A New York State appellate court, in In the Matter of R., A., held that a Family Court cannot place a mother who was a domestic violence survivor under the supervision of N.Y.C's child welfare agency while a neglect case proceeded against the father. The mother was not a party to the neglect proceeding. She had described the supervision as "traumatizing," "intrusive," and "humiliating." She argued that it was in violation of her Fourth Amendment and Due Process rights. Law360 reports on the holding, including key excerpts:
"We find that ACS's stated policy of monitoring the nonrespondent parent in such cases is not permitted under Family Court Act § 1017 or any other provision of the Family Court Act, including and especially where the reason ACS seeks supervision is that the nonrespondent parent is a domestic violence survivor."
"Essentially, the ACS policy at issue in this case permits it to surveil the mother simply because the child's father committed acts of domestic violence against her."
"We cannot condone a policy based on this faulty and unlawful premise."