In re A.G.A.W

22 Pa. D. & C.5th 265
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lehigh County
DecidedFebruary 28, 2011
Docketno. A2010-0027
StatusPublished

This text of 22 Pa. D. & C.5th 265 (In re A.G.A.W) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Lehigh County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re A.G.A.W, 22 Pa. D. & C.5th 265 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2011).

Opinion

FORD, J.,

On February 26, 2010, the Lehigh County Office of Children and Youth Services (OCYS) filed a petition for involuntary termination of the parental rights of M.S. to her biological child, A.G.A.W.. On the same date, OCYS filed a petition for involuntary termination of the parental rights of A.W., the biological father of A.G.A.W. In the petitions, OCYS alleged various acts and omissions by the parents that constitute grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights under 23 [267]*267Pa.C.S. § 2511(a)(1) and § 2511(a)(2). OCYS also made allegations in the petition under 23 Pa.C.S. § 2511(b) that the termination of the biological parents’ rights would serve A.G.A.W.’s best interests.

The court conducted hearings on these petitions on September 2, September 3, and November 12, 2010. The parents were represented by counsel at the hearings. The parents participated in the hearings and testified. All counsel submitted written closing arguments following the hearings.

After consideration of the evidence and the applicable law, I conclude that the grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights of M.S. and A.W. have been established by clear and convincing evidence. Further, the evidence demonstrates that termination of the parental rights of the biological parents would best serve the needs and welfare of the minor child, A.G.A.W..

In this opinion, I explain the reasons for these conclusions. I begin by explaining what happened in this case.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. A.G.A.W. is the subject of these proceedings. A.G.A.W. is four years old. He was bom on June 27, 2006.

2. A.G.A.W.’s biological mother is M.S.. M.S. was 28 years old when she testified in these proceedings on November 12,2010. M.S. has an eleventh grade education. M.S. gave birth to A.G.A.W. while serving imprisonment in the Lehigh County Prison on a parole violation.

3. Before A.G.A.W.’s birth, A.W., the biological father, lost his home “because the bank sold the house that [268]*268[he] was living in, and [he] had to move.” A.W. moved in with a friend. Then OCYS secured a place for him at the Sixth Street Shelter. A.W. brought A.G.A.W. from the hospital after he was bom to the Sixth Street Shelter to live with him. They stayed there from June of 2006 until October 16, 2006, when A.W. moved with A.G.A.W. to 840 Kieffer Street, Fountain Hill, Lehigh County. A.W. lived in Fountain Hill with A.G.A.W., an 18-year-old daughter and another daughter who was younger.

4. M.S. joined A.W. and A.G.A.W. at the Kieffer Street home in September of 2007. M.S. was on parole at that point and was attending out-patient drug and alcohol treatment. After completion of the treatment in November of 2007, she relapsed into drug use. These were the only two months in A.G.A.W.’s life when M.S. provided care for him during which she was not using illegal dmgs.

5. On December 17, 2007, A.W. and M.S. had a loud argument at their Fountain Hill home. A.W. then struck M.S. on the side of her head with a sharp metal object that resembled a pick while M.S. was holding 17-month-old A.G.A.W. M.S. was admitted to Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia to repair damage to her eye caused by the attack. A.W. was charged with offenses related to the attack and was committed to the Lehigh County Prison on December 18,2007. December 17,2007, was the last date on which A.W. provided care for A.G.A.W. The charges filed against A.W. included aggravated assault for what he did to M.S. and endangering the welfare of A.G.A.W. because he was lying on M.S.’s chest at the time of the attack. Based on this incident, A.W. was also charged with having violated an earlier probation. After an investigation, OCYS did its report assigning A.W. an “indicated” status as perpetrator of abuse because he created an imminent risk of serious physical injury to A.G.A.W.

[269]*2696. When A. W. was taken to prison for assaulting M.S., M.S. also was not available to care for A.G.A.W. She was being treated for the injury to her eye and she was actively using drugs. As a result, this court entered an emergency order addressing custody (Lehigh County case number 1157-J of 2007). M.S. assisted in placing A.G.A.W. with Amy Gross. After some time, Ms. Gross tried to place A.G.A.W. with Wendy Honzo-Vassa because Ms. Gross' was being evicted from her home. When M.S. told OCYS that she did not know Ms. Honzo-Vassa, this resulted in an order dated May 14, 2008, placing A.G.A.W. in foster care. Both M.S. and A.W. were incarcerated at the time of this order.

7. After A.G.A.W.’s placement with Ms. Gross starting in December of 2007, A.G.A.W. has remained in the custody of OCYS from May, 2008, through the hearings in the present proceedings. Thus, A.G.A.W. has not lived with either biological parent for more than 36 months of his young life. Abbade was declared dependent (Lehigh County case number 1157J-2007) on June 2, 2008, and committed to the care of OCYS. There were emergency orders entered before this date.

8. M.S. was last released from prison on May 4,2010. She went from the prison to a 28-day drug rehabilitation program in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She successfully completed that program and settled in her present two bedroom apartment at 230 East Church Street, Slatington, Lehigh County, where she still lives. Since her release from prison in May, M.S. continues on parole under the supervision of the Lehigh County Probation Department.

9. M. S. is part of a group that provides her support in a number of ways. David Arispe is part of that group. He has given M.S. part-time employment in his landscaping and [270]*270painting business. The members of the group also assist M.S. in getting her to various appointments because M.S. does not drive. The group provides her with emotional support and assists her in maintaining sobriety.

10. M.S. has been addicted to crack cocaine since the age of 19. However, she has not used illegal drugs since the start of her last incarceration in late summer or early fall of 2009 (presumably) until her release from a rehabilitation program in May, 2010. She has not used illegal drugs from completion of that program through the last hearing on November 12,2010.

11. What follows is M.S.’s significant criminal record:

A. In Lehigh County case number_, M. S. pled guilty to facilitating escape, a felony, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5121(b) on May 25, 2004. She was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of not less than 6 months to not more than 12 months. She was paroled on August 11, 2005. She violated her parole on June 12,2006 and was remanded to prison to serve the balance of her sentence.
B. In Lehigh County case number_, M.S. pled guilty to prostitution, a misdemeanor, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5902. On May 25, 2004, she was sentenced to imprisonment of not less than three months to not more than 12 months. That sentence was ordered to be run concurrently with the sentence in case number.
C. In Lehigh County case number_, M.S. pled guilty to another prostitution offense, 18 Pa.C.S. §5902, a misdemeanor. On December 23, 2005, she was sentenced to Lehigh County Prison for a period of not less than 52 days to not more than 23 months. She was granted immediate parole. On July 17, 2006, [271]*271defendant’s parole was revoked and she was remanded to prison to serve the balance of her sentence.

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Bluebook (online)
22 Pa. D. & C.5th 265, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-agaw-pactcompllehigh-2011.