In Re Ashley, Unpublished Decision (11-15-2002)

Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided November 15, 2002·No. Court of Appeals No. H-02-025, Trial Court No. DP-2000-00039.·Unpublished

Opinion

DECISION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY
{¶ 1} This case is before the court on appeal from the Huron County Juvenile Court, which granted permanent custody of Ashley D. to the Huron County Department of Jobs and Family Services. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the decision of the trial court.

{¶ 2} Ashley D. was born on March 8, 1999 to appellant Beth D. and David S.1 The Huron County Department of Jobs and Family Services ("the agency") became involved with appellant in early 1998 after receiving a complaint that appellant was suffering from post-partum depression following the birth of her son, James. James was eventually placed in foster care, was returned to his mother for a time, and was again placed in foster care.2

{¶ 3} Ashley lived with her mother until approximately May 2000, when Ashley was just over a year old. At that time, appellant had contacted an agency social worker and told her that she (appellant) could not take care of her children and wanted to surrender them. Ashley was then placed in foster care, and she has not returned to live with her mother since.

{¶ 4} In August 2000, the agency filed a complaint alleging that Ashley appeared to be a dependent child. At a hearing in September 2000, the trial court adjudicated Ashley a dependent child after her mother entered an admission to the complaint. The agency was awarded temporary custody of Ashley.3 Initially, the case plan called for Ashley to be reunified with her parents, and the following goals were set in the case plan for

{¶ 5} appellant: stop lying; maintain a stable home; maintain sufficient financial resources to support herself and her children; and learn effective child-rearing techniques. Appellant was to attend counseling to help her deal more appropriately with others and to help her to stop lying, and she was to attend parenting classes to teach her to be a more effective parent.

{¶ 6} On January 31, 2002, having not seen appellant make significant progress toward the goal of reunifying with Ashley, the agency moved for permanent custody. A hearing on the motion for permanent custody was held in March 2002. Two of appellant's social workers testified at the hearing on the motion for permanent custody — Barb Fries, who worked on the case until October 2000, and Julie Harris, who worked on the case thereafter.

{¶ 7} Barb Fries testified that appellant made only a half-hearted attempt to comply with the case plan. Fries testified that appellant was not responsible about arranging transportation or about scheduling or keeping counseling appointments. On cross-examination, Fries testified that appellant completed her parenting classes and that she attended some, but not all, of her counseling sessions. According to Fries, however, she did not think that appellant "got a whole lot out of" counseling — that appellant went to counseling only because she had to and not because she wanted to. Fries also testified that appellant had trouble complying with the case plan goal of keeping medical appointments for her children. In fact, according to Fries, one doctor refused to see appellant or her family because appellant had missed so many appointments. When asked whether appellant had trouble keeping appointments because she did not have reliable access to transportation, Fries testified that she thought mostly that appellant did not plan ahead. Fries admitted, however, that some of appellant's problems with appointments may have stemmed from not having reliable transportation.

{¶ 8} Fries also testified that appellant had difficulty complying with the case plan goal of being truthful and of maintaining a stable home. Fries explained that appellant had moved two or three times in the couple of years that she was involved with the family, that appellant was evicted at least once, and that appellant was "always going to move." Finally, Fries testified that, although she believed that appellant genuinely loved her children, appellant did not know how to take care of them; Fries testified (over objection) that appellant was not ready to be reunified with the children.

{¶ 9} Julie Harris, the second social worker who worked with appellant, also testified that appellant has not been consistent in using the agency resources available to her to help her meet her case plan goals. For example, appellant would wait until the last minute to request help with transportation, making it difficult for the agency to arrange that for her. In terms of working toward the goal of having stable housing, Harris testified that appellant had maintained stable housing in the five months leading up to the permanent custody hearing; however, before that time, appellant had moved three or four times, had been in and out of jail several times, and had not always been in contact with the agency to report her whereabouts.

{¶ 10} In terms of the case plan goal of having sufficient financial resources to care for her children, Harris testified that appellant has not worked the entire time that she had been involved with appellant's case. On cross-examination, Harris recognized that at some point during the pendency of the case appellant began receiving social security disability benefits; however, Harris also believed that appellant would be allowed to work limited hours and still retain her benefits. Harris also admitted that appellant had once tried to get a job at a restaurant but that she was prevented from working there when she was sent to jail.

{¶ 11} In terms of assessing appellant's housing situation, Harris testified that she had visited appellant's most recent home on three or four occasions and saw food in the refrigerator, but she testified that appellant did not have the furniture or bedding she would need to have her children come to live with her. However, she also testified that appellant told her that she (appellant) could acquire such furniture and bedding if needed. Finally, Harris testified that she knows that appellant wants her children back and she agreed that appellant is making "some progress." However, on redirect examination Harris testified that appellant is not doing her best to seek employment or to provide financially for her children.

{¶ 12} Next, Robin Hunt, an employee with the Huron County Child Support Enforcement Agency, testified. She testified that appellant had been ordered to pay child support for Ashley and that appellant never made a payment. Hunt also noted that appellant had requested a review of her child support order but that the review was not completed because appellant had not complied with the review process.

{¶ 13} Kathy Baughman, an employee of Miriam House, also testified. Miriam House is a transitional housing program run by Catholic Charities that serves the needs of homeless women and their children. Appellant was a resident at Miriam House (without her children) for approximately four months from late 2000 to early 2001. Baughman testified that appellant made inconsistent efforts toward "get[ting] her life together," sometimes working "really, really" hard and sometimes not. According to Baughman, while at Miriam House appellant was mainly concerned with getting her social security check, more so even than using the resources available at Miriam House to help appellant regain custody of her children.

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In Re Ashley, Unpublished Decision (11-15-2002), (Ohio Ct. App. 2002).

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