Department of Children & Families v. D.B.

129 A.3d 332, 443 N.J. Super. 431, 2015 N.J. Super. LEXIS 173
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedJuly 29, 2015
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 129 A.3d 332 (Department of Children & Families v. D.B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Department of Children & Families v. D.B., 129 A.3d 332, 443 N.J. Super. 431, 2015 N.J. Super. LEXIS 173 (N.J. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

KOBLITZ, J.A.D.

We consolidate these two appeals for the purpose of writing one opinion. Defendant A.G., a teacher’s aide for an autistic child, [434]*434appeals from an August 14, 2013 findings report issued by the Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit (IAIU) of the Department of Children and Families (Department). Defendant D.B., an elementary school art teacher, appeals from an amended August 1, 2013 IAIU findings report. Both defendants contest the validity of N.J.A.C. 10:129-7.3, upon which the Department’s findings were based.

D.B. and A.G. both seek to have the Department’s findings letter changed from “not established” to “unfounded.” We affirm the findings of “not established,” but reverse and remand for the Department to issue new reports in conformity with the clear directions we have previously provided to the agency.

A.G.

We first summarize the factual information with regard to each defendant separately, beginning with A.G. A.G. was employed by the Paterson public schools for twenty-nine years. On May 16, 2013, the Department received a referral from the principal stating that the prior day the teacher of a class of students with learning disabilities saw A.G. hit five-year-old Joey1 multiple times on his arm with her open hand. Joey had been diagnosed as autistic.

From May to July the IAIU investigator interviewed the following parties: A.G.; the reporting teacher; two adults who were in the classroom at the time; the principal; the school nurse; Joey; Joey’s mother; and six of Joey’s classmates. The investigator also received copies of notes taken by the principal as well as a May 15, 2013 account of the incident written by the teacher; a May 16, 2013 account written by A.G.; and a May 16, 2013 employee incident report written by A.G. and the principal.

On May 16,2013, A.G. wrote that:

[435]*435Yesterday at 1:00 p.m. when [we] were doing the math [Joey] was very upset when [a classmate, “Ana”] s[a]t next to another student. [Joey] doesn’t want[ ] [anyone] near to [Ana] so he was very ag[g]ressive and he started hit[t]ing so I was protecting the other[ ] students. He hit me ... in the face and scratched me in the right side of my face and left side of my hand. [The teacher] was next to me. [H]e was kicking the chair so I was holding his hands[.] I told him that he needs to respect, that he needs to stop and that he needs to do his work, then he [did] wash his face and hands[.] I was with him, then he did his work (test).

The classroom teacher wrote in her May 15 statement that:

[Joey] did not want to complete his class work and was acting out: screaming and trying to run out of the classroom. When he transitioned to [A.G.’s] group she tried prompting him to complete his work but he did not comply. He threw the classroom materials from the table and ripped a test paper that was in front of him. When [A.G.] asked him to work, [Joey] scratched her face. At this point, [A.G.] started to hit [Joey] repeatedly and stating “You are not going to scratch me” and “You need to have respect”. The incident was reported to the building administrator[.]

When interviewed by the investigator on June 14, 2013, the teacher asserted the following. A.G. hit Joey four times. She estimated that on a scale of one to ten, with one being the softest and ten being the hardest, A.G. struck Joey using a force of five to six. She had previously witnessed A.G. pinch or press on a student’s neck in order to make the student sit down. Joey’s behavior had improved dramatically after the termination of A.G.

According to the principal’s notes, the reporting teacher brought Joey to the office.

Due to [Joey’s] disability, it is difficult to understand what he is saying. However, the teacher showed him the class picture and had him identify the students and teachers. When he pointed to [A.G.] he was able to say [A.G.’s last name]. He was then asked if she had hurt him. He said yes and touched his mouth. He also brought his foot up to his cheek. He was again asked if she had hurt him. However, he was not able to respond or elaborate on what had happened. [The teacher] was not sure if and when he had been hit in the areas shown because it was not what she had seen in the particular incident.

Joey’s mother, L.N., informed the investigator of the following. She noticed a bruise on Joey’s face in April 2013, and Joey stated that a teacher did it, although he did not identify the teacher. She had had no concerns about Joey’s safety at the school prior to April 2013. She had photographed and videoed Joey’s bruise, and [436]*436in the video Joey responds to questioning about how he had been bruised, without indicating who was involved.

The investigator tried to interview Joey, but he replied “Sponge Bob” and shut his eyes when asked about a classroom incident with A.G. The instructional assistant claimed he witnessed Joey run out of the classroom after which he had to be brought back in and seated by a teacher and himself; Joey began to knock items down; he heard Joey and A.G. scream, but did not see Joey scratch A.G. nor see any marks on Joey. The instructional assistant also stated that although A.G. could be loud and aggressive in her tone of voice, he never witnessed her hit a student.

The investigator interviewed the substitute and the school nurse who examined both A.G. and Joey. They did not see any marks on Joey or marks on A.G.’s face, although A.G. had a small scratch on her hand. Six of Joey’s classmates said they had not seen A.G. hit Joey.

A.G. was terminated effective May 31, 2013. The IAIU embodied its findings report in three separate letters dated August 14, 2013. The letters were sent to the state district superintendent, A.G., and Joey’s mother.

Each of the three letters included the following text:

Investigative findings
Physical Abuse/Substantial Risk of Physical Injury/Environment Injurious to Health and Welfare is not established, in accordance with N.J.S.A 9:6-8.21. No adjudicative findings have been made, as the Institutional Abuse Unit’s review herein is solely investigative.
Not established findings are not disclosed in a Child Abuse Registry Check but are maintained in agency records.

The letters to the district superintendent and to Joey’s mother continued under the heading “Investigative Observations ”:

[Joey,] age [five,] had no observable injuries. On May 16, 2013, [Joey] was examined by the school nurse. The results of the investigation indicate that [Joey] was yelling and throwing papers in class. An adult witness observed [A.6.] smack [Joey] on the hand. [A.G.] denied that she smacked [Joey.] [A.G.] admitted that she put her hand over [Joey’s] hand after he scratched her. It should be noted that [Joey] manifested a bruise under his eye in April 2013. However, there was no information to support that [A.G.] caused the injury.
[437]*437Based upon the information gathered and physical observations of the child, [Joey] is not an abused child as defined by statute.

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Bluebook (online)
129 A.3d 332, 443 N.J. Super. 431, 2015 N.J. Super. LEXIS 173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/department-of-children-families-v-db-njsuperctappdiv-2015.