§ 1051 — Sustaining or dismissing petition

§ 1051. Sustaining or dismissing petition. (a) If facts sufficient to\nsustain the petition are established in accord with part four of this\narticle, or if all parties and the attorney for the child consent, the\ncourt shall, subject to the provisions of subdivision (c) of this\nsection, enter an order finding that the child is an abused child or a\nneglected child and shall state the grounds for the finding.\n (b) If the proof does not conform to the specific allegations of the\npetition, the court may amend the allegations to conform to the proof;\nprovided, however, that in such case the respondent shall be given\nreasonable time to prepare to answer the amended allegations.\n (c) If facts sufficient to sustain the petition under this article are\nnot established, or if, in a case of alleged neglect, the court\nconcludes that its aid is not required on the record before it, the\ncourt shall dismiss the petition and shall state on the record the\ngrounds for the dismissal.\n (d) If the court makes a finding of abuse or neglect, it shall\ndetermine, based upon the facts adduced during the fact-finding hearing\nand any other additional facts presented to it, whether a preliminary\norder pursuant to section one thousand twenty-seven is required to\nprotect the child's interests pending a final order of disposition. The\ncourt shall state the grounds for its determination. In addition, a\nchild found to be abused or neglected may be removed and remanded to a\nplace approved for such purpose by the local social services department\nor be placed in the custody of a suitable person, pending a final order\nof disposition, if the court finds that there is a substantial\nprobability that the final order of disposition will be an order of\nplacement under section one thousand fifty-five. In determining whether\nsubstantial probability exists, the court shall consider the\nrequirements of subdivision (b) of section one thousand fifty-two.\n (e) If the court makes a finding of abuse, it shall specify the\nparagraph or paragraphs of subdivision (e) of section one thousand\ntwelve of this act which it finds have been established. If the court\nmakes a finding of abuse as defined in paragraph (iii) of subdivision\n(e) of section one thousand twelve of this act, it shall make a further\nfinding of the specific sex offense as defined in article one hundred\nthirty of the penal law. In addition to a finding of abuse, the court\nmay enter a finding of severe abuse or repeated abuse, as defined in\nsubparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a) or subparagraphs (i)\nand (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision eight of section three hundred\neighty-four-b of the social services law, which shall be admissible in a\nproceeding to terminate parental rights pursuant to paragraph (e) of\nsubdivision four of section three hundred eighty-four-b of the social\nservices law; provided, however, that a finding of severe or repeated\nabuse under this section may be made against any respondent as defined\nin subdivision (a) of section one thousand twelve of this act. If the\ncourt makes such additional finding of severe abuse or repeated abuse,\nthe court shall state the grounds for its determination, which shall be\nbased upon clear and convincing evidence.\n (f) Prior to accepting an admission to an allegation or permitting a\nrespondent to consent to a finding of neglect or abuse, the court shall\ninform the respondent that such an admission or consent will result in\nthe court making a fact-finding order of neglect or abuse, as the case\nmay be, and shall further inform the respondent in substantially the\nfollowing terms of the potential consequences of such order, including\nbut not limited to the following:\n (i) that the court will have the power to make an order of\ndisposition, which may include an order placing the subject child or\nchildren in foster care until completion of the initial permanency\nhearing scheduled pursuant to section one thousand eighty-nine of this\nact and subject to successive extensions of placement at any subsequent\npermanency hearings;\n (ii) that the placement of the children in foster care may, if the\nparent fails to maintain contact with or plan for the future of the\nchild, lead to proceedings for the termination of parental rights and to\nthe possibility of adoption of the child if the child remains in foster\ncare for fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months, the agency may be\nrequired by law to file a petition to terminate parental rights;\n (iii) that any report made to the state central register of child\nabuse and maltreatment of allegations on which the court makes a finding\nof abuse or neglect will remain indicated in the register until ten\nyears after the eighteenth birthday of the youngest child named in such\nreport unless such finding is vacated or dismissed, and that:\n (A) the respondent will be unable to amend such report in the state\ncentral register; and\n (B) the existence of such report may be made known to employers\nrequired to screen employee or volunteer applicants for positions where\nthe individual has the potential for regular and substantial contact\nwith children, and to child care agencies if the respondent applies to\nbecome a foster parent or adoptive parent unless:\n (1) the court finding is for neglect and the report is eight or more\nyears old; or\n (2) the report was determined not to be relevant to positions\ninvolving contact with children in an earlier administrative proceeding.\n Any finding upon such an admission or consent made without such notice\nbeing given by the court shall be vacated upon motion of any party. In\nno event shall a person other than the respondent, either in person or\nin writing, make an admission or consent to a finding of neglect or\nabuse.\n