§ 355.3 Extension of placement. 1. In any case in which the respondent
has been placed pursuant to section 353.3 the respondent, the person
with whom the respondent has been placed, the commissioner of social
services, or the division for youth may petition the court to extend
such placement. Such petition shall be filed at least sixty days prior
to the expiration of the period of placement, except for good cause
shown but in no event shall such petition be filed after the original
expiration date.

2. The court shall conduct a hearing concerning the need for
continuing the placement. The respondent, the presentment agency and the
agency with whom the respondent has been placed shall be notified of
such hearing and shall have the opportunity to be heard thereat. If the
petition is filed within sixty days prior to the expiration of the
period of placement, the court shall first determine at such hearing
whether good cause has been shown. If good cause is not shown, the court
shall dismiss the petition.

3. The provisions of sections 350.3 and 350.4 shall apply at such
hearing.

4. At the conclusion of the hearing the court may, in its discretion,
order an extension of the placement for not more than one year. The
court must consider and determine in its order:

(i) that where appropriate, and where consistent with the need for the
protection of the community, reasonable efforts were made to make it
possible for the respondent to safely return to his or her home;

(ii) in the case of a respondent who has attained the age of sixteen,
the services needed, if any, to assist the child to make the transition
from foster care to independent living; and

(iii) in the case of a child placed outside New York state, whether
the out-of-state placement continues to be appropriate and in the best
interests of the child.

5. Pending final determination of a petition to extend such placement
filed in accordance with the provisions of this section, the court may,
on its own motion or at the request of the petitioner or respondent,
enter one or more temporary orders extending a period of placement for a
period not to exceed thirty days upon satisfactory proof showing
probable cause for continuing such placement and that each temporary
order is necessary. The court may order additional temporary extensions,
not to exceed a total of fifteen days, if the court is unable to
conclude the hearing within the thirty day temporary extension period.
In no event shall the aggregate number of days in extentions granted or
ordered under this subdivision total more than forty-five days. The
petition shall be dismissed if a decision is not rendered within the
period of placement or any temporary extension thereof.

6. Successive extensions of placement under this section may be
granted, but no placement may be made or continued beyond the
respondent's eighteenth birthday without his or her consent and in no
event past his or her twenty-first birthday except as provided for in
subdivision four of section 353.5 of this part.

7. A youth who was formerly a respondent pursuant to this article may
be eligible to file a motion pursuant to article ten-B of this act and
may be subsequently placed into foster care, in a supervised setting as
defined in subdivision twenty-two of section three hundred seventy-one
of the social services law or placement in a foster family home, which
shall include a kinship placement or a placement with fictive kin.