Duran v. Buckner
Citation | 157 So.3d 956 |
Decision Date | 27 June 2014 |
Docket Number | 2120837. |
Parties | Michelle DURAN et al. v. Nancy BUCKNER, individually and in her official capacity as the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Human Resources, and Kim Mashego, individually and in her official capacity as the Director of the Shelby County Department of Human Resources. |
Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
James V. Green, Jr., Alabaster, for appellants.
Luther Strange, atty. gen., and Sharon E. Ficquette, gen. counsel, and Elizabeth L. Hendrix, asst. atty. gen., Department of Human Resources, for appellees.
This is an appeal from a judgment dismissing a 38–page, 9–count complaint containing 159 separately numbered paragraphs filed against 2 defendants, individually and in their official capacities as employees of the state, by 6 individual plaintiffs. The complaint alleges that the plaintiffs' names appear on a central registry listing individuals against whom reports of alleged child abuse or neglect have been filed. The plaintiffs contend that, pursuant to the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and/or state law, they were entitled to a hearing to deny and dispute the allegations against them before their names were entered into the registry. As explained infra, the plaintiffs sought declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and monetary damages. We affirm the judgment in part, reverse it in part, and remand the cause for further proceedings.
On January 30, 2012, Michelle Duran, Crystal Calhoun, Kurt Bongers, Bryan Burroughs, Shannon Trammell, and James Van Kleeck (“the plaintiffs”) filed a complaint in the Shelby Circuit Court (“the trial court”) against Kim Mashego, individually and in her official capacity as the Director of the Shelby County Department of Human Resources (“the Shelby County DHR”), and Nancy Buckner, individually and in her official capacity as the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Human Resources (“DHR”). In the complaint, the plaintiffs described their status as follows:
Under Alabama law, DHR has the duty to investigate all reports of child abuse or neglect and to make an assessment of any such report. § 26–14–6.1, Ala.Code 1975; Ala. Admin. Code (DHR), Rule 660–5–34–.02. After an investigator's assessment of the reported child abuse or neglect, DHR typically designates either an “indicated” or “not indicated” disposition for the report.1 An “indicated” disposition is defined as “[w]hen credible evidence and professional judgment substantiates that an alleged perpetrator is responsible for child abuse or neglect.” § 26–14–8(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975. A “not indicated” disposition denotes that “credible evidence and professional judgment does not substantiate that an alleged perpetrator is responsible for child abuse or neglect.” § 26–14–8(a)(2).
Section 26–14–7.1, Ala.Code 1975, provides that certain persons who have come under investigation by DHR for child abuse or neglect shall receive notice of the investigation and may request a hearing. That statute provides, in part:
An “aggrieved person” may also request a hearing to contest the allegations in a report of child abuse or neglect pursuant to Ala. Admin. Code (DHR), Rule 660–1–5–.03. An “aggrieved person” is someone who is “adversely affected by any action or inaction of [DHR].” Ala. Admin. Code (DHR), Rule 660–1–5–.01(1). According to the DHR administrative regulations, a person named in a report with a preliminary “indicated” disposition is entitled to either a hearing or an administrative record review:
Ala. Admin. Code (DHR), Rule 660–5–34–.08 ( ).
A hearing is defined in the regulations as being “fact finding in nature and designed to elicit the facts in an atmosphere that allows the person responsible for the abuse/neglect to contest the evidence presented against him.” Rule 660–5–34–.08(6). In an administrative record review, DHR determines whether “sufficient documentation based on a preponderance of credible evidence ... support[s] the ‘indicated’ disposition of child abuse/neglect.” Rule 660–5–34–.08(3). DHR considers prior reports of child abuse or neglect in administrative record reviews. Rule 660–5–34–.08(7). The DHR staff members who conduct an administrative record review are not the same persons involved with the investigation of the report. Id.
Established pursuant to § 26–14–8, Ala.Code 1975, the central registry is a record of the reports of child abuse and neglect and is maintained for the primary purpose of protecting children. Duncan v. State Dep't of Human Res., 627 So.2d 427, 428 (Ala.Civ.App.1993). Once DHR receives a report of child abuse or neglect, the report must be entered into the central registry within three working days. Ala. Admin. Code (DHR), Rule 660–5–34–.09(3). Among other information, the report includes information identifying the person allegedly responsible for the child abuse or neglect and the results of DHR's assessment (i.e., DHR's disposition of the report as either “indicated” or “not indicated”). Rule 660–5–34–.09(4). Section 26–14–8 instructs DHR to keep the information on the central registry in a confidential manner. Disclosure of information from the central registry—i.e., reports and records pertaining to child abuse or neglect—is permitted only for the following purposes:
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