In re Kacey H.
Opinion of the Court
Appeal from an order of the Family Court of Chenango
Opinion of the Court
We affirm. With respect to the issue of good cause shown, we note that petitioner’s employees testified that the delay was caused by a number of factors including a family emergency of one of petitioner’s caseworkers and the desire of personnel involved to conduct a conference prior to finalizing plans for respondent’s placement. Given Family Court’s advantage in assessing the credibility of these explanations first-hand, we find no reason to disturb Family Court’s determination that petitioner sufficiently established good cause for petitioner’s minimal delay in bringing the extension petition (cf., Matter of Loren S., 220 AD2d 857).
Turning to Family Court’s resolution of the merits, we are similarly not inclined to disturb that court’s discretion. Evidence at the hearing, including testimony from respondent herself, established that respondent’s behavior had not improved since her initial placement with petitioner. Specifically, the proof indicated that respondent continued to act in a manipulative and deceitful fashion by engaging in behavior such as, inter alia, stealing, leaving the facility without permission and participating in a prank whereby false reports to the police were called in using the 911 emergency telephone number. Under the circumstances presented here, we find that Family Court did not abuse its discretion in extending respondent’s placement (cf., Matter of Charles BB., 179 AD2d 904, 905).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.