—In a proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b, to terminate the parental rights of Monica G. based on permanent neglect, the appeal is from an order of disposition of the Family Court, Kings County (Yancy, J.), dated September 23, 1994, which, after fact-finding and dispositional hearings, terminated her parental rights and
Ordered that the order of disposition is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
The appellant contends that at the fact-finding hearing, which she did not attend, the child-care agency failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that it had made diligent efforts to encourage and strengthen the parental relationship as required by Social Services Law § 384-b (7) (a) and (f). Initially, we note that since the appellant never moved to vacate her default at the fact-finding hearing, after which the court found that the "child in question [wa]s a permanently neglected child”, she is barred from raising the issue on appeal, given that the proper procedure is to move to vacate the default and, if necessary, appeal from the denial of that motion (see, Matter of Tara O.,
In any event, the petitioner, the Commissioner of Social Services of the City of New York, has met its burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that, despite its diligent efforts to encourage and strengthen the parental relationship, the mother had permanently neglected her daughter, Natanya, by failing to make plans for her future (see, Matter of Lameek L.,
Furthermore, termination of the mother’s parental rights was in the child’s best interest, given the strong bonding between the child and the foster family, with whom she has lived since her birth, the appellant’s failure to visit her child regularly, and the appellant’s failure to complete drug rehabilitation programs after numerous attempts (see, Matter of Maldrina R.,