Opinion ID: 1378695
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Department's Final Decision

Text: In JM v. Department of Family Services, 922 P.2d 219, 224 (Wyo.1996), we held that the Department acted contrary to law when it limited the issues for resolution in a contested case hearing, when it determined the substantial evidence standard applied in the contested case hearing, and when it placed the burden of proof on the person contesting the Department's substantiation of child abuse charges. Although RM and SM claim the Department made the same mistakes here, we do not agree. It is clear from the record of the contested case hearing that the hearing was held in accordance with our holding in JM. The issues were not limited, the Department assumed the burden of proof and the preponderance of the evidence standard was applied. Although the Department did not agree with the recommendation of the hearing examiner, the Department's final decision also conforms with the standards set out in JM. The Department held, after reviewing the entire record, that the abuse was substantiated because it found that the available facts, when viewed in light of surrounding circumstances, would cause a reasonable person to believe that the child was abused or neglected. After reviewing the entire record and referring to the appropriate statutes and Department Rules, we agree with the district court that substantial evidence exists to support the Department's final order. See WYO. STAT. § 14-3-202(a)(xi) (1997) (an abuse report is deemed substantiated when the investigation reveals that credible evidence exists to support the allegations); Department of Family Services Div. of Youth Services, Child Protection Rules, Ch. I, § 4(k) (1995) (`Credible evidence' means that the available facts when viewed in light of surrounding circumstances would cause a reasonable person to believe that a child was abused or neglected. In mild cases, determination of abuse or neglect may hinge upon the objective degree of risk at which the child's well-being was placed, in addition to whether the trauma constituted an isolated incident or part of a pattern.); and WYO. STAT. § 14-3-202(a)(ii) (1997) (Abuse means inflicting or causing physical or mental injury, harm or imminent danger to the physical or mental health or welfare of a child other than by accidental means, including . . . excessive or unreasonable corporal punishment.... Mental injury means an injury to the psychological capacity or emotional stability of a child as evidenced by an observable or substantial impairment in his ability to function within a normal range of performance and behavior with due regard to his culture; and physical injury means death or any harm to a child including but not limited to disfigurement, impairment of any bodily organ, skin bruising, bleeding, burns, . . . .). The parents complain that the Department improperly ignored the hearing officer's recommended decision and replaced it with its own findings of fact and conclusions of law. The director of the department has been given the responsibility to make the final decision in these cases by the legislature. WYO. STAT. §§ 9-2-2104 and 14-3-203 (1997). Although the legislature has provided for the use of hearing officers to take evidence in contested cases and to make recommended decisions, an agency cannot delegate the authority to make final decisions to an independent administrative hearing officer unless required by law. WYO. STAT. § 16-3-112 (1997).