IN RE: GABRIELLE N. (2018)

Order of disposition, Family Court, Bronx County (Monica Drinane, J.), entered on or about July 1, 2014, to the extent it brings up for review a fact-finding order, same court and Justice, entered on or about April 15, 2013, which found that respondents parents neglected one daughter and derivatively neglected another, unanimously affirmed, without costs, and the appeal therefrom otherwise dismissed, without costs, as moot.¹

Since Family Court continued the children's placement in foster care after conducting subsequent permanency hearings, respondents' challenge to the July 1, 2014 dispositional order is moot (see Matter of Skye C. [Monica S.], 127 A.D.3d 603, 604, 8 N.Y.S.3d 126 [1st Dept. 2015] ).

A preponderance of the evidence supports the court's finding that respondents neglected the special needs child by interfering with her medical care, and delaying necessary treatment to the point where ACS sought, and was granted, a medical override of the parents' refusal to consent to surgery (see Matter of Jaquan F. [Alexis F.], 120 A.D.3d 1113, 1114, 993 N.Y.S.2d 18 [1st Dept. 2014] ).

The finding of derivative neglect was also appropriate inasmuch as respondents' behavior demonstrated such an impaired level of parental judgment as to create a substantial risk of harm for any child in their care (see Matter of Joshua R., 47 A.D.3d 465, 466, 849 N.Y.S.2d 246 [1st Dept. 2008], lv denied 11 N.Y.3d 703, 864 N.Y.S.2d 807, 894 N.E.2d 1198 [2008] ).

FOOTNOTES

1.   On May 12, 2016 this Court remanded the matter to Family Court for a reconstruction hearing because the medical records from four health facilities that treated the special needs child, received into evidence in Family Court, were not submitted to this Court as part of the original record and were missing (Matter of Gabrielle N. [Jacqueline T.], 139 A.D.3d 504, 29 N.Y.S.3d 810 [1st Dept. 2016] ).  On or about November 17, 2017 this Court received the missing records.