In re Shernise C.

OPINION OF THE COURT

Cohen, J.

“There is no more worthy object of the public’s concern” than the welfare of children (Wyman v James, 400 US 309, 318 [1971]). However, in our societal zeal to protect them, our most vulnerable and most valuable asset, we must be careful not to trample upon their constitutional rights. An innocent child should certainly have as much right to be free from an unreasonable search and seizure as someone suspected of committing a crime. Thus, while harmonizing the State’s extraordinary interest in protecting a child’s welfare from the potential for the invasion of a…