Opinion
December 1, 1992
Appeal from the Family Court, New York County (Bruce M. Kaplan, J.).
The record reveals clear and convincing proof that respondent is presently and for the foreseeable future unable by reason of mental illness to provide proper and adequate care for her child (Matter of Nereida S., 57 N.Y.2d 636, 640), namely, medical records tracing the course of a decade-long illness necessitating 15 hospitalizations and unimpeached expert testimony. Where, as here, respondent-parent has a long history of mental illness with repeated hospitalizations and a deteriorating condition, "[t]here must be an affirmative conclusion" that it is possible that she will not only be free of mental illness but also will provide proper and adequate care for the child (Matter of Vera T., 80 A.D.2d 511, affd 55 N.Y.2d 1028). No such proof was offered by respondent.
Concur — Milonas, J.P., Ellerin, Ross, Asch and Kassal, JJ.