Matter of Dashawn Q

Matter of Dashawn Q., 112 AD3d 1250, 1252, 976 NYS2d 742 [2013] involved opposition by the presentment agency to the sealing of the complete record of a juvenile delinquency proceeding which had terminated in favor of the respondent. In that case, the juvenile had been charged with committing sex offenses against his younger siblings, and the Department of Social Services commenced child protective proceedings on behalf of the respondent and his eight siblings. Once the child protective proceedings had been resolved, the presentment agency withdrew the juvenile delinquency proceeding as respondent was placed under the child protective case. While the juvenile delinquency case had terminated in favor of Dashawn Q., the Family Court declined to order the sealing of certain reports relating to the respondent, finding that the reports were needed to provide treatment and services to all of the children through the child protective cases. In affirming Family Court's order, the Appellate Division held that "Family Court properly declined to seal the subject reports [from the delinquency case] in the interest of justice" (Id. at 1252), as "sealing the subject reports indeed would hinder not only the fashioning of an appropriate disposition--for all nine children--in the context of the related neglect proceeding, but also would impede Family Court's ability to secure the necessary services and treatment for respondent" (id.).