What's happening
This bill allows certain former foster care youth up to age 21, especially those at risk of homelessness, to reenter foster care under expanded eligibility and procedural rules.
Why it matters
Addresses housing instability for vulnerable youth. By allowing reentry for those discharged after age 16 who are or are likely to be homeless, the bill targets a population at high risk for homelessness, aiming to give them access to supportive services and stable housing.
Expands eligibility and clarifies procedures. The new definitions and procedural rules make it easier for both former foster youth and officials to initiate reentry, reducing ambiguity about who qualifies and how to apply, which could increase the number of eligible youth who actually access foster care reentry.
Limits and safeguards reentry requests. The bill sets clear time limits (e.g., within 24 months of discharge after age 18) and requires that reentry be in the youth’s best interest, with no reasonable alternative to foster care. This balances expanded access with oversight to prevent misuse or inappropriate placements.
Strengthens court oversight and accountability. By maintaining court jurisdiction for these cases and requiring the court to find that refusals by agencies are unreasonable under defined conditions, the bill creates a legal backstop against arbitrary denials and ensures youth rights are protected.
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Who cares
Former foster youth ages 18–20
The bill would expand eligibility to seek reentry into foster care to qualifying youth discharged at age 16 or older who are homeless or likely to become homeless without returning to care.
Local social services districts and authorized foster care agencies
The bill would allow applicable officials to seek eligible youths’ return with their consent and extend procedures for court review of refusals to allow reentry.
Office of Children and Family Services
The bill would establish a reentry route for eligible youth previously placed in its non-secure or limited secure care in counties without an approved Close to Home program.
Family Court judges and attorneys for foster youth
The bill would broaden the cases eligible for reentry proceedings and set filing deadlines based on whether a youth was discharged before or after turning 18.
Headline styles
Let Foster Youth Return
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
13 Co-sponsors
2 Multi-sponsors
History
- Amended on third reading 7555b
- Amended on third reading 7555a
- Ordered to third reading cal.524
- Advanced to third reading cal.555
- Reported
- Reported referred to codes
- Referred to children and families
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Let Foster Youth Return
In Senate Committee · Children And Families · Sponsor Tony Avella
Full text
5 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7555--B Cal. No. 524
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 2, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. JAFFEE, RIVERA, DICKENS, L. ROSENTHAL, D'URSO, McDONOUGH, WILLIAMS, SIMON, GALEF, ERRIGO, WRIGHT, PICHARDO, ARROYO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COOK -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families -- ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading -- again amended on third reading, ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to reentry of former foster care children into foster care
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 355.3 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 663 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
6. Successive extensions of placement under this section may be granted, but no placement may be made or continued beyond the respondent's eighteenth birthday without [the child's] his or her consent and in no event past [the child's] his or her twenty-first birthday. A respondent who has attained the age of eighteen but is less than twenty-one years of age may move or, with his or her consent, may be the subject of a motion to reenter foster care in accordance with the provisions of section one thousand ninety-one of this act, provided that:
(i) the respondent was either discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of eighteen due to a failure to consent to the continuation of placement or was discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of sixteen but who is or is likely to be homeless unless returned to foster care; and
(ii) where the respondent had been previously placed or transferred into placement with a local social services district pursuant to this section or section 353.3 or 355.1 of this part, the motion may be made
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10273-05-8
A. 7555--B 2
by a social services official; or where the respondent had been previously placed with the state office of children and family services for a non-secure or limited secure level of care pursuant to this section or section 353.3 or 355.1 of this part where the placement was made in a county that does not have an approved "close to home" program, the motion may be made by an official of the state office of children and family services.
§ 2. Subdivision 6 of section 355.3 of the family court act, as amended by section 75 of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
6. Successive extensions of placement under this section may be granted, but no placement may be made or continued beyond the respondent's eighteenth birthday without [the child's] his or her consent for acts committed before the respondent's sixteenth birthday and in no event past [the child's] his or her twenty-first birthday except as provided for in subdivision four of section 353.5 of this part. A respondent who has attained the age of eighteen but is less than twenty-one years of age may move or, with his or her consent, may be the subject of a motion to reenter foster care in accordance with the provisions of section one thousand ninety-one of this act, provided that:
(i) the respondent was either discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of eighteen due to a failure to consent to the continuation of placement or was discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of sixteen but who is or is likely to be homeless unless returned to foster care; and
(ii) where the respondent had been previously placed or transferred into placement with a local social services district pursuant to this section or section 353.3 or 355.1 of this part, the motion may be made by a social services official; or where the respondent had been previously placed with the state office of children and family services for a non-secure or limited secure level of care pursuant to this section or section 353.3 or 355.1 of this part where the placement was made in a county that does not have an approved "close to home" program, the motion may be made by an official of the state office of children and family services.
§ 3. Subdivision (f) of section 756-a of the family court act, as added by chapter 604 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
(f) Successive extensions of placement under this section may be granted, but no placement may be made or continued beyond the child's eighteenth birthday without his or her consent and in no event past his or her twenty-first birthday. A child who was previously placed with a local social services district pursuant to section seven hundred fiftysix of this part and who was discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of eighteen due to a failure to consent to continuation of placement or was discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of sixteen but who is or is likely to be homeless unless returned to foster care may move, or, with his or her consent, may be the subject of a motion by a social services official to reenter foster care in accordance with the provisions of section one thousand ninetyone of this act.
