Department of Children & Families v. R.V.

The Department of Children and Families [“the Department”] appeals an order granting appellees’ motion to dismiss the Department’s petition for dependency. We find there was a procedural error, and we vacate the dismissal.

On November 5, 2004, the Department filed a dependency petition against the parents of three minor children based on inadequate supervision. The petition alleged that the mother left her two-year-old in the car while she went into Walgreen’s to purchase cigarettes and then had an altercation in the parking lot with a pregnant woman who found her child unattended. The…