S.T. v. Department of Public Welfare

681 A.2d 853, 1996 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 337
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 15, 1996
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 681 A.2d 853 (S.T. v. Department of Public Welfare) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
S.T. v. Department of Public Welfare, 681 A.2d 853, 1996 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 337 (Pa. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

SMITH, Judge.

S.T. petitions for review of a final order of the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Department of Public Welfare (DPW), that adopted in its entirety the recommendation of an attorney examiner denying S.T.’s appeal and determining that an indicated report of child abuse, listing S.T. as the perpetrator, should not be expunged. The issues presented for review are whether DPWs order is supported by substantial evidence, where the identification of S.T. as the perpetrator allegedly was based upon uncorroborated hearsay; whether there is substantial evidence to support the finding that the victim suffered a “serious injury” within the meaning of Section 6303 of the Child Protective Services [855]*855Law, 23 Pa.C.S. § 6303,1 where the child suffered no severe pain or permanent residual effects and was able to engage in his normal activities; and whether S.T.’s due process rights under the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions were violated.

DPW’s attorney examiner made the following findings of fact. The subject child is J.K., who was four years old on January 11, 1993, the date of the alleged child abuse. On that date, J.K. was in the physical custody of S.T., who was acting as a day care proprietor in her home. J.K. arrived at S.T.’s home before 7:30 a.m. in apparently good condition. S.T., in response to an alleged complaint by J.K., checked his left ear but found nothing wrong with it. J.K.’s mother, D.K., picked up J.K. at 2:00 p.m. that afternoon and noticed that his face was red but assumed it was from sleeping on that side of his face. At the time of pick up, S.T. told D.K. that J.K.’s ear was bothering him.

Upon reaching home at approximately 2:30 p.m., D.K. examined J.K.’s ear and noticed that it was starting to turn purple. J.K. stated that S.T. hit him because he hit Benji, S.T.’s dog. Shortly thereafter, J.K. told John K., his brother, that S.T. hit him because he hit her dog. At approximately 4:00 p.m., D.K. contacted a pediatric physician, who examined J.K. at approximately 6:30 p.m. The following day, Ms. Emily Davis-Palermo, a caseworker for the Lackawanna County Children and Youth Services (CYS), examined J.K. and noticed that his face was reddened and his upper left ear appeared to be bruised. Ms. Davis-Palermo took photographs of the injuries, which were entered into evidence as CYS Exhibit # 1. Ms. Davis-Palermo asked J.K. what happened, and he responded that S.T. hit him after he hit S.T.’s dog.

The attorney examiner found that the injury met the criteria for physical child abuse in that the child received a serious injury causing severe pain, which lasted for about two weeks, and that the child received treatment from a pediatric physician. On February 5, 1993, based on Ms. Davis-Palermo’s investigation, DPW filed an indicated report of physical child abuse against S.T.

Following an administrative hearing on S.T.’s child abuse expungement appeal at which both parties presented evidence, the attorney examiner determined, in light of all the circumstances, that J.K.’s injury occurred while he was in the custody of S.T. and that S.T. caused the injury. The attorney examiner found that J.K’s statements that S.T. hit him because he hit her dog, which were made to his mother, his brother and Ms. Davis-Palermo, were consistent. The attorney examiner further noted that while these statements could be considered hearsay, they were corroborated by other evidence of record, which indicated that J.K. sustained his injury while in S.T.’s custody. The attorney examiner recommended that the indicated report of child abuse not be expunged. The Office of Hearings and Appeals adopted the recommendation in its entirety, and S.T. petitions this Court for review.2

S.T. contends that DPW failed to present sufficient evidence to identify S.T. as the perpetrator. Specifically, S.T. contends that the only evidence linking her to the victim was J.K.’s hearsay statements that she hit him. S.T. argues that this hearsay is uncorroborated by any other evidence of record and that, under the evidentiary standards to be applied in expungement cases as set forth by the Supreme Court in A.Y. v. Department of Public Welfare, Allegheny County Children & Youth Services, 537 Pa. 116, 641 A.2d 1148 (1994), it is insufficient to [856]*856uphold the denial of an expungement request.

In AY. the Supreme Court enunciated guidelines for the admission of hearsay testimony in child abuse expungement cases. The Court stated that “[h]earsay testimony in conjunction with admissible corroborative evidence of the act(s) in question can in toto constitute substantial evidence which will satisfy the Agency’s burden to justify a conclusion of abuse.” Id. at 126, 641 A.2d at 1153. Accordingly, this Court must determine whether J.K.’s statements that S.T. hit him were sufficiently corroborated by the evidence.

In Bedford County Children and Youth Services v. Department of Public Welfare, 149 Pa.Cmwlth. 127, 613 A.2d 48 (1992), the Court stated that “[i]n the context of child abuse expungement proceedings, ‘substantial evidence’ is defined as evidence which ‘so preponderates in favor of a conclusion that it outweighs, in the mind of the fact finder, any inconsistent evidence and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom.’ ” Id., 149 Pa.Cmwlth. at 129, 613 A.2d at 50. Further, in determining whether a finding of fact is supported by substantial evidence, the Court must give the party in whose favor the decision was rendered the benefit of all reasonable and logical inferences that may be drawn from the evidence of record; the weight and credibility to be accorded to the evidence is solely within the province of the attorney examiner as fact finder. Id.

This Court in B.E. Re G.M. Jr. v. Department of Public Welfare, 654 A.2d 290 (Pa.Cmwlth.1995), followed the guidelines set forth va. AY. for determining when corroborated hearsay may be considered substantial evidence. In that case the Court found that medical records corroborated the caseworker’s testimony regarding the contents of her report. In the present case, J.K.’s hearsay statements to his mother, brother and Ms. Davis-Palermo were corroborated by testimony presented by J.K’s mother, brother and Ms. Davis-Palermo along with the medical evidence.

In summary, the evidence indicates that J.K.’s left ear was uninjured when he was placed in S.T.’s care. S.T. admits that she stopped J.K. from hitting Benji, her dog. When J.K.’s mother and brother picked him up, bruising to his face and ear had begun to develop. The only adults who had contact with J.K. between 7:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. are S.T. and J.K.’s mother. This • Court concludes that the evidence, when viewed in its entirety, preponderates in favor of a conclusion that S.T. is the individual who caused J.K.’s injuries. DPW’s finding that S.T. caused J.K’s injuries is therefore supported by substantial evidence.

S.T. further contends that the evidence presented by DPW failed to establish that J.K. suffered a “serious physical injury” within the meaning of Section 6303 of the Child Protective Services Law.

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Bluebook (online)
681 A.2d 853, 1996 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-v-department-of-public-welfare-pacommwct-1996.