Matter of Lawyers for Children v. New York State Off. of Children & Family Servs.

Summary

The Court of Appeals held that petitioners had standing to challenge OCFS's Host Family Home program because they were uniquely positioned to vindicate children's statutory right to counsel. On the merits, the court held that OCFS lacked statutory authority to create the program, which conflicted with the plain language and structure of the voluntary foster care laws and evaded protections mandated by those laws. The court reversed, granted the petition, and annulled the regulations.