| Matter of Immanuel C.-S. (Debra C.) |
| 2013 NY Slip Op 02147 [104 AD3d 615] |
| March 28, 2013 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| In the Matter of Immanuel C.-S., a Child Alleged to beNeglected. Debra C., Appellant; Commissioner of the Administration for Children'sServices, Respondent. |
—[*1] Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel, New York (Deborah A. Brenner ofcounsel), for respondent. Tamara A. Steckler, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Claire V. Merkine ofcounsel), attorney for the child.
Order, Family Court, New York County (Jody Adams, J.), entered on or about March28, 2012, which, after a fact-finding hearing, determined that appellant mother hadneglected the subject child, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The court properly determined that petitioner proved by a preponderance of theevidence that the mother had neglected the child by reason of her untreated mentalcondition and failure to provide adequate supervision and guardianship, which placed thechild at imminent risk of becoming impaired (see Matter of Faith J., 47 AD3d630 [2d Dept 2008]; Matter of Caress S., 250 AD2d 490 [1st Dept 1998]). Thehospital records and caseworker's testimony indicate that the mother suffers fromparanoid ideation and delusions, evidenced by her belief that people were entering herapartment and her car, putting spoiled food in her refrigerator, and listening to her phoneconversations. The caseworker also testified that the home was in deplorable condition,which the mother attributed to the lack of closet space, and that the child had not seen adoctor or dentist in several years. In addition, the court observed that the mother'stestimony was unfocused. Petitioner was not obligated to prove that the child sufferedpast or present [*2]harm, since the evidence demonstratedthat he was at risk of harm based on demonstrable conduct by the mother (see Matterof Nassau County Dept. of Social Servs. v Denise J., 87 NY2d 73, 79 [1995]).Concur—Tom, J.P., Acosta, Saxe, Freedman and Feinman, JJ.