Relates to the number of judges of the family court

BILL NUMBER:S7883

Title of bill

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to the number of judges of the family court

Purpose

This measure would amend the Family Court Act to establish 25 new Family Court judgeships.

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Would amend § 121 of the Family Court Act to increase the number. of Family Court Judges in the City of New York from 47 to 56.

Section 2: Would amend § 131 of the Family Court Act to increase the number of Family Court Judges, each by one, in the following counties: Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Franklin, Nassau, Oneida, Oswego, Schenecta- dy, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester.

Section 3: Would amend § 131 of the Family Court. Act to increase the number of family court judges in 2016, each by one, in the following counties: Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Monroe, and Warren.

Section 4: Establishes a special petitioning period for the judges to be elected in November, 2014.

Section 5: Includes a severability clause.

Effects of present law which this bill would alter

§ 131 of the Family Court Act.

Justification

This measure would amend the Family Court Act to estab- lish 25 new Family Court judgeships. While the past several decades have seen increasing legislative recognition of the needs of children and families in New York, in the form of landmark statutes promoting child permanency and enhancing family justice, these salutary efforts have not been matched by provision for a corps of Family Court. Judge- ships sufficiently large to meet the greater caseloads and complexity of proceedings in our courts today. The consequences Of this neglect, if not attended to soon, will be disturbing, indeed heartbreaking and utterly unacceptable: justice delayed for children and families whose safety and welfare can require immediate intervention, children growing up in foster care instead of permanent homes, children graduating from Family Court to Criminal Court instead of high school and college, missed opportunities and spiraling inefficiency for juvenile and legal defense agencies. This measure will go a long way toward redressing this lamentable condition. If enacted, it would represent the first major infusion of new Family Court Judges in New York in over three decades and begin to provide the state's family justice system with the resources needed to protect the most vulnerable members of our communi- ty.

Prior legislative history

New bill, 2014.

Fiscal implications

$5 million for the period from January 1, 2015 through March 31, 2015.

Effective date

Immediately, provided that the judges created by section two will first take office on January 1,2015 and the judges created by section, 3 will first take office on January 1, 2016.