Source: http://delinquency.org/asfa2001/
Timestamp: 2018-04-25 06:19:01
Document Index: 22191714

Matched Legal Cases: ['§1356', '§1355', '§205', '§1355', '§1356', '§1356', '§205', '§307', '§1356', '§355', '§392', '§353', '§205', '§1356', '§9', '§9']

Note: Some of these forms have been superseded again. See Text of
Memorandum and Administrative Order adopting 80 Family Court Forms
and rescinding 61, as of October 11, 2002.
Family Court forms. The following is an OCA explanatory memo followed by an administrative order containing a list of 51 forms which have been revised to comply with L. 2000 ch. 145 and ASFA generally.
The forms are now available at the OCA official site.
TO: Judges of the Family Court
Family Court Judicial Hearing Officers and Court Attorney-Referees
Clerks of the Family Court
FROM: Jonathan Lippman
SUBJECT: Uniform Forms for Use in Family Courts --
Juvenile Delinquency, Foster Care Placement and Review, Persons in
Need of Supervision, Child Abuse and Neglect and Termination of Parental Rights Proceedings
The attached Administrative Order, effective immediately, rescinds 51 Family Court forms and replaces them with 51 new Family Court forms. All are revisions of existing forms, all but 12 of which were among those promulgated in May, 1999, pursuant to enactment of New York State legislation (Laws of 1999, ch.7) implementing the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act (Public Law 105-89), most of which were subsequently revised in May, 2000.
These forms revisions were necessitated by the enactment of Laws of 2000, ch. 145, by the promulgation of amendments to the Uniform Rules of the Family Court on January 31, 2001, and by clarifications issued by the Administration for Children and Families of the United States Department of Health and Human Services with respect to the federal regulations implementing ASFA that became effective March 25, 2000. Like the recent amendments to the Uniform Rules of the Family Court, these forms revisions were recommended by the Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee and were in large part an outgrowth of the Family Court Judges' roundtable discussions at the July, 2000, judicial seminars in which many of you participated.
All Family Courts are reminded that the federal requirements for judicial determinations regarding reasonable efforts and best interests "must be explicitly documented and must be made on a case-by-case basis and so stated in the court order." See 45 CFR §1356.21(d). Section 205.17 of the Uniform Rules of the Family Court requires that the official permanency petition forms must be utilized exclusively in all cases in order to ensure compliance with these federal requirements. Section 205.7(a) of the Uniform Rules of the Family Court further requires that in all cases forms substantially complying with the official forms are required to be utilized.
All of the forms have been redesigned with greater use of check-boxes in order to make them both easier to complete and to read. Additionally, the most significant changes include the following:
1. Clear Deadlines for Filing of Permanency Hearing Petitions and Completion of Permanency Hearings: Deadlines for filing of petitions and completion of hearings appear in bold-face capital letters on both petition and order forms; courts are also free to include actual calendar dates for subsequent permanency hearings in the orders as a further means of ensuring compliance with the federal and state law. Permanency petitions must be filed 60 days in advance of the date the hearing must be completed in accordance with the fixed federal deadlines, i.e., one year from the date the child entered foster care and every year thereafter or, in cases in which the court has determined that reasonable efforts to reunify the family are not required, within 30 days of such a determination. Permanency hearings in cases of children freed for adoption who are either not yet placed in adoptive homes or who are placed, but not yet the subject of adoption petitions, are required on an accelerated six-month schedule. See 45 CFR §§1355.20(a), 1356.21(h); Uniform Rules of the Family Court §§205.17(b), 205.28(d), 205.67(d), 205.81(d). The date of entry into foster care is defined as the earlier of the first judicial finding of child abuse or neglect (in child neglect and abuse cases) or 60 days from the date of removal of the child from home. See 45 CFR §1355.20(a).
