ALBANY — The aunt of the 5-year-old boy killed in her care last December will not be able to see her nieces, a family court judge ruled on Monday.

Albany County Family Court Judge Gerard Maney said the county’s plan for the girls, Christine and Cheyanne White, will remain focused on reunification with their parents, Jayson and Christine White, who live separately and face allegations of abuse and neglect in Maney’s courtroom later this month.

During the trial, caseworker Jenny Espinal testified that she did not consider Jayson White an appropriate “custodial resource” at the time. He has filed a petition for custody of the two girls for the second time. While he and Christine White were allowed to visit with the girls, Brenda VanAlstyne was not.

Maney said the girls would be in the custody of the Albany County Department for Children, Youth and Families, as the older girl is now in a foster home and attend Altamont Elementary School.

The disposition concluded the abuse and neglect petition brought by the county against Brenda VanAlstyne, for which Maney had found her guilty.

VanAlstyne’s daughter, Tiffany VanAlstyne, has been arrested for murdering the boy, her cousin, Kenneth White, at the trailer they lived in on Thacher Park Road in Knox.

As of Wednesday, Tiffany VanAlstyne has no scheduled appearances in Albany County Court, according to Cecilia Walsh, spokeswoman for the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.

During the trial, testimony from psychologist Casey Everett, who evaluated Brenda VanAlstyne as well as the two girls, described VanAlstyne as needing intensive therapy and treatment to overcome her anxiety and depression. He said she described her once romantic partner, Kenneth VanAlstyne, as an abuser.

— Marcello Iaia