Summary
This New York Appellate Division decision reviews an administrative determination by the Office of Children and Family Services denying a petition to amend and seal a child maltreatment report from "indicated" to "unfounded." Applying the substantial evidence standard under CPLR Article 78, the court affirms the agency's finding that the petitioner left a child unattended, resulting in an impaired condition. The court concludes that the record contains sufficient evidence to support the determination and dismisses the petition on the merits.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the OCFS determination to deny amendment and sealing of the indicated report was supported by substantial evidence.
Holdings
- The appellate division affirmed the OCFS determination because it was supported by substantial evidence in the record.
Key quotations
“Substantial evidence is "less than a preponderance of the evidence and demands only that a given inference is reasonable and plausible, not necessarily the most probable".”
Factual background
OCFS denied the petitioners' application to amend an indicated child abuse report to "unfounded" and to seal the report after a fair hearing. The petitioners appealed the determination under CPLR article 78.
Procedural history
Petitioners sought to amend and seal an indicated child abuse report; OCFS denied after a fair hearing. The Supreme Court transferred the matter to the Appellate Division, which reviewed the determination for substantial evidence.