In the Matter of C.C., A Child Under Eighteen Years of Age; Catholic Guardian Services v. D.C., et al.
Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Child welfare and adoption/termination of parental rights; whether the 2022 amendment to Domestic Relations Law § 111 [specifies whose consent is required for adoption; previously required unwed fathers to show support payments plus visitation/communication; amended in 2022 to require consent from any nonmarital parent who executed an unrevoked acknowledgment of parentage or filed an unrevoked notice of intent] applies retroactively to a pending termination proceeding.
Family Court treated D.C. as a notice-only father (not a consent parent) for failing to pay support to the foster care agency, limited his participation at fact-finding, and later terminated parental rights and committed custody and guardianship to the agency for adoption.
The provisions of the order terminating D.C.’s parental rights.
The amendment to Domestic Relations Law § 111 is remedial and effective immediately, evidencing legislative urgency; it applies retroactively to pending matters. Because D.C. executed an acknowledgment of paternity, his consent status could not be denied solely for lack of payments to the foster agency, and a full fact-finding on permanent neglect (requiring clear and convincing evidence) was required.
Background
In June 2016, the child entered foster care after article 10 neglect petitions against both parents. D.C. and the mother were never married, but D.C. had executed an acknowledgment of paternity. Neglect findings issued against both, and both were ordered to drug treatment in April 2017. The agency filed a termination petition in April 2018. After a July 2019 fact-finding, the court found the mother permanently neglected; it deemed D.C. a notice-only father under then-existing Domestic Relations Law § 111 because he had not made support payments to the agency, limiting him to testifying on notice/consent. D.C. testified he had lived with and supported the child before foster care and visited regularly thereafter, though he did not pay the agency. The court later conducted a dispositional hearing (Nov.–Dec. 2019) and determined it was in the child’s best interests to be freed for adoption. D.C.’s 2020 motion to renew (relying on Matter of Amanda N.) was denied. The court also addressed petitions by the maternal grandmother (custody) and paternal grandmother (visitation), which were denied. On May 31, 2023, the court terminated parental rights and committed custody/guardianship to the agency. Meanwhile, effective December 30, 2022, Domestic Relations Law § 111 was amended to require consent from a nonmarital parent who executed an unrevoked acknowledgment of parentage or filed an unrevoked notice of intent.
Lower Court Decision
Family Court concluded D.C. was a notice-only father because he did not pay support to the foster agency, restricted his participation at fact-finding, and ultimately terminated parental rights and committed custody and guardianship to the agency for adoption, denying both grandmothers’ petitions.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division held the 2022 amendment to Domestic Relations Law § 111 is remedial and effective immediately, warranting retroactive application to this pending case. D.C.’s failure to pay support to the agency could not render him notice-only given his acknowledgment of paternity. Because no full fact-finding on permanent neglect (with clear and convincing evidence) occurred as to D.C., the court vacated the termination of his parental rights and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its decision. All other arguments were rejected.
Legal Significance
Clarifies that the 2022 remedial amendment to Domestic Relations Law § 111 applies retroactively to pending termination/adoption matters, preventing nonmarital parents with an acknowledgment of parentage from being relegated to notice-only status solely for not paying foster-care support. Courts must conduct full fact-finding on permanent neglect and cannot terminate parental rights without affording such parents consent-parent status when the statutory criteria are met.
In pending termination/adoption cases, a nonmarital parent who executed an unrevoked acknowledgment of parentage is a consent parent under the amended Domestic Relations Law § 111, regardless of post-placement support payments; termination requires a full fact-finding on permanent neglect supported by clear and convincing evidence.