Opinion
December 4, 1995
Appeal from the Family Court, Suffolk County (Pach, J.).
Ordered that the fact-finding order and order of disposition is reversed, on the law, without costs or disbursements, and the proceeding is dismissed.
Family Court Act § 1012 (f) defines a neglected child as a child under 18 years of age:
"(i) whose physical, mental or emotional condition has been impaired or is in imminent danger of becoming impaired as a result of the failure of his parent * * * to exercise a minimum degree of care * * *
"in providing the child with proper supervision or guardianship, by unreasonably inflicting or allowing to be inflicted harm * * * including the infliction of excessive corporal punishment".
Impairment or imminent danger of impairment must, however, be "clearly attributable" to a parent's failure to exercise this degree of care (see, Family Ct Act § 1012 [h]). In this case, there was insufficient evidence to establish that the child's physical, emotional, or mental condition was impaired or in imminent danger of impairment due to the mother's corporal punishment. Therefore, a finding of neglect is not supported by the evidence (cf., Family Ct Act § 1012 [h]; see, Matter of Coleen P., 148 A.D.2d 782; Matter of Jessica G., 200 A.D.2d 906). Thompson, J.P., Ritter, Joy and Florio, JJ., concur.