In re C.B.

In June 1992, the State petitioned the family court to find C.B. a child in need of care and supervision (CHINS), alleging that C.B. had serious, painful, and untreated dental problems, and that her mother had struck her several times. After a merits hearing, the court adjudged C.B. a CHINS and placed her in the temporary custody of SRS. A disposition hearing commenced in September 1992, but was continued before any evidence was presented. The hearing eventually was held in May 1993.*

A disposition report, written in September 1992 and admitted into evidence without objection, reported (1)…