2. Judicial determinations of "best interests" and of "reasonable efforts" to prevent a child's removal from the home or to facilitate the child's return: Child protective, juvenile delinquency, persons in need of supervision and voluntary placement forms, as well as orders for in-patient medical and psychiatric examinations, have been revised to promote compliance with the requirement that within 60 days of a child's removal from the home of a parent or specified relative, the court must make a fact-specific determination, explicitly set forth in its order, that reasonable efforts had been made, had not been made but would not have been appropriate or simply had not been made to prevent the removal of the child; if the child had been removed prior to the hearing, similar findings must be made regarding reasonable efforts to facilitate return. If these findings are not made within 60 days of the child's removal, the child is rendered ineligible for federal foster care assistance for the child's entire stay in foster care. See 45 CFR §1356.21(b)(1). Further, these forms incorporate the requirements for a judicial determination of whether remaining in the home would be "contrary to the best interests" of the child. These findings must be made specifically "in the first court ruling that sanctions (even temporarily) the removal of a child from the home" and, if not made at that time, renders the child ineligible for federal foster care assistance for the entire duration of the child's stay in foster care. See 45 CFR §1356.21(c).
Importantly, since the Family Court requires specific information upon which to base these findings, all applications and petitions for removals, remands and placements require statements of supporting facts and check-boxes to indicate sources. See Uniform Rules of the Family Court §§205.28(a), (c); 205.67(a),(c); 205.81(a),(c). The forms have been revised to take advantage of the provision in the commentary to the federal regulations that allows court orders to cross-reference to pleadings or documents and detailed checklists as a means of complying with the requirement for case-specific statements in judicial findings. See 65 Fed. Reg. 4056 (Jan. 25, 2000).
3. Judicial findings in juvenile delinquency and persons in need of supervision cases: Various forms, including supplemental forms used in violation proceedings, have been revised in accordance with the recent amendments to the pre- and post-petition detention provisions in Articles 3 and 7 of the Family Court Act -- amendments incorporating the federal requirements that the Court make specific "reasonable efforts" and "contrary to the best interests" findings at the first detention hearing, even if the detention is in a non-IV-E eligible facility, such as (in JD cases) a secure detention facility. Once the Court orders detention, either by reason of the child's likelihood of committing a crime or of non-appearance or both, the Court must then state in its order whether, based upon the albeit limited information before it, "continuation of the child in the child's home would be contrary to the best interests of the child" and whether "reasonable efforts" were made to prevent the removal or to make it possible for the child to return home, where such efforts would be "appropriate." See Laws of 2000, ch. 145; Family Court Act §§307.4, 320.5, 352.2, 728, 739.
4. Judicial determination of "reasonable efforts" to finalize a permanency plan: Child protective, juvenile delinquency, persons in need of supervision and voluntary placement forms have been revised to include the requirement that, within 12 months of the date the child entered foster care and every 12 months thereafter, the court must make a determination, specifically set forth in its order, that reasonable efforts had been made to "finalize the permanency plan in effect (whether the plan is reunification, adoption, legal guardianship, placement with a fit and willing relative, or placement in another planned permanent living arrangement)..." See 45 CFR §1356.21(b)(2); F.C.A. §§355.5(7)(a), 756-a(d)(i), 1055(b)(iv)(B)(4), 1055-a(6)(a)(iv); S.S.L. §392(6). Consistent with the Family Court's duty to promote permanency, as reflected in its rules, the petition forms have been revised to provide information to the Court regarding any impediments to the fulfillment of the plan, as well as information regarding the child's special needs, if any, and, in juvenile delinquency cases, compliance with the release plan requirements of Family Court Act §353.3(7) [Laws of 2000, ch. 181]. See Uniform Rules of the Family Court §205.17(d).
As in the case of the "reasonable efforts" and "best interests" determinations above, all permanency petitions have been revised to provide specific factual information, as well as sources, for the Family Court to base these findings -information that can be easily transferred to the court orders, as appropriate. Again the forms reflect the provision in the commentary to the federal regulations that allows court orders to cross-reference to pleadings or documents and detailed checklists as a means of complying with the requirement for case-specific statements in judicial findings. See 65 Fed. Reg. 4056 (Jan. 25, 2000).
