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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.
-----------------
April 10, 2001
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
Hon. Ann T. Pfau
Administrative Judges
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER OF THE
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:
GENERAL FORMS
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
AND PERMANENCY HEARING (3/00)
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:
GENERAL FORMS
GF-13-a ORDER DIRECTING MEDICAL EXAMINATION (Inpatient)
GF-13-b ORDER DIRECTING EMERGENCY
EVALUATION
(Mental Hygiene Law §9.43)
GF-34 PETITION
FOR PERMANENCY HEARING
GF-35 PERMANENCY HEARING ORDER
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY FORMS
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
3-40 PETITION FOR VIOLATION OF ORDER OF
PROBATION OR
CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE
3-41 ORDER ON VIOLATION OF ORDER OF
PROBATION OR
CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE
PERSON IN NEED OF SUPERVISION FORMS
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
CHILD PROTECTIVE FORMS
10-1 ORDER (Directing
Temporary Removal of Child Before Filing of Petition)
10-2 ORDER (Directing Temporary Removal of
Child After Petition Filed)
10-5 ORDER ON APPLICATION
FOR RETURN OF CHILD
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
10-9 DETERMINATION UPON FACT-FINDING HEARING (Child
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)
10-22 NOTICE OF
PETITION FOR REVIEW OF STATUS OF CHILD FREED
FOR ADOPTION AND PERMANENCY HEARING
10-24 ORDER OF
DISPOSITION (Review of Status of Child Freed for
Adoption and Permanency Hearing)
FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT AND REVIEW FORMS
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)
TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS FORMS
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
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