Judges: Clark, Egan, Peters, Rose, Stein
Filed Date: 7/10/2014
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 11/1/2024
Appeals from two orders of the Family Court of Sullivan County (Meddaugh, J.), entered July 24, 2013, which, among other things, granted petitioner’s application, in a proceeding pursuant to Family Ct Act article 3, to find respondent in violation of a prior order of probation, and placed respondent in the custody of the Sullivan County Department of Family Services for a period of one year.
After having been adjudicated a juvenile delinquent, respondent (born in 1999) was placed on a 12-month term of probation. The terms of his probation included, among other things, abiding by household rules, regular school attendance and compliance with all school regulations. In April 2013, petitioner commenced the instant proceeding seeking revocation of
Upon accepting respondent’s admissions to certain probation violations, Family Court conducted a dispositional hearing at the close of which the court concluded that residential placement for a period of one year was warranted. Instead of immediately placing respondent in the physical care of the Sullivan County Department of Family Services (hereinafter DFS), however, the court gave respondent the opportunity to continue living at home with his mother, and to prove to the court that placement was not necessary by complying with the terms of his probation during the time that it would take DFS to secure a residential placement. Shortly thereafter, Family Court received correspondence from petitioner indicating that respondent continued to regularly violate the terms of his probation. In two orders, Family Court ordered residential placement for respondent and nonsecure detention until such residential placement could be obtained. Respondent now appeals from both orders.
The sole issue on appeal is whether Family Court abused its discretion when, upon respondent’s admission to willful violations, it ordered respondent’s placement with DFS rather than continuing him on probation in the custody of his mother. Once respondent admitted to violating conditions of his probation, “Family Court was authorized to revoke the order of probation” (Matter of Dillon Z., 44 AD3d 1192, 1194 [2007]; see Family Ct Act § 360.3 [6]). The court was then required to issue a new dispositional order in accordance with Family Ct Act § 352.2, which requires that the court “order the least restrictive available alternative . . . consistent with the needs and best interests of the respondent and the need for protection of the community” (Family Ct Act § 352.2 [2] [a]; accord Matter of Dillon Z., 44 AD3d at 1194). In that regard, however, “[i]t is well settled that a less restrictive option need not be utilized unsuccessfully before a more restrictive option may be imposed” (Matter of Tianna W., 108 AD3d 948, 949 [2013]; see Matter of Anthony E., 82 AD3d 1544, 1546 [2011]).
Here, upon adjudicating respondent a juvenile delinquent, Family Court originally imposed the disposition of probation. Inasmuch as that disposition proved to be unsuccessful, we reject respondent’s argument that probation should have been continued as the least restrictive alternative consistent with his
Ordered that the orders are affirmed, without costs.