Matter of Andre L

In Matter of Andre L., 64 AD2d 479, 410 NYS2d 96 [1st Dept 1978], the Appellate Division ordered the respondent discharged from a restrictive placement and remitted to the Family Court for a new dispositional hearing at which the department of probation was "to conduct a further investigation and to report as to whether there were available any facilities with appropriate psychotherapy treatment programs and which also had suitable security measures found to be necessary." (Id. at 481) In Matter of Andre L., it was undisputed that the juvenile required therapeutic treatment in a one-to-one ongoing psychotherapy program. The appellate court remitted because although the trial court found that the safety of the community required Andre to be placed in a secured facility, the court overlooked "the possibility of accommodating both the needs of the community and needs of the juvenile by directing placement in a secure facility equipped to render appropriate therapeutic treatment." (Id. at 481-482) Significantly, the majority took issue with the approach of the dissent, which was to place Andre in a secure OCFS facility on the assumption that the needed therapeutic services would be provided "in the face of a record that the recommended specialized psychiatric treatment found to be necessary is not available at such facilities." (Id. at 482.)