephone or visit the children.

Ordered that the appeal from the order entered June 13, 2014, is dismissed, without costs or disbursements, as that order was superseded by the order entered August 21, 2014; and it is further,

Ordered that the order entered August 21, 2014, is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.

The Family Court providently exercised its discretion in directing that the Westchester County Department of Social Services (hereinafter the DSS) provide the mother visitation with the children Dashawn N. and Judae N. only at the request of the subject children and denying the mother’s application to direct the DSS to make additional diligent efforts to facilitate communications and visitation between her and the subject children. At the time of the first permanency hearing at issue here, one of the subject children was over the age of 18 and the other was near her 18th birthday, and both had elected to remain in foster care (see Family Ct Act § 1055 [e]). The record demonstrates that both children are capable of contacting their caseworker or the mother to arrange for visitation, and the mother has the means to contact both children.

Rivera, J.R, Austin, Sgroi and Barros, JJ., concur.