Bill Text: NY S07447 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Allows the court to enter an order regarding a destitute minor freeing the child for adoption and granting guardianship and custody to the commissioner of social services for the purposes of consenting to an adoption; authorizes certain commissioners of public welfare and city public welfare officers to consent to such adoptions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-04 - referred to children and families [S07447 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07447-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7447

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 26, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. PERSAUD -- (at request of the Office of Court Admin-
          istration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed  to  be
          committed to the Committee on Children and Families

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the family court act and the social services law, in
          relation to dispositional alternatives for children placed with  local
          social services agencies as destitute minors

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision (d) of section 1095 of the family court act, as
     2  amended by chapter 3 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
     3    (d) If the court sustains the petition pursuant to subdivision (b)  of
     4  this  section, it may immediately convene a dispositional hearing or may
     5  adjourn the proceeding for further inquiries to be made prior to  dispo-
     6  sition  provided  however, that if a petition pursuant to article six of
     7  this act has been filed by a person or persons seeking custody or  guar-
     8  dianship of the child, or if a petition pursuant to article seventeen of
     9  the  surrogate's  court  procedure act seeking guardianship of the child
    10  has been filed, the court shall consolidate  the  dispositional  hearing
    11  with  a  hearing  under section one thousand ninety-six of this article,
    12  unless consolidation would not be appropriate under  the  circumstances.
    13  If  the  court  does  not  consolidate such dispositional proceedings it
    14  shall hold the dispositional hearing  under  this  section  in  abeyance
    15  pending the disposition of the petition filed pursuant to article six of
    16  this  act  or  article seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act.
    17  Based upon material and relevant evidence presented at the dispositional
    18  hearing, the court shall enter  an  order  of  disposition  stating  the
    19  grounds for its order and directing one of the following alternatives:
    20    (1)  placing  the child in the care and custody of the commissioner of
    21  social services; [or]
    22    (2) granting an order of custody or guardianship to relatives or suit-
    23  able persons pursuant to a petition under article six  of  this  act  or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09713-01-3

        S. 7447                             2

     1  guardianship of the child to a relative or suitable person under article
     2  seventeen  of the surrogate's court procedure act and in accordance with
     3  section one thousand ninety-six of this article; or
     4     (3)  freeing  the  child  for  adoption and granting guardianship and
     5  custody to the commissioner of  social  services  for  the  purposes  of
     6  consenting  to  an  adoption  where  both  of  the  child's  parents are
     7  deceased, or where one of the child's parents is deceased and the  other
     8  parent  is  not  entitled  to consent or notice pursuant to sections one
     9  hundred eleven and one hundred eleven-a of the domestic relations law or
    10  section three hundred eighty-four-c of the social services  law  and  no
    11  other guardian or custodian has been appointed.
    12    §  2.  Section 1095 of the family court act is amended by adding a new
    13  subdivision (h) to read as follows:
    14     (h) If the child has been freed for adoption  pursuant  to  paragraph
    15  three  of  subdivision  (d) of this section, the court shall include the
    16  following in its order:
    17    (1) a date certain for the permanency hearing in accordance with para-
    18  graph two of subdivision (a) of section one thousand eighty-nine of this
    19  act;
    20    (2)  a direction that the child be placed together with or,  at  mini-
    21  mum,  to visit and have regular communication with, his or her siblings,
    22  if any, unless contrary to the best interests of the  child  and/or  the
    23  siblings;
    24    (3)  if  the  child is or will be fourteen or older by the date of the
    25  permanency hearing, the services and assistance that may be necessary to
    26  assist the child in learning independent living skills; and
    27    (4) a direction for the commissioner of social services to provide  or
    28  arrange  for  services    or  assistance, limited to those authorized or
    29  required to be made available under the  comprehensive  annual  services
    30  program plan then in effect, to facilitate the child's permanency plan.
    31    §  3.  Paragraphs  (b)  and (c) of subdivision 1 of section 398 of the
    32  social services law, paragraph (b) as added and paragraph (c) as amended
    33  by chapter 3 of the laws of 2012, are amended and a new paragraph (d) is
    34  added to read as follows:
    35    (b) report to the local criminal justice agency and to  the  statewide
    36  central  register  for  missing  children  as described in section eight
    37  hundred thirty-seven-e of the executive law such relevant information as
    38  required on a form prescribed by the commissioner  of  the  division  of
    39  criminal justice services, in appropriate instances; [and]
    40    (c) assume charge of and provide care and support for any child who is
    41  a  destitute  child  pursuant  to  paragraph (a) of subdivision three of
    42  section three hundred seventy-one of this article who cannot be properly
    43  cared for in his or her home, and if required, petition the family court
    44  to obtain custody of the child in accordance with article ten-C  of  the
    45  family court act[.]; and
    46    (d)  consent to the adoption of a child whose custody and guardianship
    47  has been transferred to a social services district  in  accordance  with
    48  section  one  thousand  ninety-five of the family court act or paragraph
    49  (a) of subdivision four of section three hundred eighty-four-b  of  this
    50  article,  where  the  child's  parents  are  both deceased, or where one
    51  parent is deceased and the other  parent is not entitled to  consent  or
    52  notice  pursuant to sections one hundred eleven and one hundred eleven-a
    53  of the domestic relations law or section three hundred eighty-four-c  of
    54  this article and no other guardian or custodian has been appointed.
    55    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    56  have become a law.
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