N.Y. Family Court Act § 1055-b: Custody or guardianship with a parent or parents, relatives or suitable persons pursuant to article six of this act or guardianship with ...

§ 1055-b. Custody or guardianship with a parent or parents, relatives

or suitable persons pursuant to article six of this act or guardianship

with relatives or suitable persons pursuant to article seventeen of the

surrogate's court procedure act. (a) Custody or guardianship with

respondent parent or parents, relatives or suitable persons. At the

conclusion of the dispositional hearing under this article, the court

may enter an order of disposition granting custody or guardianship of

the child to a respondent parent or parents, as defined in subdivision

(1) of section one thousand twelve of this article, or a relative or

relatives or other suitable person or persons pursuant to article six of

this act or an order of guardianship of the child to a relative or

relatives or suitable person or persons under article seventeen of the

surrogate's court procedure act if the following conditions have been

met:

(i) the respondent parent or parents, relative or relatives or

suitable person or persons has or have filed a petition for custody or

guardianship of the child pursuant to article six of this act or, in the

case of a relative or relatives or suitable person or persons, a

petition for guardianship of the child under article seventeen of the

surrogate's court procedure act; and

(ii) the court finds that granting custody or guardianship of the

child to such person or persons is in the best interests of the child

and that the safety of the child will not be jeopardized if the

respondent or respondents under the child protective proceeding are no

longer under supervision or receiving services. In determining whether

the best interests of the child will be promoted by the granting of

guardianship of the child to a relative who has cared for the child as a

foster parent, the court shall give due consideration to the permanency

goal of the child, the relationship between the child and the relative,

and whether the relative and the social services district have entered

into an agreement to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments

for the child to the relative under title ten of article six of the

social services law, and, if so, whether the fact-finding hearing

pursuant to section one thousand fifty-one of this part and a permanency

hearing pursuant to section one thousand eighty-nine of this chapter

have occurred and whether compelling reasons exist for determining that

the return home of the child and the adoption of the child are not in

the best interests of the child and are, therefore, not appropriate

permanency options; and

(iii) the court finds that granting custody or guardianship of the

child to the respondent parent, relative or suitable person under

article six of this act or granting guardianship of the child to the

relative or suitable person under article seventeen of the surrogate's

court procedure act will provide the child with a safe and permanent

home; and

(iv) all parties to the child protective proceeding consent to the

granting of custody or guardianship under article six of this act or the

granting of guardianship under article seventeen of the surrogate's

court procedure act; or, if any of the parties object to the granting of

custody or guardianship, the court has made the following findings after

a joint dispositional hearing on the child protective petition and the

petition under article six of this act or under article seventeen of the

surrogate's court procedure act:

(A) if a relative or relatives or suitable person or persons have

filed a petition for custody or guardianship and a parent or parents

fail to consent to the granting of the petition, the court finds that

the relative or relatives or suitable person or persons have

demonstrated that extraordinary circumstances exist that support

granting an order of custody or guardianship to the relative or

relatives or suitable person or persons and that the granting of the

order will serve the child's best interests; or

(B) if a relative or relatives or suitable person or persons have

filed a petition for custody or guardianship and a party other than the

parent or parents fail to consent to the granting of the petition, the

court finds that granting custody or guardianship of the child to the

relative or relatives or suitable person or persons is in the best

interests of the child; or

(C) if a respondent parent has filed a petition for custody under

article six of this act and a party who is not a parent of the child

objects to the granting of the petition, the court finds either that the

objecting party has failed to establish extraordinary circumstances, or,

if the objecting party has established extraordinary circumstances, that

granting custody to the petitioning respondent parent would nonetheless

be in the child's best interests; or

(D) if a respondent parent has filed a petition for custody under

article six of this act and the other parent objects to the granting of

the petition, the court finds that granting custody to the petitioning

respondent parent is in the child's best interests.

(a-1) Custody and visitation petition of non-respondent parent under

article six of this act. Where a proceeding filed by the non-respondent

parent pursuant to article six of this act is pending at the same time

as a proceeding brought in the family court pursuant to this article,

the court presiding over the proceeding under this article may jointly

hear the dispositional hearing on the child protective petition under

this article and the hearing on the custody and visitation petition

under article six of this act; provided however, the court must

determine the non-respondent parent's custody and visitation petition

filed under article six of this act in accordance with the terms of that

article.

(a-2) Custody and visitation petition of non-respondent parent under

section two hundred forty of the domestic relations law. Where a

proceeding brought in the supreme court involving the custody of, or

right to visitation with, any child of a marriage is pending at the same

time as a proceeding brought in the family court pursuant to this

article, the court presiding over the proceeding under this article may

jointly hear the dispositional hearing on the child protective petition

under article ten of this act and, upon referral from the supreme court,

the hearing to resolve the matter of custody or visitation in the

proceeding pending in the supreme court; provided however, the court

must determine the non-respondent parent's custodial rights in

accordance with the terms of paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section

two hundred forty of the domestic relations law.

(b) An order made in accordance with the provisions of this section

shall set forth the required findings as described in subdivision (a) of

this section where applicable, including, if the guardian and the local

department of social services have entered into an agreement to provide

kinship guardianship assistance payments for the child to the relative

under title ten of article six of the social services law, that a

fact-finding hearing pursuant to section one thousand fifty-one of this

part and a permanency hearing pursuant to section one thousand

eighty-nine of this chapter have occurred, and the compelling reasons

that exist for determining that the return home of the child and the

adoption of the child are not in the best interests of the child and

are, therefore, not appropriate permanency options for the child, and

shall constitute the final disposition of the child protective

proceeding. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court shall

not issue an order of supervision nor may the court require the local

department of social services to provide services to the respondent or

respondents when granting custody or guardianship pursuant to article

six of this act under this section or granting guardianship under

article seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act.

(c) As part of the order granting custody or guardianship pursuant to

article six of this act or granting guardianship under article seventeen

of the surrogate's court procedure act, the court may require that the

local department of social services and the attorney for the child

receive notice of, and be made parties to, any subsequent proceeding to

modify the order of custody or guardianship granted pursuant to the

article six proceeding or the order of guardianship granted pursuant to

article seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act; provided,

however, if the guardian and the local department of social services had

entered into an agreement to provide kinship guardianship assistance

payments for the child to the relative under title ten of article six of

the social services law, the order must require that the local

department of social services and the attorney for the child receive

notice of, and be made parties to, any such subsequent proceeding

regarding custody or guardianship of the child.

(d) An order entered in accordance with this section shall conclude

the court's jurisdiction over the proceeding held pursuant to this

article and the court shall not maintain jurisdiction over the parties

for the purposes of permanency hearings held pursuant to article ten-A

of this act.

(e) The court shall hold age appropriate consultation with the child,

however, if the youth has attained fourteen years of age, the court

shall ascertain his or her preference for a suitable guardian.

Notwithstanding any other section of law, where the youth is over the

age of eighteen, he or she shall consent to the appointment of a

suitable guardian.