Smith v. Organization of Foster Families for Equality & Reform

Appellees, individual foster parents1 and an organization of foster parents, brought this civil rights class action pursuant to 42 U. S. C. § 1983 in the United States District Court for *819the Southern District of New York, on their own behalf and on behalf of children for whom they have provided homes for a year or more. They sought declaratory and injunctive relief against New York State and New York City officials,2 *820alleging that the procedures governing the removal of foster children from foster homes provided in N. Y. Soc. Serv. Law §§ 383 (2) and 400 (McKinney 1976), and in 18 N. Y. C. R.…