In re F.B.

2022 Ohio 499
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided February 22, 2022·No. CA2021-03-002·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO BROWN COUNTY

IN RE: :

F.B., et al. : CASE NO. CA2021-03-002

: OPINION 2/22/2022

:

:

:

APPEAL FROM BROWN COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUVENILE DIVISION

Case Nos. 2013-3184, 2019-3172, and 2019-3173

Dever Law Firm, and Scott A. Hoberg, for appellant.

Zachary A. Corbin, Brown County Prosecuting Attorney, and Courtney A. Worley, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

BYRNE, J.

{¶1} Mother appeals from the decision of the Brown County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, which denied her motion for legal custody of her biological children, Fae and Mary, and which granted Brown County Children Services' motions for the children to be placed in the legal custody of their respective custodians.1 For the reasons discussed

1. To preserve the children's privacy, and for ease of reading, we refer to the children using fictitious names, rather than their initials.

below, we affirm the juvenile court's decision.

I. Procedural and Factual Background

{¶2} On September 20, 2019, Brown County Children Services ("BCCS") filed a complaint alleging that Fae (then 11 years old), Mary (then 8 years old), and Brad (then 2 years old) ("the children") were abused, dependent, and neglected children. The complaints alleged that Margaret Breeze was Fae's legal guardian and that Margaret Breeze and her husband Charles Breeze were the legal guardians of Mary and Brad.

{¶3} The complaint alleged that the Breezes had allowed Fae to become extremely malnourished. Fae was hospitalized and diagnosed with "Kwashiorkor," a condition in which a severe lack of protein and malnutrition causes "severe abdominal distortion" or a "severely distended stomach." Fae exhibited considerable abdominal distortion. Fae reported that the Breezes were feeding her only one bowl of rice a day.

{¶4} Fae was previously diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD"), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and reactive attachment disorder ("RAD"). The complaint alleged that despite these diagnoses, Fae had not seen a doctor since 2016. The complaint further alleged that Fae had gone from being in the 25th percentile for weight for her age to being in the 0.01 percentile for weight. The complaint alleged that Mary and Brad also resided in the home with Fae and were unable to self-protect due to their ages. BCCS further indicated that due to the emergency nature of the complaint, the agency did not yet know the family history.

{¶5} Following a hearing, the juvenile court granted temporary custody of the children to BCCS. Upon her release from the hospital, Fae went to a kinship placement. Mary and Brad were sent to a different foster placement.

{¶6} In February 2020, BCCS filed an amended complaint containing the same allegations of abuse, dependency, and neglect. The amended complaint identified Mother

as the biological mother of Fae and Mary.2

{¶7} In May 2020, a magistrate issued a decision that found Fae to be an abused and neglected child. The magistrate further found that Mary and Brad were dependent children. The court continued temporary custody with BCCS and the children remained in their respective placements.

{¶8} In May 2020, Mother moved for legal custody of Fae and Mary. In June 2020, Mother filed a motion for visitation and asked to be added to BCCS's case plan.

{¶9} In September 2020, BCCS moved for Mary and Brad to be placed in the legal custody of their foster parent. In December 2020, BCCS filed a motion asking the court to grant legal custody of Fae to her kinship placement custodians ("custodians").3

{¶10} The juvenile court conducted a hearing on the three legal custody motions in January 2021. The court indicated that it would take evidence on Mother's motion first.

A. Mother's Case

{¶11} Mother testified that she lived in Hebron, Kentucky. Fae had lived with Mother and Mother's parents for five or six years. When Fae was six years old, Mother relinquished custody to Margaret Breeze because Fae required "a lot of attention" and Mother had a full- time job. Mother testified that she also gave the Breezes custody of Mary, when Mary was "just a baby."4

{¶12} The Breezes lived in Brown County, Ohio. Mother claimed that her pediatrician told her that Fae could get more services in Ohio than in Kentucky.

{¶13} Mother claimed that after she transferred custody, Margaret Breeze told her

2. Fae and Mary have different fathers, neither of which participated in the case. BCCS identified Brad's biological parents, but they either did not participate in the case or declined to seek custody.

3. The Breezes did not seek to regain legal custody and the record indicates that they were criminally charged for their conduct.

4. The Breezes have some familial connection with Mother.

that she was not allowed to visit Fae. Mother testified that she was allowed to visit Mary, but that she did not actually visit. She explained, "it's kind of hard to see one without the other." She admitted not having seen either daughter since 2013—that is, for approximately seven years. Mother testified that she never sought visitation because she could not afford an attorney.

{¶14} Mother testified that she had an alcohol problem when she was 21 years old.

However, she did not currently have an alcohol problem. She testified that she started smoking marijuana after giving up the children's custody, but also indicated that she no longer used marijuana.

{¶15} Mother stated that she had been married eight years and had a child with her husband ("Husband"), which child had just turned one the previous November. She lived with Husband and the child in a three-bedroom home. Both Mother and Husband worked at an "Ameristop" location. She earned $11.50 per hour.

{¶16} Mother testified that she had one other son who was 12 years old. That son lived with his biological father. She testified that she would see that son "every time I get the chance" and that she last saw him the previous Sunday.

{¶17} Mother stated that she was never put on BCCS's case plan(s) for Fae and Mary. However, she did have a case plan "over there too" and that she had completed "some of it." Mother was apparently referencing a separate case plan from a Kentucky children services case, which she discussed in more detail during cross-examination. In that case, she was asked to maintain a stable home and employment. She was also asked to complete a mental health assessment. As a result, she took seven hours of parenting classes and an anger management class. On cross-examination, Mother admitted that her youngest child remained under a Kentucky case plan for services, which had been initiated by children services due to their concern that the child was at risk of neglect and because

Mother had lost custody of her other children. Upon further cross-examination, Mother admitted that she tested positive for marijuana in May 2019 and that her son was born in November 2019. Mother then admitted that this was the reason that Kentucky children services initiated a case with respect to Mother's youngest son.

{¶18} As to why she believed it was in Fae and Mary's best interest to be in her custody, Mother responded that it was a "child's right" to be with their biological mother. Mother further explained that she had "grown up a lot" since giving up custody.5 She did not drink or smoke marijuana. She had her own house, her own vehicle, and a happy, healthy, baby boy. With regard to a report from the children's guardian ad litem that there was animosity between Fae and Mary, and how she would address that issue, Mother offered that, "well, they are sisters. Sisters do tend to fight."

{¶19} On cross-examination, Mother clarified that Fae would have been 5 years old, and Mary 3 years old, at the time she gave up custody. She agreed that Mary was now 10 years old but stated that the child would not find her a stranger because "there's a connection between a mother and a child."6

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In re F.B., 2022 Ohio 499 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).

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