Opinion
2011-11-10
In re JEAN T., A Person Alleged to be a Juvenile Delinquent, Appellant.Presentment Agency.
George E. Reed, Jr., White Plains, for appellant. Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York (Susan Paulson of counsel), for presentment agency.
George E. Reed, Jr., White Plains, for appellant. Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York (Susan Paulson of counsel), for presentment agency.
SAXE, J.P., SWEENY, DeGRASSE, MANZANET–DANIELS, ROMÁN, JJ.
Order of disposition, Family Court, Bronx County (Allen G. Alpert, J.), entered on or about April 5, 2011, which adjudicated appellant a juvenile delinquent upon his admission that he committed an act that, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crime of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, and placed him with the Office of Children and Family Services for a period of 18 months, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The placement was a proper exercise of the court's discretion that constituted the least restrictive alternative consistent with appellant's needs and best interests and the community's need for protection ( see Matter of Katherine W., 62 N.Y.2d 947, 479 N.Y.S.2d 190, 468 N.E.2d 28 [1984] ). Soon after he had been discharged from a prior placement that had resulted from a drug sale, appellant took part in a sale of cocaine and, while that case was pending, repeated the same criminal behavior ( see e.g. Matter of Jancarlos S., 55 A.D.3d 370, 866 N.Y.S.2d 36 [2008] ). Furthermore, appellant did not attend school and had serious behavioral problems at home.
The court accepted the recommendations of the Department of Probation and Mental Health Services, and rejected that of a representative of an intensive community-based program. There is no basis for disturbing that determination. The court reasonably concluded that appellant's behavior could not be controlled without a residential placement.