5. Justification for Specific Placements: Although the federal regulations implementing ASFA state that "FFP [federal financial participation, i.e., foster care assistance] is not available when a court orders a placement with a specific foster care provider" [45 CFR §1356.21(g)(3)], the United States Department of Health and Human Services has issued a clarifying statement that permits foster care assistance so long as the court has considered the views of the state or local foster care agency, as applicable.
Consistent with this interpretation, sections 205.28(c)(4), 205.67(c)(4) and 205.81(c)(5) of the Uniform Rules of the Family Court require the local commissioner of social services and, in juvenile delinquency and persons in need of supervision cases, the presentment agency, if any, and local probation department, and, in juvenile delinquency cases, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, to provide the Family Court with information regarding the position of the applicable state or local agency in any case in which an order of placement specifies "a particular authorized agency or foster care provider." Therefore, all placement order forms in juvenile delinquency, persons in need of supervision and child protective proceedings have been revised to reflect the court's consideration of the position of the relevant state or local agency.
6. Termination of Parental Rights Proceedings: Combined Dispositional and Permanency Hearing Orders: Since the deadline for completing a permanency hearing often arises during the pendency of a proceeding to terminate parental rights, all dispositional orders in termination proceedings have been revised to incorporate the findings and orders required for a permanency hearing. See TPR-2, TPR-5, TPR-7, TPR-9 and TPR-11. Should the court elect to convene a combined dispositional/permanency hearing, notice must be given to relatives and foster parents caring for the child, as well as any prospective adoptive parents. In cases in which the court issues a dispositional order without convening a permanency hearing, boxes relating to the permanency provisions of the form need not be checked.
The permanent neglect, abandonment and severe and repeated abuse dispositional forms (TPR-2, TPR-7 and TPR-11) have also been revised to incorporate the revised court rule regarding suspended judgments [Section 205.50 of the Uniform Rules of the Family Court]. That rule requires that the order, along with a current service plan, be furnished to the respondent and that, where the child is in foster care, the order must set forth the visitation plan between the child and respondent and between the child and his or her siblings or half-siblings, if any, and must also direct the agency to notify the respondent regarding case conferences.
A hard copy of all revised forms is attached and a complete set on WordPerfect disks will be provided as well to each Clerk of the Family Court. We will also be posting the forms on the Unified Court System web-site ( and CourtNet, the intra-net web-site available for Groupwise users. Please replace the existing forms with the newly promulgated forms.
cc.: Hon. Joseph J. Traficanti, Jr.
