Opinion
Decided and Entered: September 23, 1999
Appeal from an order of the Family Court of Ulster County (Mizel, J.), entered August 20, 1998, which granted petitioner's application, in a proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 7, to adjudicate respondent a person in need of supervision.
John Ferrara, Monticello, for appellant.
Francis J. Murray, County Attorney (Andrew J. Gilday of counsel), Kingston, for respondents.
Before: CARDONA, P.J., YESAWICH JR., SPAIN, CARPINELLO and GRAFFEO, JJ.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Respondent was adjudicated a person in need of supervision after he admitted to the allegations contained in the petition that he had physically and verbally assaulted his mother and siblings. Following a dispositional hearing, Family Court determined that respondent should be placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Social Services for a period of one year. Respondent appeals contending that the Law Guardian did not provide him with effective representation during the proceeding, especially because no "deal" was worked out regarding his placement in exchange for admitting the allegations in the petition. We disagree.
Prior to accepting respondent's admission to the allegations in the petition, Family Court informed respondent and petitioners, respondent's parents, of his right to a hearing and the potential dispositional consequences regarding his admission. Furthermore, the Law Guardian advocated at the dispositional hearing that respondent remain in petitioners' care in view of, inter alia, his recent improvements in behavior, and presented a witness to support this position. Upon consideration of the record as a whole, we find that respondent was afforded meaningful representation (see, Matter of Jesse WW., 240 A.D.2d 885; Matter of Jeremy L., 220 A.D.2d 908, lv denied 87 N.Y.2d 807; Matter of Tina PP. [Rosalie RR.], 188 A.D.2d 704, appeal dismissed 81 N.Y.2d 834).
CARDONA, P.J., YESAWICH JR., SPAIN and GRAFFEO, JJ., concur.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs.