Case Title: S.C. v. New Jersey Department of Children and Families

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: new-jersey

Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

Date: 2020-05-27T00:00:00Z

Document:
SYLLABUS

This syllabus is not part of the Court’s opinion. It has been prepared by the Office of the
Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the
Court. In the interest of brevity, portions of an opinion may not have been summarized.

    S.C. v. New Jersey Department of Children and Families (A-57-18) (081870)

Argued November 18, 2019 -- Decided May 27, 2020

LaVECCHIA, J., writing for the Court.

       This appeal involves the investigation into a claim that a mother, S.C., abused her
seven-year-old son by engaging in corporal punishment. The Department of Children
and Families (Department) concluded, after its investigation, that the claim of abuse was
“not established.” Because the abuse allegation was deemed “not established” rather than
“unfounded,” it is not eligible to be expunged. S.C. appealed the Department’s action,
claiming (1) a deprivation of her due process rights because she was not afforded a
hearing and (2) that the Department’s “not established” finding was arbitrary and
capricious because the record was insufficient to support a finding that her son was
harmed. S.C. has not raised a direct challenge to the validity of having a “not
established” finding category in the Department’s regulations, although some amici have
urged that the category be declared illegitimate and eliminated.

        In May 2016, the Department received a report of suspected child abuse from an
education official in a school district. The abuse allegedly concerned one of S.C.’s
triplets, “Luke,” who refused to make a Mother’s Day card for S.C. and said, among
other things, that his mother hits him with an open hand and with a spatula. A
Department investigator interviewed Luke, his sisters, S.C., and her husband (“Martin”).
The investigator also visited the children’s school. The children’s principal said that on
the day that Luke made the allegation the boy was having a bad week, which was unusual
for him. Although he had behavioral problems in the past, she said that Luke had
“significantly improved.” She also stated that she was surprised when Luke reported that
his mother hit him, adding that the parents are “very involved” and that, prior to this,
school personnel had not had other concerns with the family.

        When the investigator interviewed Luke, he said that his mother “smacks” him,
and that she has “hit him on his butt with [a] spatula[,]” but he could not remember the
last time either happened. He said that his father also hits him with his hand. Luke’s
sisters told the investigator that sometimes their parents hit them with an open hand, but
each denied having been hit with a spatula. The investigator observed no marks or
bruises on any of the children.

                                             1
       The investigator interviewed S.C. and Martin during an unannounced home visit.
S.C. admitted that she has hit the children with an open hand. She denied that she has
used a spatula to strike the children but “admitted that she smacks the spatula on the
counter to get their attention.” Martin admitted to “lightly” spanking his children on
occasion. He denied using objects and denied having seen his wife hit the children with a
spatula. However, he said he has seen his wife hit a spatula on the counter to get the
children’s attention. The investigator added that the home was “fully furnished, clean
and well organized.” Each child had appropriate sleeping arrangements and sufficient
food. The utilities were on and the investigator did not observe any hazards.

       The above information in the investigator’s report resulted in the Department’s
classifying the allegations of physical abuse against S.C. as “not established.” That
designation signifies that “there is not a preponderance of the evidence that a child is an
abused or neglected child as defined in  N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.21, but evidence indicates that the
child was harmed or was placed at risk of harm.” N.J.A.C. 3A:10-7.3(c)(3).

       The Department sent a letter to the children’s school stating that the investigation
was complete and that it had determined no need to provide services to the children. The
Department also sent a letter to S.C., informing her that its investigation into the
allegations was complete and that it had determined that the allegations were “Not
Established.” S.C. was not allowed an administrative appeal opportunity and, apparently,
had no opportunity to review, supplement, or discuss the Department’s investigatory
materials before the decision issued. Thereafter she filed an appeal in the Appellate
Division from the agency action finding the allegations of abuse to be “not established.”

        The Appellate Division was unpersuaded that an adjudicatory hearing had to be
provided when an investigation results in a “not established” finding, which it regarded as
“purely investigatory in nature” and which is not disseminated. The Appellate Division
also held that the Department’s “not established” finding in this matter was not arbitrary,
capricious, and unreasonable, pointing to facts that provided “'some evidence’ indicating
that S.C. hit the children, even without a spatula, when she was upset with their behavior,
leading to the possibility that she could misgauge how much force she was using and put
them at risk of harm.” In a concurring opinion, Judge Messano, P.J.A.D., agreed that the
denial of an administrative hearing to challenge a “not established” finding did not
violate S.C.’s due process rights but wrote separately to express two concerns. First, the
letter the Department sent to S.C. “did nothing but parrot the regulatory language and
advise S.C. of the consequences of the findings”; “the letter fail[ed] to state, even in
conclusory terms, what evidence supported the finding.” Second, the letter’s lack of
information was pertinent because, although due process rights are not violated, a “not
established” finding may have negative consequences in the future because the record is
not subject to expunction.

       The Court granted S.C.’s petition for certification.  237 N.J. 165 (2019).
                                             2
HELD: The Court reverses and remands (a) for the Department to provide improved
notice of the basis on which its investigation has found some evidence -- which the Court
stresses must be some credible evidence -- to support the allegation of harm; and (b) for
S.C. to have an informal opportunity before the Department to rebut and/or supplement
the record before the Department finalizes its finding. The Court does not address the
amici’s challenge to the validity of the “not established” category but recognizes
problems with the standard as presently articulated and notes that it would be well worth
the effort of the Department to revisit its regulatory language concerning the standard for
making a “not established” finding as well as its processes related to such findings.

1. When the Department receives an allegation of child abuse or neglect, it must
investigate and determine “whether abuse or neglect has occurred.” N.J.A.C. 3A:10-
7.3(a) to (b). “[T]he Department representative shall make a finding that an allegation is
'substantiated,’ 'established,’ 'not established,’ or 'unfounded.’” N.J.A.C. 3A:10-7.3(c).
The differentiation among those four categories creates two general classes of findings.
“A finding of either established or substantiated shall constitute a determination . . . that a
child is an abused or neglected child,” while “[a] finding of either not established or
unfounded shall constitute a determination . . . that a child is not an abused or neglected
child.” N.J.A.C. 3A:10-7.3(d). A finding that an allegation is “unfounded” is subject to
expunction. A record containing a “substantiated,” “established,” or “not established”
finding is required to be retained. (pp. 21-25)

2. Prior to 2013, Department investigations could result in one of two findings:
“substantiated” or “unfounded.” The current four-category system took effect in 2013
following robust public input. The Department explained its intent in differentiating
between “not established” and “unfounded” when rejecting a comment that “not
established” findings should be eligible for expunction: “The critical distinction . . . is
that not established findings are based on some evidence, though not necessarily a
preponderance of evidence, that a child was harmed or placed at risk of harm.” And to
prepare for “the investigation of future allegations,” the Department determined that the
“information contained in records of not established cases must be maintained.” For
records the Department retains, confidentiality is the presumptive starting point, but
 N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.10a(a) provides for the release of information regarding reports of child
abuse in twenty-two enumerated circumstances, and the Department may consider a “not
established” finding in its child protection and welfare work. (pp. 25-31)

3. When determining the protections due process demands in a given situation, the Court
applies the balancing test from Mathews v. Eldridge,