Hon. Joan B. Carey
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE OF THE COURTS
Pursuant to Section 212 of the Judiciary Law and Section 214 of the Family Court Act, I hereby rescind the following 51 forms for use in Family Court proceedings in the courts of the Unified Court System of the State of New York:
GF-13-a ORDER DIRECTING MEDICAL EXAMINATION (Inpatient)
(12/97)
GF-13-b ORDER DIRECTING EMERGENCY EVALUATION
(Mental Hygiene Law §9.43) (12/97)
GF-34 PETITION FOR PERMANENCY HEARING (3/00)
GF-35 PERMANENCY HEARING ORDER (3/00)
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY FORMS
3-4 APPLICATION - PRE-PETITION DETENTION (7/83)
3-6 ORDER DIRECTING DETENTION OF CHILD (Pre-petition) (3/00)
3-11 ORDER DIRECTING DETENTION OF RESPONDENT (3/00)
3-29 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (3/00)
3-30 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (After Order of Removal with Finding) (3/00)
3-31 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Designated Felony; No Restrictive Placement) (3/00)
3-32 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Designated Felony - After Order of Removal with Finding; No Restrictive Placement) (3/00)
3-38 PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY HEARING (3/00)
3-39 EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY HEARING ORDER (3/00)
3-40 PETITION FOR VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROBATION OR
CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE (7/83)
3-41 ORDER ON VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROBATION OR
CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE (12/97)
PERSON IN NEED OF SUPERVISION FORMS
7-3 ORDER DIRECTING DETENTION OF CHILD (Post-petition) (3/00)
7-8 ORDER OF FACT-FINDING AND DISPOSITION (3/00)
7-15 PETITION FOR VIOLATION OF ORDER OF DISPOSITION (7/83)
7-16 ORDER ON VIOLATION OF ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Probation or Suspended Judgment) (12/97)
7-17 ORDER ON VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PLACEMENT DISPOSITION (12/97)
7-18 PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT
AND PERMANENCY HEARING (3/00)
7-19 EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY
HEARING ORDER (3/00)
CHILD PROTECTIVE FORMS
10-1 ORDER DIRECTING TEMPORARY REMOVAL OF CHILD (Before Filing of Petition) (3/00)
10-2 ORDER (Directing Temporary Removal of Child After Petition Filed) (3/00)
10-5 ORDER ON APPLICATION FOR RETURN OF CHILD
TEMPORARILY REMOVED FROM HOME (3/00)
10-6 PETITION (Neglect) (2/99)
10-7 PETITION (Child Abuse, Severe Abuse or Repeated Abuse) (2/99)
10-8 ORDER (Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal) (12/97)
10-8a APPLICATION TO RESTORE CASE ADJOURNED IN CONTEMPLATION OF DISMISSAL TO CALENDAR (2/99)
10-9 DETERMINATION UPON FACT-FINDING HEARING (Child
Neglect or Abuse) (2/99)
10-10 ORDER OF FACT-FINDING AND DISPOSITION (AND PERMANENCY HEARING) (3/00)
10-13 PETITION (Violation of Order of Disposition) (2/99)
10-14 ORDER (Violation of Order of Disposition) (3/00)
10-17 PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND
PERMANENCY HEARING (3/00)
10-18 ORDER ON PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT
10-20 PETITION FOR REVIEW OF STATUS OF CHILD FREED FOR ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY HEARING (Authorized Agency) (3/00)
10-21 PETITION FOR REVIEW OF STATUS OF CHILD FREED FOR ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY HEARING (Foster Parent) (3/00)
10-22 NOTICE OF PETITION FOR REVIEW OF STATUS OF CHILD FREED FOR ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY HEARING
(3/00)
10-24 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Review of Status of Child Freed for Adoption and Permanency Hearing) (3/00)
FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT AND REVIEW FORMS
358-a-1 PETITION FOR APPROVAL OF AN INSTRUMENT (3/00)
358-a-4 TEMPORARY ORDER APPROVING PLACEMENT INSTRUMENT (12/97)
358-a-5 ORDER OF DISPOSITION -PETITION FOR APPROVAL OF AN INSTRUMENT (3/00)
392-1 PETITION FOR REVIEW OF FOSTER CARE STATUS AND PERMANENCY HEARING (Authorized Agency) (3/00)
392-2 PETITION FOR REVIEW OF FOSTER CARE STATUS AND PERMANENCY HEARING (Foster Parent) (3/00)
392-4 NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR REVIEW OF FOSTER CARE STATUS (9/86)
392-5 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Review of Foster Care Status and Permanency Hearing) (3/00)
TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS FORMS
TPR-2 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Permanent Neglect) (2/99)
TPR-5 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Parents Deceased) (12/97)
TPR-7 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Abandonment) (2/99)
TPR-9 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Mental Illness or Mental
Retardation of Parents) (2/99)
TPR-11 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Severely or Repeatedly Abused Child) (2/99)
I hereby prescribe the following 51 forms for use in Family Court proceedings in the Unified Court System of the State of New York:
(Mental Hygiene Law §9.43)
GF-34 PETITION FOR PERMANENCY HEARING
GF-35 PERMANENCY HEARING ORDER
3-4 APPLICATION - PRE-PETITION DETENTION
3-6 ORDER DIRECTING DETENTION OF CHILD (Pre-petition)
3-11 ORDER DIRECTING DETENTION OF RESPONDENT
3-29 ORDER OF DISPOSITION
3-30 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (After Order of Removal with Finding)
3-31 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Designated Felony; No Restrictive Placement)
3-32 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Designated Felony - After Order of Removal with Finding; No Restrictive Placement)
3-38 PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY HEARING
3-39 ORDER ON PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY HEARING
7-3 ORDER DIRECTING DETENTION OF CHILD
7-8 ORDER OF FACT-FINDING AND DISPOSITION
7-15 PETITION FOR VIOLATION OF ORDER OF DISPOSITION
7-16 ORDER ON VIOLATION OF ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Probation or Suspended Judgment)
7-17 ORDER ON VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PLACEMENT DISPOSITION
7-18 PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY HEARING
7-19 EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY HEARING ORDER
10-1 ORDER (Directing Temporary Removal of Child Before Filing of Petition)
10-2 ORDER (Directing Temporary Removal of Child After Petition Filed)
TEMPORARILY REMOVED FROM HOME
10-6 PETITION (Neglect)
10-7 PETITION (Child Abuse, Severe Abuse or Repeated Abuse)
10-8 ORDER (Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal)
10-8a APPLICATION TO RESTORE CASE ADJOURNED IN CONTEMPLATION OF DISMISSAL TO CALENDAR
Neglect or Abuse)
10-10 ORDER OF FACT-FINDING AND DISPOSITION (AND PERMANENCY HEARING)
10-13 PETITION (Violation of Order of Disposition)
10-14 ORDER (Violation of Order of Disposition)
10-17 PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY HEARING
10-18 ORDER ON PETITION FOR EXTENSION OF PLACEMENT AND PERMANENCY HEARING
10-20 PETITION FOR REVIEW OF STATUS OF CHILD FREED FOR ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY HEARING (Authorized Agency)
10-21 PETITION FOR REVIEW OF STATUS OF CHILD FREED FOR ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY HEARING (Foster Parent)
10-24 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Review of Status of Child Freed for Adoption and Permanency Hearing)
358-a-1 PETITION FOR APPROVAL OF AN INSTRUMENT
358-a-4 TEMPORARY ORDER APPROVING PLACEMENT INSTRUMENT
358-a-5 ORDER OF DISPOSITION --- PETITION FOR APPROVAL OF AN INSTRUMENT
392-1 PETITION FOR REVIEW OF FOSTER CARE STATUS AND PERMANENCY HEARING (Authorized Agency)
392-2 PETITION FOR REVIEW OF FOSTER CARE STATUS AND PERMANENCY HEARING (Foster Parent)
392-4 NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR REVIEW OF FOSTER CARE STATUS AND PERMANENCY HEARING
392-5 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (Review of Foster Care Status and Permanency Hearing)
TPR-2 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (AND PERMANENCY HEARING)
(Permanent Neglect)
TPR-5 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (AND PERMANENCY HEARING)
(Parents Deceased)
TPR-7 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (AND PERMANENCY HEARING) (Abandonment)
TPR-9 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (AND PERMANENCY HEARING)
(Mental Illness or Mental Retardation of Parents)
TPR-11 ORDER OF DISPOSITION (AND PERMANENCY HEARING)
(Severely or Repeatedly Abused Child)
/s/ Jonathan Lippman CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE OF THE COURTS
Dated: Apr. 12, 2001 AO/ 214 /2001
Last updated October 18, 2001
Delinquency.org
Law Offices of George E. Reed, Jr.
Contact us at webmaster@delinquency.org