Opinion
August 17, 1998
Appeal from the Family Court, Rockland County (Warren, J.).
Ordered that the appeal from the order entered May 9, 1997, is dismissed, without costs or disbursements, as the appellant is not aggrieved thereby; and it is further,
Ordered that the order entered June 4, 1997, is reversed, on the law, without costs or disbursements, the petitions are granted to the extent that the child Vanessa is found to be neglected and the child Deandre is found to be derivatively neglected, and the matter is remitted to the Family Court, Rockland County, for a dispositional hearing.
The issue in this case is whether proof of a pattern of domestic violence by the father against the mother witnessed by their older child is sufficient to establish neglect under Family Court Act § 1012 Fam. Ct. Act absent expert evidence that such violence impaired the mental or emotional condition of the child or created an "imminent danger" of such impairment. In the order appealed from, the Family Court held that such violence alone could not be the basis of a finding of neglect and dismissed the petitions. We reverse.
Given the Legislature's awareness of and concern for the detrimental effects of domestic violence on children, Family Court Act § 1012 Fam. Ct. Act (f) (i) (B) was drafted in sufficiently broad terms to encompass domestic violence as a permissible basis upon which to make a finding of neglect (see, Matter of Lonell J., 242 A.D.2d 58; see also, Matter of Billy Jean II., 226 A.D.2d 767; Matter of Tami G., 209 A.D.2d 869; Matter of Theresa CC., 178 A.D.2d 687; Matter of Michael M., 156 Misc.2d 98). Such a finding may be made without expert evidence (see, Matter of Lonell J., supra; see, e.g., Matter of Tami G., supra; Family Ct Act § 1046 [b]). Here, the evidence presented at the hearings was sufficient to prove that the father's violent abuse of the mother in the presence of their daughter, Vanessa, resulted in impairment of the child's mental and emotional health (see, Matter of Lonell J., supra; Matter of Theresa CC., supra; cf., Matter of Bryan L., 149 Misc.2d 899). Moreover, on the facts presented, a finding of derivative neglect with regard to that child's sibling, Deandre, is warranted (see, Matter of Dutchess County Dept. of Social Servs. [Douglas E., III] v. Douglas E., Jr., 191 A.D.2d 694). Accordingly, we remit the matter to the Family Court, Rockland County, for a dispositional hearing.
Ritter, J. P., Santucci, Joy and Florio, JJ., concur.