N.Y. Family Court Act § 352.2: Order of disposition

§ 352.2. Order of disposition. 1. Upon the conclusion of the

dispositional hearing, the court shall enter an order of disposition:

(a) conditionally discharging the respondent in accord with section

353.1; or

(b) putting the respondent on probation in accord with section 353.2;

or

(c) continuing the proceeding and placing the respondent in accord

with section 353.3; or

(d) placing the respondent in accord with section 353.4; or

(e) continuing the proceeding and placing the respondent under a

restrictive placement in accord with section 353.5.

2. (a) In determining an appropriate order the court shall consider

the needs and best interests of the respondent as well as the need for

protection of the community. If the respondent has committed a

designated felony act the court shall determine the appropriate

disposition in accord with section 353.5. In all other cases the court

shall order the least restrictive available alternative enumerated in

subdivision one which is consistent with the needs and best interests of

the respondent and the need for protection of the community.

(b) In an order of disposition entered pursuant to section 353.3 or

353.4 of this chapter, or where the court has determined pursuant to

section 353.5 of this chapter that restrictive placement is not

required, which order places the respondent with the commissioner of

social services or with the office of children and family services for

placement with an authorized agency or class of authorized agencies or

in such facilities designated by the office of children and family

services as are eligible for federal reimbursement pursuant to title

IV-E of the social security act, the court in its order shall determine

(i) that continuation in the respondent's home would be contrary to the

best interests of the respondent; or in the case of a respondent for

whom the court has determined that continuation in his or her home would

not be contrary to the best interests of the respondent, that

continuation in the respondent's home would be contrary to the need for

protection of the community; (ii) that where appropriate, and where

consistent with the need for protection of the community, reasonable

efforts were made prior to the date of the dispositional hearing to

prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the respondent from his or

her home, or if the child was removed from his or her home prior to the

dispositional hearing, where appropriate and where consistent with the

need for safety of the community, whether reasonable efforts were made

to make it possible for the child to safely return home. If the court

determines that reasonable efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for

removal of the child from the home were not made but that the lack of

such efforts was appropriate under the circumstances, or consistent with

the need for protection of the community, or both, the court order shall

include such a finding; and (iii) in the case of a child who has

attained the age of sixteen, the services needed, if any, to assist the

child to make the transition from foster care to independent living.

(c) For the purpose of this section, when an order is entered pursuant

to section 353.3 or 353.4 of this article, reasonable efforts to prevent

or eliminate the need for removing the respondent from the home of the

respondent or to make it possible for the respondent to return safely to

the home of the respondent shall not be required where the court

determines that:

(1) the parent of such respondent has subjected the respondent to

aggravated circumstances, as defined in subdivision fifteen of section

301.2 of this article;

(2) the parent of such child has been convicted of (i) murder in the

first degree as defined in section 125.27 or murder in the second degree

as defined in section 125.25 of the penal law and the victim was another

child of the parent; or (ii) manslaughter in the first degree as defined

in section 125.20 or manslaughter in the second degree as defined in

section 125.15 of the penal law and the victim was another child of the

parent, provided, however, that the parent must have acted voluntarily

in committing such crime;

(3) the parent of such child has been convicted of an attempt to

commit any of the foregoing crimes, and the victim or intended victim

was the child or another child of the parent; or has been convicted of

criminal solicitation as defined in article one hundred, conspiracy as

defined in article one hundred five or criminal facilitation as defined

in article one hundred fifteen of the penal law for conspiring,

soliciting or facilitating any of the foregoing crimes, and the victim

or intended victim was the child or another child of the parent;

(4) the parent of such respondent has been convicted of assault in the

second degree as defined in section 120.05, assault in the first degree

as defined in section 120.10 or aggravated assault upon a person less

than eleven years old as defined in section 120.12 of the penal law, and

the commission of one of the foregoing crimes resulted in serious

physical injury to the respondent or another child of the parent;

(5) the parent of such respondent has been convicted in any other

jurisdiction of an offense which includes all of the essential elements

of any crime specified in subparagraph two, three or four of this

paragraph, and the victim of such offense was the respondent or another

child of the parent; or

(6) the parental rights of the parent to a sibling of such respondent

have been involuntarily terminated;

unless the court determines that providing reasonable efforts would be

in the best interests of the child, not contrary to the health and

safety of the child, and would likely result in the reunification of the

parent and the child in the foreseeable future. The court shall state

such findings in its order.

