Social Services Motion to Be Relieved of Obligation to Make Efforts to Return Child to Father Granted Even Though Neglect Finding Against Mother Only

Family Court granted a motion by social services to be relieved of its obligation to make further reasonable efforts to return the child to the father.  The child was in foster care after a neglect proceeding against the mother.  In holding that the motion was properly brought and granted, even though a finding of neglect had been made only against the mother, the Third Department wrote:

 A  social services agency may  move  to be  relieved of its obligation to undertake  reasonable efforts to return a child to his or her home  “[i]n conjunction with, or at any time subsequent to, the filing of” an abuse or neglect petition (Family Ct Act §  1039-b  [a]). Here, while a neglect petition was filed solely against the mother, contrary to the father’s contention, nothing  in Family Ct Act §  1039-b  limits its scope to the respondent(s) named  in the underlying petition. Moreover, to infer such a limitation would undercut the purpose of the statute, which was intended to promote the health and safety of the child by expediting permanency planning… .  Matter of Jayden QQ., 513777, 3rd Dept, 4-25-13