Appeal from an order of the Family Court of Broome County (Connerton, J.), entered February 5, 2007, which granted petitioner’s application, in a proceeding pursuant to Social Services Law § 384-b, to adjudicate the subject children to be permanently neglected, and terminated respondents’ parental rights.
Family Court properly determined that respondents permanently neglected their children. To obtain a termination of parental rights based upon permanent neglect, petitioner is required to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the parent failed to maintain contact with or plan for the future of his or her child for one year after the child came into petitioner’s custody notwithstanding petitioner’s diligent efforts to strengthen the parent-child relationship (see Social Services Law § 384-b [3] [g]; [4] [d]; [7]; Matter of Gregory B., 74 NY2d 77, 86 [1989]; Matter of Keith JJ., 295 AD2d 644, 647 [2002]). The threshold issue is whether petitioner made diligent efforts to encourage and nurture the parent-child relationship (see Matter of Gregory B., 74 NY2d at 86). The court’s dispositional order on the neglect matter required respondents to attend parenting classes, cooperate with petitioner and a parent aide, attend visits with the children, handle the children’s medical needs and attend all medical and educational appointments for the children. It also required Debra DD. to attend codependency classes and comply with all follow-up recommendations, and for Scott GG. to attend parenting classes and anger management and domestic violence counseling.
Petitioner provided respondents with a parenting aide, arranged visits with the children every other week, supplied a bus pass to alleviate respondents’ transportation concerns and set up a telephone schedule for respondents to call the foster parents twice weekly to find out about the children’s appointments and speak to the children. Petitioner offered Debra DD. referrals to parenting classes and codependency classes, and of
Family Court properly terminated respondents’ parental rights. At the time of the dispositional hearing, although Debra DD. had completed her codependency classes, she did not follow through with the recommended mental health treatment, even though she suggested it may be necessary and wondered whether she may have an undiagnosed bipolar condition requiring medication. Scott GG. completed anger management treatment, but still had not attended or arranged for domestic violence counseling, apparently feeling that it was not necessary. Yet respondents separated twice in the six months prior to the dispositional hearing, with police becoming involved due to domestic disturbances on two occasions. Each respondent lived in four different places in the year prior to disposition. Based upon the extended period of time that respondents had to address their parenting and relationship difficulties, especially considering that most of petitioner’s recommendations had been court-ordered for respondents since a prior neglect adjudication in 2001, a suspended judgment would have been inappropriate. Providing respondents a grace period as a final chance to reunite with their children would merely have delayed the chances at permanency for these special needs children and would not have served their best interests (see Matter of Nahia M., 39 AD3d 918, 921 [2007]; Matter of Douglas H., 1 AD3d 824, 826 [2003], lv denied 2 NY3d 701 [2004]).
Because Debra DD.’s parental rights were terminated in an
Mercure, J.P., Mugglin, Rose and Lahtinen, JJ., concur. Ordered that the order is affirmed, without costs.