If the court determines that reasonable efforts are not required

because of one of the grounds set forth above, a permanency hearing

shall be held pursuant to section 355.5 of this article within thirty

days of the finding of the court that such efforts are not required. The

social services official or the office of children and family services,

where the respondent was placed with such office, shall subsequent to

the permanency hearing make reasonable efforts to place the respondent

in a timely manner and to complete whatever steps are necessary to

finalize the permanent placement of the respondent as set forth in the

permanency plan approved by the court. If reasonable efforts are

determined by the court not to be required because of one of the grounds

set forth in this paragraph, the social services official may file a

petition for termination of parental rights in accordance with section

three hundred eighty-four-b of the social services law.

(d) For the purposes of this section, in determining reasonable

efforts to be made with respect to the respondent, and in making such

reasonable efforts, the respondent's health and safety shall be the

paramount concern.

(e) For the purpose of this section, a sibling shall include a

half-sibling.

* (f)(1) In a social services district operating an approved juvenile

justice services close to home initiative pursuant to section four

hundred four of the social services law, upon the effective date of a

risk assessment instrument and any risk assessment process that have

been approved by the office of children and family services pursuant to

subdivision two-a of section 351.1 of this part, the court shall give

due consideration to the results of the validated risk assessment and

any such process provided to the court pursuant to such subdivision when

determining the appropriate disposition for the respondent.

(2) Any order of the court directing the placement of a respondent

into a residential program shall state:

(i) the level of risk the youth was assessed at pursuant to the

validated risk assessment instrument; and

(ii) if a determination is made to place a youth in a higher level of

placement than appears warranted based on such risk assessment

instrument and any approved risk assessment process, the particular

reasons why such placement was determined to be necessary for the

protection of the community and to be consistent with the needs and best

interests of the respondent; and

(iii) that a less restrictive alternative that would be consistent

with the needs and best interests of the respondent and the need for

protection of the community is not available.

* NB Repealed March 31, 2028

* (g)(i) Once a validated risk assessment instrument and any risk

assessment process is a required part of each probation investigation

ordered under subdivision two of section 351.1 of this part and provided

to the court in accordance with subdivision two-b of such section, the

court shall give due consideration to the results of such validated risk

assessment and any such process when determining the appropriate

disposition for the respondent.

(ii) Any order of the court directing the placement of a respondent

into a residential program shall state:

(A) the level of risk the youth was assessed pursuant to the validated

risk assessment instrument; and

(B) if a determination is made to place a youth in a higher level of

placement than appears warranted based on such risk assessment

instrument and any risk assessment process, the particular reasons why

such placement was determined to be necessary for the protection of the

community and to be consistent with the needs and best interests of the

respondent; and

(C) that a less restrictive alternative that would be consistent with

the needs and best interests of the respondent and the need for

protection of the community is not available.

* NB Repealed March 31, 2028

3. The order shall state the court's reasons for the particular

disposition, including, in the case of a restrictive placement pursuant

to section 353.5, the specific findings of fact required in such

section.

4. Where a youth receives a juvenile delinquency adjudication for

conduct committed when the youth was sixteen years of age or, commencing

on October first, two thousand nineteen, seventeen years of age, that

would solely constitute a violation as defined in subdivision three of

section 10.00 of the penal law and if the presumption pursuant to

subdivision three of section 345.1 of this article has been rebutted,

the court shall have the power to enter an order of disposition in

accordance with paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section. The

court shall not order detention, probation or placement of a youth

solely adjudicated under this subdivision.