A.T. v. A.G.

81 So. 3d 385, 2011 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 263, 2011 WL 4425548
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedSeptember 23, 2011
Docket2100591 and 2100592
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 81 So. 3d 385 (A.T. v. A.G.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A.T. v. A.G., 81 So. 3d 385, 2011 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 263, 2011 WL 4425548 (Ala. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinions

THOMPSON, Presiding Judge.

A.T. (“the mother”) appeals two judgments of the Houston Juvenile Court (“the juvenile court”) finding two of her children, An.J.T. (“the son”) and Am. J.T. (“the daughter”), dependent and transferring custody of the son and the daughter (hereinafter referred to collectively as “the children”) to their paternal grandmother, A.G. (“the paternal grandmother”).

The record on appeal indicates that the mother and the children’s father, C.T. (“the father”), have never married; the record does not clearly indicate if the parents have lived together as a couple. The mother has another child, As.T., from a previous relationship; that child was 10 years old at the time of the dependency hearing, and she lived with the mother. Pursuant to an agreement between the mother and the father, the son, who was eight years old at the time of the dependency hearing, has lived with the father since he was two years old. In 2009, the father and the son moved to Indiana. The paternal grandmother testified that the father had used illegal drugs in the past, and she stated that the father’s move to Indiana was prompted by his desire to remove himself from influences that encouraged him to use illegal drugs.

The mother testified that, until June 2010, she had maintained custody of the daughter since the child’s birth in 2004; the daughter was six years old at the time of the dependency hearing. In June 2010, the electricity at the mother’s residence was disconnected, and the mother took the daughter to the home of a paternal great-aunt; the great-aunt is the paternal grandmother’s sister.1 The mother testified that she intended that the daughter remain with the great-aunt on a temporary basis.

The paternal grandmother testified that the great-aunt asked her to take the daughter after the mother had left the child at the great-aunt’s home in June 2010. According to the paternal grandmother, the daughter was extremely dirty when the mother left the child with the great-aunt; the mother denied that allegation.

The paternal grandmother testified that the daughter lived with her until August 2010, when the father returned to Alabama from Indiana. The paternal grandmother testified that between June and August 2010 the mother telephoned only three or four times to check on the daughter and that the mother visited the daughter only one time. The mother testified, however, [387]*387that the daughter lived with the great-aunt until August 2010.

It is undisputed that, when the father and the son returned to Alabama in August 2010, the daughter began living with the father and the son in the great-aunt’s house. The mother testified that she had allowed the daughter to live with the father because, she stated, the daughter had expressed a desire to do so. The paternal grandmother, however, testified that the daughter had been living with her and that she had allowed the daughter to live with the father.

The paternal grandmother testified that the father has a history of mental illness and that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 16 years old. In November 2010, the father was admitted for approximately one week to the Behavioral Medicine Unit (“BMU”) at a local hospital because of an apparent overdose of illegal drugs. Shortly thereafter, the paternal grandmother filed her petitions alleging that the children were dependent and seeking custody of the children.

Since the paternal grandmother filed the dependency petitions on December 7, 2010, the father has continued to experience problems. The father was readmitted to the BMU around Christmas 2010, and again shortly before the March 10, 2011, dependency hearing. The paternal grandmother testified that the father does not have a home of his own but has stayed with friends and family members. The father did not testify at the dependency hearing, but his attorney represented to the court that the father wanted the children to live with the mother.

In her dependency petitions and in her testimony, the paternal grandmother alleged that the mother was not financially capable of meeting even the children’s most basic needs. The paternal grandmother testified that the mother did not work and had no means of supporting the children.

The mother testified that she last had employment in 2005. The mother stated that she becomes nervous around groups of people. According to the mother, her doctor had diagnosed her as having a “social anxiety,” for which she has been prescribed medication.

The mother lives in rent-free public housing with As.T., and she receives food stamps each month. The mother testified that she occasionally babysits or helps clean houses, for which she earns “maybe $250” per month. The mother acknowledged that she has no other income, and she stated that she relies upon her mother and other family members for support.

The mother was arrested at a December 2010 court hearing because of her failure to pay $100 monthly toward restitution for numerous bad-check charges dating back almost 10 years before the dependency hearing. The mother stated that her mother would pay the $100 court fines each month because, the mother said, her mother gives her anything she wants.

The mother acknowledged that she had not contributed to the support of the children during the times they had lived with or been in the custody of the paternal grandmother. The mother testified that, although the daughter was no longer living with her, she continued to receive food stamps for the daughter until December 2010. The mother stated that she had used some of the food stamps she received for the daughter to assist the father in providing food for the children after they began living with him in August 2010.

The mother does not have her own transportation. The paternal grandmother testified that the mother must telephone family members for assistance if she needs to take the children to visit the [388]*388doctor or to obtain medications for them. The mother admitted that As.T. missed at least six days of school in January 2011 when the child missed the school bus; the mother had no other means of transporting the child to school. The mother stated that she was trying to move from her residence during that time and that “it was just hectic in January.” The mother admitted that she got a letter from the school concerning the number of As.T.’s absences in January 2011.

Hazel Wiggins, a Department of Human Resources (“DHR”) social worker who conducted home evaluations on the parents and the paternal grandmother, testified that when she met with the mother in February 2011 she advised the mother that she could apply for Social Security disability benefits and that she could explore certain job programs through DHR. The mother stated during the March 2011 dependency hearing that she planned to explore those options.

Wiggins also testified that the mother’s home was physically appropriate for the children and that there were no reports of abuse or neglect of the children by the mother. However, Wiggins stated that DHR had concerns about the mother’s ability to meet the needs of the children. Wiggins testified that she was concerned that adding two additional children to the mother’s home would place stressors on the mother. Wiggins also testified that it did not appear that the mother could financially afford two additional children in her home. For those reasons, Wiggins recommended against placing the children in the mother’s home.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
81 So. 3d 385, 2011 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 263, 2011 WL 4425548, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/at-v-ag-alacivapp-2011.