N.Y. Family Court Act § 355.3: Extension of placement

§ 355.3 Extension of placement. 1. In any case in which the respondent

has been placed pursuant to section 353.3 the respondent, the person

with whom the respondent has been placed, the commissioner of social

services, or the division for youth may petition the court to extend

such placement. Such petition shall be filed at least sixty days prior

to the expiration of the period of placement, except for good cause

shown but in no event shall such petition be filed after the original

expiration date.

2. The court shall conduct a hearing concerning the need for

continuing the placement. The respondent, the presentment agency and the

agency with whom the respondent has been placed shall be notified of

such hearing and shall have the opportunity to be heard thereat. If the

petition is filed within sixty days prior to the expiration of the

period of placement, the court shall first determine at such hearing

whether good cause has been shown. If good cause is not shown, the court

shall dismiss the petition.

3. The provisions of sections 350.3 and 350.4 shall apply at such

hearing.

4. At the conclusion of the hearing the court may, in its discretion,

order an extension of the placement for not more than one year. The

court must consider and determine in its order:

(i) that where appropriate, and where consistent with the need for the

protection of the community, reasonable efforts were made to make it

possible for the respondent to safely return to his or her home;

(ii) in the case of a respondent 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; and

(iii) in the case of a child placed outside New York state, whether

the out-of-state placement continues to be appropriate and in the best

interests of the child.

5. Pending final determination of a petition to extend such placement

filed in accordance with the provisions of this section, the court may,

on its own motion or at the request of the petitioner or respondent,

enter one or more temporary orders extending a period of placement for a

period not to exceed thirty days upon satisfactory proof showing

probable cause for continuing such placement and that each temporary

order is necessary. The court may order additional temporary extensions,

not to exceed a total of fifteen days, if the court is unable to

conclude the hearing within the thirty day temporary extension period.

In no event shall the aggregate number of days in extentions granted or

ordered under this subdivision total more than forty-five days. The

petition shall be dismissed if a decision is not rendered within the

period of placement or any temporary extension thereof.

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 his or her consent and in no

event past his or her twenty-first birthday except as provided for in

subdivision four of section 353.5 of this part.

7. A youth who was formerly a respondent pursuant to this article may

be eligible to file a motion pursuant to article ten-B of this act and

may be subsequently placed into foster care, in a supervised setting as

defined in subdivision twenty-two of section three hundred seventy-one

of the social services law or placement in a foster family home, which

shall include a kinship placement or a placement with fictive kin.