Judge Hal Greenwald
James sought to have the subject children, currently in foster care after their mother was charged with neglect, transferred to reside with her. She claimed she met all of the requirements of Family Court Act §1028-a, including the consanguinity requirements as she was the second cousin of the biological father of two of the three children. The Westchester County Department of Social Services (DSS), the mother, and the attorney for the child, opposed James’ motion. DSS argued there were no orders of filiation entered, and James’ degree of relation was beyond the third degree of consanguinity. Also, DSS believed the strained relationship between James and the mother would hinder the goal of returning the children to mother’s care. The court found James failed to establish she met the requirements of §1028-a(a)(i) requiring a relative petitioning under §1028-a to be related within the third degree of consanguinity to either parent. Also, it agreed with DSS that a father must be legally established for the children before any application was made by James. The court denied the application, ruling James lacked standing to petition the court under §1028-a.
