Fourth Department - Child neglect: Matter of De’Lawrence S. III

Daily Record Staff//July 2, 2026//

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New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department

Child neglect — Excessive corporal punishment

CAF 24-01224

Appealed from Family Court, Erie County

Background: The respondent father appealed from an order that adjudged that he neglected the subject children and continued the children’s foster care placement.

Ruling: The Appellate Division affirmed. The court noted that the older child’s statements to petitioner’s caseworkers about an incident in which he was slapped and punched by the father after she returned home late were corroborated by a caseworker’s observations of the older child’s visible injuries, as well as the father’s admissions regarding the incident. Additionally, the father’s denial of hitting the children on any other occasion presented the court with a credibility determination which was resolved against the father.

Charles Greenberg for the respondent-appellant; Richard K. Barney III for the petitioner-respondent.

Oral argument video