In re A.T.

2025 IL App (4th) 250755-U
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided December 2, 2025·No. 4-25-0755·Unpublished

Opinion

NOTICE 2025 IL App (4th) 250755-U FILED This Order was filed under December 2, 2025

Supreme Court Rule 23 and is NO. 4-25-0755 Carla Bender not precedent except in the 4th District Appellate

limited circumstances allowed IN THE APPELLATE COURT Court, IL under Rule 23(e)(1).

OF ILLINOIS

FOURTH DISTRICT

In re A.T., a Minor ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of

(The People of the State of Illinois, ) Peoria County Petitioner-Appellee, ) No. 23JA257 v. )

Dashaina W., ) Honorable Respondent-Appellant). ) David A. Brown, ) Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE STEIGMANN delivered the judgment of the court.

Justices Lannerd and DeArmond concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The appellate court concluded that the trial court’s decision to terminate the wardship of the minor at issue in this case was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

¶2 Respondent, Dashaina W., is the mother of A.T. (born January 2023). In November 2023, the State filed a petition alleging A.T. was a neglected minor pursuant to section 2-3(1)(a)(b) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (Act) (705 ILCS 405/2-3(1)(a)(b) (West 2022)).

¶3 In November 2023, the trial court placed temporary custody and guardianship of A.T. with the guardian administrator of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and also entered a protective order requiring A.T. to reside with her father, Dammion T., and prohibiting respondent from having unsupervised contact with A.T. In March 2024, the trial

court adjudicated A.T. a ward of the court, placed custody and guardianship of A.T. with Dammion, and found respondent unfit due to medical neglect and domestic violence.

¶4 In July 2025, the trial court found that wardship was no longer in A.T.’s best interests and the closure of the case was appropriate. The court confirmed that respondent remained unfit, Dammion remained fit, and permanency had been achieved with Dammion as A.T.’s sole guardian and custodian.

¶5 Respondent appeals, arguing the trial court erred when it (1) terminated A.T.’s wardship and closed the juvenile case, finding wardship was no longer in the child’s best interests, and (2) entered a permanency order that failed to comply with the statutory written- finding requirement. We affirm.

¶6 I. BACKGROUND

¶7 A. The Neglect Petition and Temporary Custody Order

¶8 In November 2023, the State filed a petition alleging that A.T. was a neglected minor pursuant to section 2-3(1)(a)(b) of the Act (705 ILCS 405/2-3(1)(a)(b) (West 2022)). The petition alleged A.T. was neglected because she was not receiving the care necessary for her well-being due to respondent’s medical neglect. Specifically, the petition alleged that A.T. was hospitalized twice due to respondent’s failure to properly care for her severe eczema. The petition also alleged that during both hospitalizations, respondent initiated physical altercations with Dammion. The State also requested an order (1) directing that A.T. reside with her father, (2) prohibiting respondent from residing with A.T., and (3) limiting respondent’s contact with A.T. to DCFS-supervised visits.

¶9 Later that month, following a hearing, the trial court entered an order finding probable cause to believe the allegations in the State’s neglect petition were true. The court

ordered both parents to cooperate with DCFS and also entered an order of protection, which provided that (1) A.T. was to reside with Dammion, (2) respondent was prohibited from being present in the minor’s residence, and (3) respondent was to have no contact with A.T. unless it was directly supervised by DCFS or its designee.

¶ 10 B. The March 2024 Adjudicatory Hearing and Dispositional Hearing

¶ 11 In March 2024, the trial court conducted an adjudicatory hearing, which was immediately followed by a dispositional hearing.

¶ 12 1. The Adjudicatory Hearing

¶ 13 At the outset of the adjudicatory hearing, the parties stipulated to the allegations in the State's neglect petition. The State then provided the following factual basis for the stipulations:

“[F]or Count 1(a)(1)—for Count 1(a) in general, I would proffer several medical records from Carle Health, OSF, and Loyola Hospital. The Carle Health medical records would establish August 28th of 2023[,] the minor was admitted to Carle Health. Severe eczema were noted on the minor’s face, and the minor had high fever. The minor was later transferred to OSF for escalation of care, and due to her getting worse, the child was later transferred to Loyola Hospital about September 5th of last year. And the child was discharged from Loyola for three days with detailed instructions.

And in [the] August admission by Carle Health, the medical records established the child had possible nutritional deficiency, and the mother—the medical records noted the mother didn’t feed the child with sufficient solid foods, only milk through the bottle. And Carle Health medical record also reflect that

when the medical staff was discussing with mother about the possible feeding, and the mother was looking at her phone, and the treating doctor noted there were concerns.

For Count 1(a)(2) I would proffer the DCFS investigator, Katrina Dickerson (phonetic), she spoke with respondent father on about October 6th of last year, and the father reported that when the child was admitted to the hospital, he came to visit and had argument with respondent mother and [she] ended up breaking his phone.

For Count 1(b)(1) I would proffer the medical records from OSF. The child was admitted to OSF in October 6th about last year by the respondent father, and respondent father would testify for three days before the mother dropped off the child without giving him further information on how to take care of the child’s skin. And the father would also testify they were fighting about the custody.

For Count 1(b)(2) I would proffer the medical records from OSF to show the child’s detailed medical conditions.

For Count 1(b)(3) I would proffer the OSF medical records. Medical record would reflect on October 8th of 2023[,] the nurses were hearing the arguments from the minor’s room, and they were observe the minor’s sheets and the pillows were covered with blood. When the nurse Ms. McNile (phonetic) was looking into that, she observed the arm splints and other equipment were removed. And she educated the mother, but the mother didn’t respond at that point.

For Count 1(b)(4) I would proffer the minor’s medical records from OSF.

October 8th of 2023, the notating nurses heard arguments from the patient’s room, and the respondent father requested removing the mother. And the police—Peoria Police Officer Steven Miller responded, and several OSF security officers responded. They spoke with the father. He reported the details, what happened, and the—basically, the father took the respondent mother, threw the phone on the ground, and threw his glasses—no—sorry. Excuse me—threw his glasses on the ground and struck him in the face, and respondent mother was removed from the room.

For count 1(b)(5) the medical record would reflect the mother came back after the October 8th of 2023 incident. She was not allowed in, and she tried to discharge the minor. She was asked to leave the hospital as the DCFS open investigation.”

¶ 14 The trial court accepted the State’s proffer and found an adequate factual basis for the parents’ stipulations. The court then found the State had met its burden of proof, determining that the material allegations in the petition were true and that A.T. was a neglected minor subject to an environment injurious to her welfare due to medical neglect and domestic violence.

¶ 15 2. The Dispositional Hearing

¶ 16 Immediately thereafter, the trial court then conducted a dispositional hearing, at which it considered, among other things, a dispositional report filed ahead of the March 7, 2024, hearing.

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In re A.T., 2025 IL App (4th) 250755-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2025).

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