Bateman v. Adams County Department of Child Services

865 N.E.2d 1068, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 950
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 11, 2007
DocketNo. 01A02-0701-JV-9
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 865 N.E.2d 1068 (Bateman v. Adams County Department of Child Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bateman v. Adams County Department of Child Services, 865 N.E.2d 1068, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 950 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

AppellanlARespondent, Amanda Bate-man (Mother), appeals the trial court’s determination that her son, C.B., is a Child in Need of Services (CHINS).

We affirm.

ISSUES

Mother raises two issues on appeal, which we restate as:

(1) Whether the trial court, in error, permitted hearsay evidence within the dispositional report; and
(2) Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the trial court’s adjudication of C.B. as a CHINS.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On July 6, 2006, the Adams County Department of Child Services (ACDCS) removed C.B., born February 6, 2004, from Mother’s care. The next day, the trial court held a detention hearing and appointed a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) for C.B. On July 14, 2006, the ACDCS filed its Petition alleging that C.B. was in need of services. In pertinent part, the Petition alleged:

On July 6, 2006, the undersigned case manager for the [ACDCS] was asked to contact the Adams Memorial Hospital emergency room regarding [C.B.]. [C.B.] had been admitted into the emergency room and was suffering from facial bruises, a broken arm, and numerous other bruises on his body. [Mother], as well as her boyfriend, Nathan Rambo, told the undersigned that [C.B.] fell off the loveseat and hit a rocking chair. On July 7, 2006, the undersigned obtained a copy of a report from Dr. William J. Lewis [ (Dr. Lewis) ] who examined [C.B.] According to Dr. Lewis’ report, many of the injuries sustained by [C .B.] were “not compatible with usual bruises that we would see in a 2-year-old.” Dr. Lewis further noted that some of the bruises were “extremely severe” and “appear to have been caused by a hit, or more likely, several hits on the right side of the child’s face.”
[] Based on the foregoing information, the Petitioner believes that [C.B.], who is not yet eighteen (18) years of age, is a [CHINS] pursuant to [Ind.Code § 31-34-1], in that:
(a) [C.B.’s] physical or mental health is seriously endangered due to injury [1071]*1071by the act or omission of [his] parent, guardian[,] or custodian.
(b) [C.B.] needs caret,] treatment[,] or rehabilitation that [he] is not receiving and is unlikely to be provided or accepted without the coercive intervention of the [c]ourt.

(Appellant’s App. pp. 69-70).

Also on July 14, the trial court held an initial hearing on the Petition. On September 20, 2006, the trial court held a fact finding hearing and concluded that C.B. was a CHINS. On November 8, 2006, the ACDCS case manager filed a dispositional report recommending that C.B. remain in foster care.1 On November 22, 2006, the trial court held a hearing on the disposi-tional report and entered this Order, in pertinent part:

ORDER ON DISPOSITIONAL HEARING
[Mother] filed an objection to the November 8, 2006 [dispositional] report and moved to strike certain information from the report. [Mother’s] objections to the report were based on the lack of information required by [I.C. § 31-34-18]. [Mother] objected to the following language in the report:

REPORTS REGARDING FAMILY

[Mother] gave birth to a second child on October 14, 2006. [Mother] tested positive for controlled substances during delivery. Huntington County DCS staff stated verbally that the newborn child tested positive for controlled substances. This newborn child was detained by Huntington County DCS.
The [c]ourt overruled the objection and determined the information was properly contained in the report filed by the [ACDCS]. [Mother] also objected to the information attached to the report which disclosed the results of [her] urine screen dated October 16, 2006. Counsel for [ACDCS] stipulated that the results were not admissible as presented. Therefore, the [c]ourt struck the urine screen results from the report.
[Mother] agreed to the recommendations contained in the report.... [Mother] also agreed to the proposed parent participation plan. Therefore, the [c]ourt adopts the recommendations and does not rule on the objections raised by [Mother] regarding the form of and the information contained in the [disposi-tional] report. The [c]ourt did note the need to comply with the requirements of [I.C. § 31-34-18].

(Appellant’s App. pp. 143-44). The trial court then proceeded to order Mother to participate and complete various programs and services.

Mother now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Hearsay

We first address Mother’s argument that the dispositional report contains inadmissible hearsay statements. Specifically, Mother contends that the statements pertaining to the birth of her second child constituted inadmissible hearsay and violated privacy laws contained within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.

[1072]*1072We first note that the trial court’s decision to admit the dispositional report into evidence is a determination left to its discretion. See In re A.H., 832 N.E.2d 563, 567 (Ind.Ct.App.2005). We will not reverse that decision except for an abuse of that discretion. Id. An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court’s decision is against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it. Id.

I.C. § 31-37-18-2 provides, “[a]ny pre-dispositional report may be admitted into evidence to the extent that the report contains evidence of probative value even if the report would otherwise be excluded.” Thus, in the case before us, the trial court was permitted to admit the dispositional report despite its inclusion of any hearsay, as long as the report contained evidence of probative value. In our review of the report, we find that the information regarding the birth of Mother’s second child is of probative value in relation to assessing her ability to parent C.B. Specifically, the report indicates that Mother tested positive for drugs at the time of the second child’s birth, which was three months after the ACDCS removed C.B. from her care. Furthermore, the ACDCS prepared the report shortly after the second child’s birth; thus, we consider the evidence relevant in determining whether or not C.B. should be reunited with Mother.

Additionally, in the present case, Mother asserts that the information about the birth of her second child contained in the dispositional report constitutes a HI-PAA violation. Specifically, Mother claims the ACDCS improperly attached a copy of the results of a urine drug screen test to the dispositional report. HIPAA protects individuals from unwarranted dissemination of medical and mental health records by restricting access to such records without the individual’s direct consent. A.H., 832 N.E.2d at 567. The provisions of HI-PAA preempt State laws. Id.

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Related

In Re CB
865 N.E.2d 1068 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2007)

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Bluebook (online)
865 N.E.2d 1068, 2007 Ind. App. LEXIS 950, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bateman-v-adams-county-department-of-child-services-indctapp-2007.