Opinion
April 20, 1995
Appeal from the Family Court, New York County (Judith B. Scheindlin, J.).
To support a finding of neglect the petitioner was required to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the physical, mental or emotional condition of these children was in imminent danger of becoming impaired due to this respondent's mental condition (Family Ct Act § 1046 [b] [i]; § 1012 [f] [i]). No showing of past or present harm to the children is necessary to support a finding of neglect (see, Matter of Millar, 40 A.D.2d 637, affd 35 N.Y.2d 767). It has been held that proof of ongoing mental illness and the failure to follow through with aftercare medication, which results in a parent's inability to care for her children in the foreseeable future, is a sufficient basis for a finding of neglect (Matter of Naticia Q., 195 A.D.2d 616, 618).
In this case, the record demonstrates that the respondent, who had been diagnosed with chronic mental illness, failed to cooperate with her treatment plan. She missed hospital appointments and admitted that she did not take her medication. The expert testimony established that this respondent's noncompliance with her medication would subject her to further acute psychotic episodes, which would in turn threaten the safety and well being of the children. While the respondent was not experiencing one of these acute episodes at the time the petition was filed, the evidence demonstrated that her failure to continue treatment resulted in the deterioration of her condition (cf., Matter of Moises D., 128 A.D.2d 775). We find that the hearing court failed to give adequate weight to the testimony of a police officer who responded to respondent's brother's apartment, which established that respondent, when not taking the medication prescribed for her, exhibited extreme emotionally disturbed behavior and threatened to kill her children.
Concur — Rosenberger, J.P., Rubin, Ross, Nardelli and Williams, JJ.