H.B. v. Department of Children & Family Services

ALTENBERND, Judge.

H.B., the mother of an infant child, J.E.B., appeals an order adjudicating the child dependent based upon a finding that the child was at imminent risk of prospective abuse. The Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) sheltered J.E.B. at birth because H.B. was facing a pending criminal charge of neglect regarding another child of H.B. who died under unexplained circumstances two years earlier. We reverse the adjudication of dependency because the Department offered no proof at the adjudicatory hearing other than the mother’s arrest and pending criminal…