C.S. v. Prince George's County Dept. of Social Services

• Decision Date: 31 July 1996
• Docket Number: S,No. 115,115
• Citation: C.S. v. Prince George's County Dept. of Social Services, 680 A.2d 470, 343 Md. 14 (Md. 1996)
• Parties: C.S. v. PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES. ept. Term 1995.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

Page 14

343 Md. 14

680 A.2d 470

C.S. v.PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES.

No. 115, Sept. Term 1995.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

July 31, 1996.

Reconsideration Denied Aug. 23, 1996.

Frederick J. Sullivan, Bowie, for Petitioner.

Sandra Irene Barnes, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen., on brief), Baltimore, for Respondent.

Joseph F. Devlin, Glen Burnie, amicus curiae, for C.S.

Joel A. Smith(Joel A. Smith, David Diggs, Christyne L. Neff, Kahn, Smith & Collins, P.A., on brief), Baltimore, amicus curiae, for Federation of Maryland Teachers and Public Employees, AFT, AFL-CIO.

Deborah A. Jeon, Centreville, amicus curiae, for ACLU Foundation of Maryland.

Arthur B. Spitzer, Washington, D.C., amicus curiae, for ACLU Foundation of the National Capital Area.

H. Michael Hickson, Thomas J. Maloney, Charles J. Brown, Banks, Nason, Hickson & Cockey, Salisbury, amicus curiae, for ACLU Foundation of Maryland.

Argued before MURPHY, C.J., and ELDRIDGE, RODOWSKY, CHASANOW, KARWACKI, BELL and RAKER, JJ.

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

In this case, we address the procedural mechanisms provided in the Family Law Article applicable to those who have been accused of abusing or neglecting a child.

I

A

Maryland Code(1984, 1991 Repl.Vol., 1995 Supp.)§§ 5-701 to 5-715 of the Family Law Article comprise Maryland's statutory procedures for investigating, reporting, and detecting child abuse.These provisions define who must report suspected child abuse and when and how a report must be filed, §§ 5-704and5-705, the procedures by which law enforcement and social services agencies must conduct investigations of such reports, § 5-706, and the procedures by which children endangered by child abuse can be protected. §§ 5-709 to 5-713.The statute divides the responsibilities of investigating and reporting on child abuse or neglect among the State's Department of Human Resources(DHR), the Social Services Administration (SSA) within the DHR, the local departments of social services in each county ("local departments"), and law enforcement agencies.The statute also provides certain protections to a person suspected of child abuse, by limiting the uses to which records and reports can be put and providing certain procedures by which an alleged abuser can challenge the conclusions drawn by an investigating social worker.See§§ 5-706.1,5-706.2,5-707,5-714(c),5-715.

Upon receiving a report of child abuse, § 5-706(a) requires a local department of social services or law enforcement agency to "make a thorough investigation."This investigation includes examining and interviewing the child and his or her caretaker, and requires the department to determine the nature and cause of the abuse.§§ 5-706(b) and (c).Within 10 days after the suspected abuse is first reported, the local department must report its preliminary findings to the local State's Attorney, and it must provide the State's Attorney with a complete written report of its findings within 5 days of the investigation's completion.§§ 5-706(h) and (i).

The local department may make one of three findings when it completes the investigation.If the local department finds that "there is credible evidence, which has not been satisfactorily refuted, that abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse did occur," then it must find that child abuse was "indicated."§ 5-701(k);see alsoCode of MarylandAdministrative Regulations(COMAR)07.02.07.12(A)(1996)(providing guidelines for determining when abuse is "indicated"); COMAR 07.02.07.13(A)(providing guidelines for when child neglect is "indicated").If it finds that "abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse did not occur," then the alleged child abuse has been "ruled out."§ 5-701(t);see alsoCOMAR 07.02.07.12(C) and 07.02.07.13(C).Finally, if "there is an insufficient amount of evidence to support a finding of indicated or ruled out," the local department may find that the abuse was "unsubstantiated."§ 5-701(v);see alsoCOMAR 07.02.07.12(B) and 07.02.07.13(B).Following each investigation, the local department must determine which of these three labels should be applied and document the factors upon which it made its determination.COMAR 07.02.07.11(A).

