Summary
The petitioner sought review under CPLR article 78 of a determination denying her request to amend and seal an indicated report of maltreatment concerning a foster child. The Appellate Division, Fourth Department, unanimously confirmed the determination and dismissed the petition, holding that substantial evidence supported the finding of maltreatment and its relevance to childcare.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the agency's determination that petitioner committed maltreatment was supported by substantial evidence.
- Whether the determination that the maltreatment was relevant and reasonably related to childcare was supported by substantial evidence.
- Whether hearsay evidence presented at the fair hearing could support the agency's determination.
Holdings
- The determination denying petitioner's request to amend and seal the indicated maltreatment report was supported by substantial evidence in the record.
- Hearsay evidence alone may constitute sufficient evidence to support an administrative determination when it is sufficiently reliable and probative.
- To establish maltreatment, the agency must show by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the child's physical, mental, or emotional condition was impaired or in imminent danger of impairment because petitioner failed to exercise a minimum degree of care in providing appropriate supervision or guardianship.
Key quotations
“Substantial evidence is such relevant proof as a reasonable mind may accept as adequate to support a conclusion or ultimate fact . . . [,] [and] hearsay evidence alone, if it is sufficiently reliable and probative, may constitute sufficient evidence to support a determination” (147 A.D.3d at 1323)
“To establish maltreatment, the agency was required to show by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the physical, mental or emotional condition of the child had been impaired or was in imminent danger of becoming impaired because of a failure by petitioner to exercise a minimum degree of care in providing the child with appropriate supervision or guardianship” (147 A.D.3d at 1323)
Factual background
An indicated report alleged that petitioner maltreated a foster child. After a fair hearing, the agency denied petitioner's request to amend the report to an unfounded report and seal it. The agency determined that petitioner committed maltreatment and that the maltreatment was relevant and reasonably related to childcare.
Procedural history
The respondent agency denied petitioner's request to amend an indicated report of maltreatment concerning a foster child to an unfounded report and to seal it. Supreme Court, Erie County, transferred the CPLR article 78 proceeding to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department. The Appellate Division unanimously confirmed the determination and dismissed the petition.