Bill Text: NY A10581 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Authorizes former foster care youth who have been discharged from foster care to return to foster care placement during the COVID-19 state of emergency without requiring such children to file a motion authorizing their return to foster care placement and places a temporary moratorium on aging out of foster care during a state of emergency.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-12-15 - APPROVAL MEMO.50 [A10581 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10581-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                        10581--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 4, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Wright) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Children  and  Families  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to the placement of  a
          former foster care youth during a certain state of emergency

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision (e) of section 1055 of the family court act, as
     2  amended by chapter 342 of the laws  of  2010,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    (e)  No  placement  may be made or continued under this section beyond
     5  the child's eighteenth birthday without his or her  consent  and  in  no
     6  event  past  his  or her twenty-first birthday. However, a former foster
     7  care youth under the age of twenty-one  who  was  previously  discharged
     8  from  foster  care due to a failure to consent to continuation of place-
     9  ment may make a motion pursuant to section one  thousand  ninety-one  of
    10  this  act  to  return to the custody of the local commissioner of social
    11  services or other officer, board or  department  authorized  to  receive
    12  children  as  public  charges. In such motion, the youth must consent to
    13  enrollment in and attendance at a vocational or educational  program  in
    14  accordance with paragraph two of subdivision (a) of section one thousand
    15  ninety-one  of  this  act.  Provided,  however, that during the state of
    16  emergency declared pursuant to Executive Order 202 of 2020  in  response
    17  to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a former foster care youth
    18  may request to return to the custody of the local commissioner of social
    19  services  or  other  officer,  board or department authorized to receive
    20  children as public charges without making a motion pursuant  to  section
    21  one thousand ninety-one of this act and any requirement to enroll in and
    22  attend a vocational or educational program shall be waived for the dura-
    23  tion of the state of emergency; provided further, however, that during a
    24  state  of  emergency, the local commissioner of social services or other
    25  officer, board or department authorized to receive  children  as  public
    26  charges  shall  be  authorized  to  place  such former foster care youth

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16556-07-0

        A. 10581--A                         2

     1  requesting to return to foster care  placement;  and  provided  further,
     2  however,  that  the local commissioner of social services or other offi-
     3  cer, board or department authorized to receive children as public charg-
     4  es  shall,  when  determining  whether to return such former foster care
     5  youth to foster care placement, take into consideration the factors  the
     6  court  would take into consideration upon making such a determination to
     7  return a child to foster care placement pursuant to section one thousand
     8  ninety-one of this act.
     9    § 2. The opening paragraph of section 1091 of the family court act, as
    10  added by chapter 342 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
    11    A motion to return a former foster care youth under the age  of  twen-
    12  ty-one,  who was discharged from foster care due to a failure to consent
    13  to continuation of placement, to the custody of the  local  commissioner
    14  of  social  services or other officer, board or department authorized to
    15  receive children as public charges, may be made by  such  former  foster
    16  care  youth,  or by a local social services official upon the consent of
    17  such former foster care youth, if there is a compelling reason for  such
    18  former  foster  care  youth  to return to foster care; provided however,
    19  that the court shall not entertain  a  motion  filed  after  twenty-four
    20  months  from  the  date of the first final discharge that occurred on or
    21  after the former  foster  care  youth's  eighteenth  birthday;  provided
    22  further,  however,  that during the state of emergency declared pursuant
    23  to Executive Order 202 of 2020 in  response  to  the  novel  coronavirus
    24  (COVID-19)  pandemic,  a  former  foster care youth shall be entitled to
    25  return to the custody of the local commissioner of  social  services  or
    26  other  officer,  board  or  department authorized to receive children as
    27  public charges without making a motion pursuant to this section and  any
    28  requirement  to  enroll  and attend an educational or vocational program
    29  shall be waived for the duration of the state of emergency.
    30    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
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