Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services v. Jones

248 S.W.3d 507, 97 Ark. App. 267, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 46
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 31, 2007
DocketCA 06-630
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 248 S.W.3d 507 (Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services v. Jones, 248 S.W.3d 507, 97 Ark. App. 267, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 46 (Ark. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

Sam Bird, Judge.

The Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) appeals from aprobable cause and closing order of the Sebastian County Circuit Court placing custody of JTH with his paternal grandparents and closing the case. DHHS argues on appeal that the circuit court abused its discretion (1) by closing the case without conducting an adjudication hearing; (2) by granting custody to the paternal grandparents without requiring that a home study be conducted by a “licensed certified social worker”; (3) by granting permanent custody at a probable-cause hearing; (4) by granting custody to out-of-state relatives without approval from the Oklahoma DHS; and (5) by granting permanent custody to the paternal grandparents. We affirm.

Facts

At 4:48 p.m. on January 14, 2006, the Fort Smith Police Department received a call regarding an unattended child, JTH, left in a locked car at Central Mall. JTH was two years old at the time. The police responded immediately and arrested JessicaJones, JTH’s mother, for endangering the welfare of a minor when she returned to the car five minutes after the police arrived. The police called a family-services worker at DHHS, who placed a 72-hour hold on JTH at approximately 5:00 p.m.

On January 17, 2006, DHHS filed a petition for emergency custody. The circuit court granted the petition that same day, placing JTH in the custody of DHHS pending further orders of the court. The circuit court scheduled a probable-cause hearing on the matter for January 19, 2006. On January 18, 2006, Jacob Hines, JTH’s father, filed a petition to establish paternity and also requested the court to enter an order placing JTH in the temporary or permanent custody of the paternal grandparents, Iva and Thomas Hines.

Testimony at the probable-cause hearing was provided by both of JTH’s parents, his paternal grandmother, and his maternal grandmother. All testified that they lived in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. Both parents testified that Jacob Hines was the biological father of JTH and that a paternity order should be entered without DNA testing. They also said that JTH had lived with his paternal grandparents since April 2005, that the grandparents had provided excellent care, that all of the parties got along well for purposes of visitation, and that they wanted custody of JTH to remain with the paternal grandparents. Mrs. Hines testified that she loved JTH and that he had been living with her husband and her since April 2005. She also told the court that JTH was covered under their health-insurance policy, that she and JTH’s mother got along well, and that she intended to continue caring for JTH.

The father’s attorney introduced a home study performed by Martha L. Wells, a licensed social worker for the State of Arkansas, without objection. Attached to the home study were several letters from members of the community: (1) letters from several neighbors, who stated that the Hineses were good parents and respected in the community; (2) a letter from the Hineses’ loan officer, who stated that Mrs. Hines had been the primary caregiver of JTH since he was an infant and that she was a good parent; (3) a letter from a local lawyer, who opined that the Hineses were qualified to accept care and custody of JTH and added that they were hardworking, honest, kind, considerate, and financially able to support JTH; (4) a letter from the Hineses’ accountant stating that he knew the Hineses to be of sufficient means to provide support for JTH; (5) two letters from the Oklahoma DHS stating that — other than the incident at the Fort Smith mall — there were no reported incidents regarding JTH and that there were no reports of abuse or neglect connected with either of the Hineses; and (6) a letter from the local district attorney’s office stating that Mrs. Hines had never been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor of any kind.

Ms. Wells reported that the Hineses lived in a recently built, three-bedroom home on a two-thousand acre farm. She noted that the Hineses had lived on the farm for the past twenty-five years. Ms. Wells reported that upkeep and maintenance on the home were very good, that the home was adequately furnished, and that JTH had his own bedroom. The report indicated that Mr. Hines was a self-employed contractor and also sold cattle. He reported gross earnings last year of $450,000. The report also stated that Mrs. Hines did not work outside the home, had been JTH’s primary caregiver since he was an infant, and was available to care for JTH most of the time. Ms. Wells stated that, when Mrs. Hines was not available, one of her sisters who lived nearby cared for JTH. Ms. Wells’s report indicated that all of the references stated that the Hineses were good parents and well thought of in the community. Ms. Wells reported in her recommendation that the Hineses were “appropriate to be considered as custodial parents for [JTH].”

The attorney ad litem told the court that she considered Mrs. Hines an appropriate person to care for JTH and had no strong objection to placing him with her. The attorney for the father asked the court to place permanent, or at least temporary, custody ofJTH with the Hineses. The mother’s attorney stated that she had no objection to the child being placed with the Hineses. The attorney for DHHS objected to custody being granted to the Hineses and requested the court to order a home study pursuant to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) 1 within thirty days. In answer to the court’s question about what services DHHS was proposing to provide for the family, DHHS replied: “at least parenting classes, if nothing else — I mean, the mom left the child alone, the police report says, for twenty minutes in a locked car at the Mall. At this point I can’t think of any other services.”

The circuit court made the following rulings from the bench: probable cause existed at the time JTH was taken into DHHS custody; the grandparents’ home was “totally appropriate”; Jacob Hines was the legal father ofJTH; an approved home study was performed of the Hineses’ home; and custody of the child was placed with the grandparents, Thomas and Iva Hines. Finding that no further services were necessary, the circuit court closed the case. After the circuit court announced its decision, DHHS objected to custody being placed with the grandparents and to the case being closed. On February 10, 2006, the circuit court entered an order setting forth its rulings. DHHS brings this appeal.

Our standard of review is de novo, but we will not reverse a circuit court’s findings in a dependency-neglect case unless they are clearly erroneous or clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. Moiser v. Ark. Dep’t of Human Servs., 95 Ark. App. 32, 233 S.W.3d 172 (2006). A finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. Id.

Points on Appeal

For its first point on appeal, DHHS contends that the circuit court erred in closing the case at the conclusion of the probable-cause hearing without holding a full adjudication of all of the issues as required by Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-315 (Supp. 2005).

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Bluebook (online)
248 S.W.3d 507, 97 Ark. App. 267, 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 46, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arkansas-department-of-health-human-services-v-jones-arkctapp-2007.