In re O.B.A.

208 N.Y.S.3d 185

In the MATTER OF O.B.A., a Child Under Eighteen Years of Age, etc.,

Eleiona J., Respondent-Appellant,

Administration for Children’s Services, Petitioner-Respondent.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

Entered: May 2, 2024

Kenneth M. Tuccillo, Hastings on Hudson, for appellant.

Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix, Corporation Counsel, New York (Tahirih M. Sadrieh of counsel), for respondent.

Andrew J. Baer, New York, attorney for the child.

Webber, J.P., Oing, Rodriguez, Higgitt, Michael, JJ.

Order, Family Court, New York County (Clark V. Richardson, J.), entered on or about August 17, 2022, which, after a hearing, granted petitioner’s application for removal of the subject child pursuant to Family Court Act § 1027 pending the factfinding hearing on the issue of neglect, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

On review of the evidence and testimony submitted at the hearing held pursuant to Family Court Act § 1027, we find that the record supports a determination that the child’s life or health was at imminent risk of harm (Family Court Act § 1027[b][i]). The record includes evidence that the mother engaged in several incidents of volatile and erratic behavior while in the hospital in the days following the child’s birth and in the presence of the newborn child (see Matter of Julissia B. [Navasia J.], 128 A.D.3d 690, 691–692, 7 N.Y.S.3d 596 [2d Dept. 2015]). Although the imminent risk assessment was favorable to the mother, the decision whether to credit an expert opinion is a credibility determination for the court (see Matter of Adina B. ...