In the Interest of R.M.

OPINION

SAYLOR, Justice.

This ease concerns the constitutional requirement of notice in connection with an adjudication of dependency under the Juvenile Act, as well as the necessity for adherence to statutory directives governing an agency’s taking of custody under the Child Protective Services Law.

On February 3, 2000, Monroe County Children and Youth Services (“MCCYS”) received a referral from a school official to the effect that R.M., then ten years old, had reported that his adoptive parents physically abused him. MCCYS dispatched caseworkers to investigate, and R.M. was taken into…