In re A.W.

2024 Ohio 5791
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided December 10, 2024·No. 2024 CA 0057·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

[Cite as In re A.W., 2024-Ohio-5791.]

COURT OF APPEALS RICHLAND COUNTY, OHIO FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

IN RE: A.W. : JUDGES: : Hon. W. Scott Gwin, P.J. : Hon. John W. Wise, J. : Hon. Craig R. Baldwin, J. : : Case No. 2024 CA 0057 : : OPINION

CHARACTER OF PROCEEDING: Appeal from the Richland County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, Case No. 2021 DEP 00200

JUDGMENT: Affirmed

DATE OF JUDGMENT: December 10, 2024

APPEARANCES:

For Plaintiff-Appellee For Defendant-Appellant Father

SARAH E. EXTEN BYRON CORLEY Richland County Children's Services 3 North Main Street, Suite 602 731 Scholl Road Mansfield, Ohio 44902 Mansfield, Ohio 44907 Richland County, Case No. 2024 CA 0057 2

Baldwin, J.

{¶1} Appellant T.W., biological father of minor child A.W., appeals the decision

of the Richland County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division awarding permanent

custody of A.W. to appellee Richland County Children Services Board.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND THE CASE

{¶2} A.W. was born on May 12, 2020, to mother, S.W., and father, appellant

T.W.1 A.W. was placed in emergency shelter care on November 4, 2021. A proceeding

was held the following day resulting in continuation of the order, and a complaint was filed

alleging that A.W. was a dependent child. On December 16, 2021, T.W. admitted to the

status of A.W. as “dependent.” A dispositional hearing was held on February 16, 2022,

during which the appellant, who had been conveyed to said hearing from the Richland

County Jail in order to attend the hearing with his counsel, agreed to the placement of

A.W. into the temporary custody of the appellee.

{¶3} The appellant’s problems underlying the finding of dependency included

mental health problems; exposing A.W. to criminal activity; substance abuse and other

harmful behaviors; A.W.’s need for healthcare; and, a need for parenting skills. The

appellee filed a case plan in response to these presenting issues, which was approved

and adopted by the trial court in a February 25, 2022, Judgment Entry.

{¶4} While the appellant did attempt to engage in some of the objectives of the

case plan some of the time, and did briefly after much delay show some progress, overall

he demonstrated an inability to sustain any such progress, resorting to the use of illegal

1 The minor child’s mother, S.W., had appealed the trial court’s decision granting permanent custody of A.W. to the Richland County Children Services Board in a separate appellate proceeding. Richland County, Case No. 2024 CA 0057 3

substances including cocaine and marijuana, and otherwise failing to successfully

complete the objectives of the case plan. The appellant underwent drug testing; some

tests were negative, but others were positive for marijuana and/or cocaine. The appellant

also abused alcohol, and while he had some intervals of sobriety, he vacillated between

sobriety and relapse. The appellant had numerous positive drug screenings during the

course of the case plan.

{¶5} On November 1, 2023, the appellee filed a dispositional request that all

residual parental rights of the appellant be terminated, and that permanent custody be

granted to the appellee. Even after this filing, the appellant continued to test positive for

cocaine and marijuana, testing positive for said substances in a sample collected on

November 6, 2023.

{¶6} A dispositional hearing took place on February 12, 2024, during which the

trial court heard testimony from the appellant; A.W.’s biological mother S.W.; Dr. Aimee

Thomas, licensed psychologist and licensed professional clinical counselor with

Lighthouse Family Center; Matthew Levitas, forensic toxicologist and certified scientist

with Forensic Fluid Laboratories; Kristi Spangler, caseworker with the appellee; A.F.,

A.W.’s foster mother; and, Michelle Vitello, CASA/GAL.

{¶7} Dr. Thomas testified that the appellant underwent an evaluation with her in

order to assess his ability to safely and competently parent A.W. The appellant was

diagnosed with, inter alia, paranoid personality disorder, other specific depressive

disorder, and cannabis use disorder. He demonstrated a pattern of denying responsibility

and minimization of concerns with regard to A.W.’s dependency status during his

interview with Dr. Thomas. She observed that many of the appellant’s behaviors were

consistent with those seen in abusive relationships meant to isolate an intimate partner. Richland County, Case No. 2024 CA 0057 4

He demonstrated a “strident unwillingness” to accept responsibility for his violent actions

towards his wife, A.W.’s mother; he denied that his violent actions contributed to the

appellee’s involvement and eventual removal of his child; and, he denied the use of

cocaine and other illicit drugs. Dr. Thomas recommended that he engage in

comprehensive mental health services specifically addressing his particular mental health

issues. However, he failed do so. Dr. Thomas noted that the appellant’s prognosis was

poor given his unwillingness to accept personal responsibility, his placement of blame

onto other people, and his lack of motivation to engage in any services and/or address

the issues identified by Dr. Thomas. He simply refused to acknowledge any personal

responsibility for his actions or demonstrate a desire or willingness to remedy the issues

which lead to the removal of A.W. from the home.

{¶8} Case worker Spangler also testified. While the appellant eventually began

to engage in some services during the course of the case, he never accessed those

services which would have provided the intensity of intervention necessary as

recommended in Lighthouse Family Center’s evaluation and report. The appellant

continually asserted that counseling was a waste of his time, and persisted in engaging

in bizarre behaviors. For example, he wore contact lenses which made his eyes appear

a satanic red, on one occasion appearing at A.W.’s daycare wearing the red contact

lenses and a mask, alarming daycare personnel and scaring the children.

{¶9} A.W.’s foster mother Alyssa Fredericks testified that when A.W. was placed

in her home at approximately eighteen months of age, she appeared to be

developmentally delayed, and was non-verbal and mostly devoid of emotion. She was

non-responsive to her name, showed no interest in age-appropriate toys, did not interact

with the other children in the home, and had the appearance of “a blank little girl.” She Richland County, Case No. 2024 CA 0057 5

was demonstrably fearful of men, and reacted very fearfully to raised voices. She was

unfamiliar with table food and would only consume a bottle containing PediaSure mixed

with baby food. She was unfamiliar with a spoon and would suck on rather than chew

food. She was in the foster home for eight months before she would consume foods with

a spoon. She was referred to and received occupational, physical and speech therapy,

including food/eating therapy.

{¶10} Efforts at reunification were undertaken, and A.W. was reunified with her

parents for two consecutive thirty-day trial home visits. However, both parents tested

positive for cocaine and marijuana, and A.W. was again removed and placed in foster

care. A specimen was taken from A.W. upon her October, 2023 removal from her parent’s

home, the results of which were positive for marijuana.

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In re A.W., 2024 Ohio 5791 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).

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