Learn About the Law
Get help with your legal needs
FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
IN RE: JAHISHA JAYSAWNNA J., A Child Under the Age of Eighteen Years, etc., Jarrett J., Respondent-Appellant, The Forestdale-Brooklyn Home for Children, Petitioner-Respondent.
Order of disposition, Family Court, New York County (Rhoda J. Cohen, J.), entered on or about March 23, 2004, which, to the extent appealed from, committed custody and guardianship of the subject child to the Commissioner of Social Services and petitioner agency for the purpose of adoption, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The evidence established that the best interests of the child would be served by freeing her for adoption by her foster family. Although respondent-appellant notice father showed genuine interest in the child, he had been unavailable to her for most of her six years, and continued to be unavailable as a resource at the time of the dispositional hearing, by reason of incarceration. The child's foster family, on the other hand, had for years afforded her and her sister a stable and nurturing home. The court correctly concluded that the disruption of this familial unit, which had provided the child with the only experience of family life she had ever known, would have been contrary to her best interests, which include familial permanence and stability (see Matter of Shamell J., 202 A.D.2d 285, 288-289, 609 N.Y.S.2d 185 [1994] ).
Thank you for your feedback!
A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law.
Decided: October 20, 2005
Court: Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.
Search our directory by legal issue
Enter information in one or both fields (Required)
Harness the power of our directory with your own profile. Select the button below to sign up.
Learn more about FindLaw’s newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy.
Get help with your legal needs
FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
Search our directory by legal issue
Enter information in one or both fields (Required)