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Family Court Abused Its Discretion by Failing to Consider the Least Restrictive Alternative Disposition in a Juvenile Delinquency Proceeding

The Fourth Department determined Family Court had not considered the least restrictive available alternatives for disposition in a non-felony juvenile delinquency proceeding.  Family Court had placed the juvenile in the custody of the Department of Social Services for 12 months for each of three adjudications:

It is well settled that, when determining an appropriate disposition in a juvenile delinquency case involving acts that are not felonies, “the court shall order the least restrictive available alternative” and “shall consider the needs and best interests of the respondent as well as the need for protection of the community” (Family Ct Act § 352.2 [2] [a]…). Although “[t]he court has broad discretion in determining the appropriate disposition in juvenile delinquency cases” …, we agree with respondent that the court abused its discretion under the circumstances presented here. The evidence presented at the dispositional hearing and the predispositional and probation update reports prepared in conjunction with that hearing establish that respondent’s home environment was “toxic” and he suffered from mental health issues that required treatment. In addition, the update to the original report indicated that respondent had recently been staying with a family friend who had known him since birth, that the friend had petitioned for custody of respondent, and that there had been no new arrests during that time. The update also indicated that the friend was able to devote significant time to supervising respondent, and that the friend resided with a woman who managed a residential home. In addition, both the family friend and the woman with whom he lived testified at the dispositional hearing that they could help with respondent’s supervision. Consequently, “we agree with [respondent] that the court erred in failing to consider the least restrictive available alternative in fashioning an appropriate dispositional order” … . We therefore modify the order by vacating the disposition and, in light of the lapse of time since the order was entered, we remit the matter to Family Court for a new dispositional hearing. Matter of Jacob A.T., 2015 NY Slip Op 02658, 4th Dept 3-27-15

 

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