Opinion
2014-04-16
In the Matter of SAMANTHA R. (Anonymous). Suffolk County Department of Social Services, respondent; Laurie R. (Anonymous), appellant.
Carol E. Castillo, East Setauket, N.Y., for appellant. Dennis M. Brown, County Attorney, Central Islip, N.Y. (Brian B. Mulholland of counsel), for respondent.
Carol E. Castillo, East Setauket, N.Y., for appellant. Dennis M. Brown, County Attorney, Central Islip, N.Y. (Brian B. Mulholland of counsel), for respondent.
Lynn Poster–Zimmerman, Huntington, N.Y., attorney for the child.
In a child neglect proceeding pursuant to Family Court Act article 10, the mother appeals from an order of fact-finding of the Family Court, Suffolk County (Loguercio, J.), dated February 28, 2013, which, after a hearing, found that she neglected the subject child.
ORDERED that the order of fact-finding is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
Contrary to the contention of the Suffolk County Department of Social Services, an appeal from an intermediate order in a case involving abuse or neglect may be taken as of right ( see Family Ct. Act § 1112[a]; Matter of Alyssa L. [Deborah K.], 93 A.D.3d 1083, 941 N.Y.S.2d 740).
Contrary to the mother's contention, the Family Court did not err in relying upon the child's out-of-court statements, as those statements were sufficiently corroborated ( see Matter of Astrid C., 43 A.D.3d 819, 841 N.Y.S.2d 356;Matter of Whitney H., 19 A.D.3d 491, 798 N.Y.S.2d 451). Further, the evidence adduced at the fact-finding hearing was sufficient to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the mother neglected the subject child due to her abuse of alcohol ( seeFamily Ct. Act § 1046[a][iii]; Matter of Bianca P. [Theodore A.P.], 94 A.D.3d 1126, 943 N.Y.S.2d 200). DILLON, J.P., CHAMBERS, AUSTIN and DUFFY, JJ., concur.