§ 4. Section 1088 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 605 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
§ 1088. Continuing court jurisdiction. (a) If a child is placed pursuant to section three hundred fifty-eight-a, three hundred eighty-four, or three hundred eighty-four-a of the social services law, or pursuant to section one thousand seventeen, one thousand twenty-two, one thousand
A. 7555--B 3
twenty-seven, one thousand fifty-two, one thousand eighty-nine, one thousand ninety-one, one thousand ninety-four or one thousand ninetyfive of this act, or directly placed with a relative pursuant to section one thousand seventeen or one thousand fifty-five of this act; or if the child is freed for adoption pursuant to section six hundred thirty-seven of this act or section three hundred eighty-three-c, three hundred eighty-four or three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law, the case shall remain on the court's calendar and the court shall maintain jurisdiction over the case until the child is discharged from placement and all orders regarding supervision, protection or services have expired.
(b) The court shall rehear the matter whenever it deems necessary or desirable, or upon motion by any party entitled to notice in proceedings under this article, or by the attorney for the child, and whenever a permanency hearing is required by this article. While the court maintains jurisdiction over the case, the provisions of section one thousand thirty-eight of this act shall continue to apply.
(c) The court shall also maintain jurisdiction over a case for purposes of hearing a motion to permit a former foster care youth [under the age of twenty-one who was discharged from foster care due to a failure to consent to continuation of placement], as defined in subdivision (a) of section one thousand ninety-one of this act, to return to the custody of the [local commissioner of] social services [or other officer, board or department authorized to receive children as public charges] district from which the youth was most recently discharged, or, in the case of a child freed for adoption, the authorized agency into whose custody and guardianship the child has been placed.
§ 5. Section 1091 of the family court act, as added by chapter 342 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
§ 1091. Motion to return to foster care placement. (a) For purposes of this article, "former foster care youth" shall mean a youth who has attained the age of eighteen but is under the age of twenty-one and who had been:
(1) discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of eighteen due to a failure to consent to continuation in foster care or discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of sixteen but who is or is likely to be homeless unless returned to foster care; and
(2)(i) placed in foster care with a local social services district pursuant to article three, seven, ten, ten-A or ten-C of this act or section three hundred fifty-eight-a of the social services law; or
(ii) freed for adoption in accordance with section six hundred thirty-seven of this act or section three hundred eighty-three-c, three hundred eighty-four or three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law but has not yet been adopted; or
(iii) the subject of a motion to restore parental rights that had been conditionally granted pursuant to paragraph (iii) of subdivision (b) of section six hundred thirty-seven of this act; or
(iv) placed with the office of children and family services for a non-secure or limited secure level of care pursuant to section 353.3, 355.1 or 355.3 of this act where the placement was made in a county that does not have an approved "close to home" program.
(b) A motion to return a former foster care youth [under the age of twenty-one, who was discharged from foster care due to a failure to consent to continuation of placement,] to the custody of the [local commissioner of] social services [or other officer, board or department authorized to receive children as public charges] district from which
A. 7555--B 4
the youth was most recently discharged, or, in the case of a youth placed with the office of children and family services in accordance with subparagraph (iv) of paragraph two of subdivision (a) of this section, the commissioner of the office of children and family services, or, in the case of a child freed for adoption, the social services district or authorized agency into whose custody and guardianship the child has been placed, may be made by such former foster care youth, or by [a] the applicable official of the local social services [official] district, authorized agency or the office of children and family services upon the consent of such former foster care youth, if there is a compelling reason for such former foster care youth to return to foster care[; provided however, that the].
(c) (1) With respect to a former foster care youth discharged on or after his or her eighteenth birthday, the court shall not entertain a motion filed after twenty-four months from the date of the first final discharge that occurred on or after the former foster care youth's eighteenth birthday.
(2) With respect to a former foster care youth discharged prior to his or her eighteenth birthday, the court shall not entertain a motion filed after his or her twenty-first birthday.
[(a)] (d) A motion made pursuant to this [section] article by [a] the applicable official of the local social services [official] district, authorized agency or the office of children and family services shall be made by order to show cause. Such motion shall show by affidavit or other evidence that:
(1) the former foster care youth has no reasonable alternative to foster care;
(2) the former foster care youth consents to enrollment in and attendance at an appropriate educational or vocational program, unless evidence is submitted that such enrollment or attendance is unnecessary or inappropriate, given the particular circumstances of the youth;
(3) re-entry into foster care is in the best interests of the former foster care youth; [and]
(4) the former foster care youth consents to the re-entry into foster care; and
(5) in the case of a former foster youth discharged from foster care on or after attaining the age of sixteen, the youth is or is likely to be homeless unless returned to foster care.
[(b)] (e) A motion made pursuant to this [section] article by a former foster care youth shall be made by order to show cause [or] on ten days notice to the applicable official of the local social services [official] district, authorized agency or the office of children and family services. Such motion shall show by affidavit or other evidence that:
(1) the requirements outlined in paragraphs one, two and three and, if applicable, paragraph five of subdivision [(a)] (d) of this section are met; and
(2) (i) the applicable official of the local social services district, authorized agency or the office of children and family services consents to the re-entry of such former foster care youth, or [if]
(ii) the applicable official of the local social services district, authorized agency or the office of children and family services refuses to consent to the re-entry of such former foster care youth and [that] such refusal is unreasonable.
[(c)] (f) (1) If at any time during the pendency of a proceeding brought pursuant to this [section] article, the court finds a compelling reason that it is in the best interests of the former foster care youth
A. 7555--B 5
to be returned immediately to the custody of the applicable local commissioner of social services or [other officer, board or department authorized to receive children as public charges] official of the applicable authorized agency or the office of children and family services, pending a final decision on the motion, the court may issue a temporary order returning the youth to the custody of [the] such local commissioner of social services or other [officer, board or department authorized to receive children as public charges] official.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
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