Matter of R.B. (J.B.)

Summary

The Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed the Family Court's denial of the father's application under Family Court Act § 1028 for the return of the subject child pending a fact-finding hearing. The court held that substantial evidence supported the finding that returning the child would pose an imminent risk to the child's life or health, citing the father's failure to seek prompt medical care for another child, substance use, lack of service engagement, and limited insight into the circumstances leading to removal.

Holdings

1. Family Court properly denied the father's Family Court Act § 1028 application because the record provided a sound and substantial basis for finding that returning the child would pose an imminent risk to the child's life or health that could not be mitigated by reasonable efforts.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Family Court properly denied the father's application for the return of the child pending the fact-finding hearing under Family Court Act § 1028.
2. Whether the evidence established that returning the child to the father's care would pose an imminent risk to the child's life or health that could not be mitigated by reasonable efforts.

Disposition

affirmed