Requires local social services district to report to the family court on any change in the placement of a child in foster care

Both the federal ASFA and its State implementing legislation, as well as the subsequently-enacted omnibus permanency legislation L. 2005, c. 3 and State Adoption and Safe Families Acts emphasize that the safety of the child is paramount, compelling the conclusion that the Court and parties must be informed on a timely basis of all events affecting child safety, especially indicated reports of abuse or maltreatment.

Of equal importance, the federal ASFA measures success in terms of outcomes, i.e., the States' ability to reach federally-established targets for timely achievement of permanency for children. The first "Child and Family Service Review (CFSR)," conducted by the Administration for Children and Families of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), concluded that New York State, with among the lowest scores in the nation, has far to go to achieving the federal targets. The second CFSR, which occurred in Spring, 2008, after the New York State Office of Children and Family Services finished implementation of its "Program Improvement Plan," unfortunately reflected only incremental improvement. Legislative action is thus compelled in order to ensure that the Family Courts can exercise their important monitoring functions on the basis of complete, timely information. The 2005 permanency legislation, with its salutary provisions for continuing jurisdiction, was an important step, but further legislation is necessary to ensure that information regarding the most compelling of circumstances is conveyed to the Court, the child's attorney and the parties on a timely basis.

In few areas of the Court's functioning is its continuing jurisdiction as critical as in child welfare, where complex decisions regarding children must be adjusted to the dynamic of their constantly changing needs and circumstances. Federal and state statutes emphasize that safety of the child must be deemed the paramount consideration and that timely achievement of permanence must be the central goal. Not only are these matters of statutory imperative, but they are also determinative of New York State's eligibility for several hundred million dollars of annual federal foster care aid. Prompt receipt by the Court, the parties and attorneys for children of information regarding the child's ever-changing circumstances, both as to any maltreatment suffered by the child and as to changes in the child's placement, is vital to the effective exercise of Family Court's continuing jurisdiction and is a critical component of our State's ability to comply with the ASFA funding eligibility mandates.

Recognizing that "time is of the essence" where children are concerned, this measure is an expanded version of our earlier proposal to assure that Family Court, the parties and children's attorneys are informed promptly of any changes in placement that may warrant Court intervention. The measure would amend sections 1055 and 1089 of the Family Court Act, as well as section 358-a of the Social Services Law, to require an agency with whom a child has been placed, either voluntarily or as a result of an abuse or neglect finding, or to whom guardianship and custody has been transferred as a result of the child being freed for adoption, to report to the Court, the parties and the attorney for the child within 30 days of any change in the child's placement status and within five days of the date that any report of abuse or maltreatment is found to be indicated. The two types of reports, in fact, are related, as the existence of an indicated report of maltreatment may bear directly upon the suitability of a planned status change.

Changes in placement covered by the notification requirement would include, but not be limited to, cases in which the child has been moved from the foster or pre-adoptive home or program into which he or she has been placed, cases in which the foster or preadoptive parents move out of state with the child and, with respect to children not freed for adoption, cases in which a trial or final discharge of the child from foster care has been made. The report of a change in placement must provide enough information for litigants and the Court to assess whether further judicial intervention may be warranted. It must state the reasons for the change, as well as the grounds for the agency's conclusion that the change is in the best interests of the child. This notification requirement does not contemplate court action in every case; nor does it interfere with the discretion of social services agencies to make necessary changes. However, acknowledging that this after-the-fact reporting may, indeed, be less than what may be called for in particular cases, the measure includes a caveat that it is not intended to limit the current discretion enjoyed by Family Court to condition changes in placement, including trial and final discharges, upon prior notice to the Court, the parties and child's attorney.

Both the Adoption and Safe Families Act and recent permanency legislation increased the frequency of judicial reviews of children in foster care, thus minimizing the problem of stale information. However, the ability of Family Court and of the litigants to respond effectively is seriously impeded- and harm to children may be compounded - if information regarding significant changes in a child's status and, importantly, indicated reports of neglect or abuse of a child, is not conveyed to the Court or parties until the next permanency hearing, often a delay of several months. This measure will facilitate timely, informed responses to changes in children's placements and incidents of maltreatment, thus prompting more expeditious and effective resolution of their cases.

This measure, which would have no fiscal impact upon the State, would take effect 90 days after becoming a law.

2008 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S.5846 (Social Services, Children + Families Comm.).