After it completes its investigation, if it finds that the abuse or neglect was indicated or unsubstantiated, the local department must notify the person allegedly responsible for the abuse or neglect of the department's finding and that the person may request an administrative hearing to appeal the finding.§ 5-706.1(a).If an administrative hearing is requested, the local department's records must be reviewed to determine whether its finding should be modified or expunged.§ 5- 706.1(d).¹If the finding is not changed to "ruled out" as a result of this review, the department shall forward all of its reports and records to the Office of Administrative Hearings(OAH), the agency that must conduct the hearing.§ 5-706.2(b).

Section 5-706.2 defines the procedures under which this hearing must be conducted.For example, § 5-706.2(a) allows the alleged abuser to request that the administrative law judge (ALJ) conduct an in camera review of the full report or record to determine its accuracy and sufficiency.Section 5-706.2(c) provides that after the ALJ determines that the information in the report is "sufficient and accurate for purposes of determining an issue in a proceeding," the ALJ may provide the full report or record to the alleged abuser, so long as the ALJ takes measures to protect the confidentiality of the persons who provided the information to the local department.The alleged abuser can submit additional written information to the ALJ, and the ALJ must determine the correctness of the local department's finding based upon the department's report and this additional information.§ 706.2(d)(1).If the ALJ determines that the finding is incorrect, the ALJ must order the department to change the finding.§ 706.2(d)(2).The hearing and administrative review mechanism provided in §§ 706.1and706.2 is commonly referred to as a "Chapter 318 hearing," in reference to the legislative act creating §§ 706.1and706.2.

There are several different ways in which information relating to child abuse is stored by the local departments of social services and by the Social Services Administration.First, each local department is required to maintain a case record of all investigations.COMAR 07.02.07.15(A).This paper record includes the written report of the department's findings, copies of medical records, pertinent letters, and any other documentation relating to the investigation.COMAR 07.02.07.15(B).This record is expunged within 120 days of the conclusion of the investigation if abuse or neglect was ruled out and no further reports are received.§ 5-707(b)(2); COMAR 07.02.07.18(B).If the alleged abuse or neglect was unsubstantiated, the reports must be expunged within 5 years if no further reports are received.§ 5-707(b)(1); COMAR 07.02.07.18(A).

In addition to the local department's report, "[t]he Social Services Administration and each local department may maintain a central registry of cases reported [under the child abuse statute]."§ 5-714(a).Information stored in such a central registry is at the disposal of the protective services staff of the SSA.§ 5-714(c)(1).In addition, the protective services staffs of the local departments and law enforcement personnel have access to the central registry when they are investigating a report of suspected abuse or neglect.§ 5-714(c)(2) and (3).

Certain protections are provided to persons suspected of abuse or neglect in relation to central registries.First, before a name can be entered in a central registry, the alleged abuser is entitled to notice.§ 5-715(b).In addition, unless the person has already been adjudicated a child abuser, such as in a criminal proceeding, the alleged abuser may request an administrative hearing "for the purpose of allowing the person to appeal the entry of the person's name in the central registry."§ 5-715(c)(1).No person's name may be entered into the central registry unless that person has been adjudicated to be a child abuser, or was given the hearing provided for in § 5-715(c) and was unsuccessful, or failed to request a hearing within 15 days of notification by the department seeking to enter the alleged abuser's name in a central registry.§ 5-715(d).Once a person's name has been entered in a central registry, it must be removed after seven years if no further entries have been made for that person.§ 5-715(e).

In addition to the local department's paper records and state and local central registries, information about suspected child abusers is stored in an "automated master file" or "client information system."The automated master file (AMF) or client information system (CIS) is defined in DHR's regulations as "the automated electronic system that maintains data related to services provided by a local department."COMAR 07.02.07.02(B)(3); COMAR 07.02.07.02(B)(9).The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee has referred to the AMF as "a statewide, comprehensive database containing records of all cases, including those of suspected child abuse, which are handled by local departments of social services."Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, Bill Analysis for House Bill 617, at 1(1993).No statutory provisions refer to the AMF by name, and DHR has asserted that it is not a "central registry" because it is not "designed solely to list the names of adjudicated child abusers."Id. at 2.²

B

On November 26, 1993, the Prince George's County Department of Social Services(PGDSS) notified C.S. that it had conducted an investigation and concluded that C.S. was responsible for an incident of "indicated" abuse, and that it was entering C.S.'s name on the central registry.After C.S. requested a hearing, the PGDSS reviewed its records and declined to modify its...