In re S.H.

2020 Ohio 3499
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided June 29, 2020·No. CA2020-02-023 CA2020-02-024·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO BUTLER COUNTY

:

IN RE:

: CASE NOS. CA2020-02-023 S.H. CA2020-02-024 :

OPINION

: 6/29/2020

:

:

APPEAL FROM BUTLER COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUVENILE DIVISION

Case No. JN2019-0064

Michael T. Gmoser, Butler County Prosecuting Attorney, Willa Concannon, 315 High Street, 11th Floor, Hamilton, Ohio 45011, for appellee, Butler County Department of Job and Family Services

Amy R. Ashcraft, 284 N. Fair Ave., Hamilton, Ohio 45011, for CASA

The Search Law Firm, Lorraine M. Search, 6 S. Second Street, Suite 309, Hamilton, OH 45011, for appellant, father

Garrett Law Offices, Dawn S. Garrett, 9435 Waterstone Blvd., Suite 140, Cincinnati, Ohio 45249, for appellant, mother

Legal Aid of Southwest Ohio, LLC, Tracy A. Jackson, 10 Journal Square, Third Floor, Hamilton, Ohio 45011, guardian ad litem

S. POWELL, J.

{¶ 1} Appellants, the biological parents of S.H. ("mother" and "father" individually), appeal the decision of the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division,

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granting permanent custody of S.H. to appellee, the Butler County Department of Jobs and Family Services, Butler County Children Services ("BCCS"). For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the decision to grant permanent custody to BCCS.

{¶ 2} On May 2, 2018 BCCS filed a complaint against appellants alleging that S.H.

— eight years old at the time — was an abused, neglected, and dependent child. The basis for the complaint was appellants' failure to provide medical treatment and management for S.H.'s type I diabetes which led to her suffering a near-fatal health crisis that required intensive care in the hospital. The juvenile court granted an emergency order to remove S.H. from appellants' home and place her in BCCS's temporary custody. From May to August, appellants had supervised visitation with the child. However, in August 2018, the juvenile court suspended mother's visitation privileges because of her repeated violations of visitation policy. Around this time, appellants were indicted on several felony offenses including, among other things, child endangering, a third-degree felony. The criminal charges stemmed from the same events that triggered the abuse, neglect, and dependency complaint and the child's removal from her parents' home. As a result of the pending criminal charges, the juvenile court ordered appellants to have no contact with S.H.

{¶ 3} On February 12, 2019, BCCS filed a new complaint, alleging that S.H. was an abused, neglected, and dependent child based on the same allegation in the former complaint and an additional allegation that appellants failed to provide for S.H.'s appropriate educational development.1 In the complaint, BCCS sought permanent custody of the child. BCCS further moved, ex parte, for a renewed no-contact order between appellants and S.H because of the pending criminal charges. That same day, the juvenile court granted the

1. The second complaint was filed under a different case number than the initial complaint. BCCS moved to dismiss the prior complaint because it was not progressing within the statutory timeframe requirements due to appellants repeated requests for continuances while they resolved their criminal charges. Notwithstanding the dismissal, S.H. remained in BCCS's temporary custody living with a foster family

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no-contact order. However, on February 14, 2019, the juvenile court issued an order allowing for the "liberalization" of appellants' visits.

{¶ 4} This matter proceeded to an adjudicatory hearing on August 6, 2019, wherein appellants stipulated that S.H. was abused and dependent. Based on the stipulations, the juvenile court adjudicated S.H abused and dependent. Appellants moved the court for a reinstatement of visitation privileges with S.H. BCCS and the guardian ad litem opposed the motion, arguing that because BCCS sought permanent custody as the original disposition, it would not be in the child's best interest to grant appellants interim visitation privileges. In a written decision, the juvenile court further ordered that visitation may be "liberalized."

{¶ 5} Subsequently, at the dispositional hearing on September 30, 2019, the magistrate heard testimony from both appellants, the assigned case worker from BCCS, and S.H.'s foster mother. The juvenile court also received into evidence several documentary exhibits including certified copies of court records for the criminal case, including the judgments of conviction for both mother and father. Following this hearing, on October 30, 2019, the magistrate issued its written decision granting permanent custody of S.H. to BCCS. Appellants filed objections to the magistrate's decision and the juvenile court overruled those objections in a decision entered on January 16, 2020.

{¶ 6} Appellants now appeal. Mother assigns two errors for review and father assigns one error for review. For ease of analysis we will discuss the assigned errors out of order and appellants' similar assigned errors together.

{¶ 7} Mother's Assignment of Error No. 2:

{¶ 8} THE TRIAL COURT'S DECISION TO DENY PARENTING TIME DURING THE CASE AND TO GRANT THE AGENCY PERMANENT CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN IS AGAINST THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE AND NOT SUPPORTED BY SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: (1) THE

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CHILD HAD NOT BEEN REMOVED 12 OF 22 MONTHS DURING THE CURRENT PENDING CASE; (2) THE EVIDENCE DOES NOT ESTABLISH, THAT THE AGENCY USED REASONABLE EFFORTS TO PREVENT THE CHILD'S CONTINUED REMOVAL FROM THE HOME; AND (3) THE EVIDENCE DOES NOT SHOW THAT PLACING THE CHILD IN THE AGENCY'S PERMANENT CUSTODY IS IN HER BEST INTERESTS.

{¶ 9} Father's Assignment of Error:

{¶ 10} THE JUVENILE COURT'S JUDGMENT GRANTING THE MOTION FOR PERMANENT CUSTODY TO BUTLER COUNTY CHILDREN SERVICES ("BCCS") WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE AND WAS CONTRARY TO THE MANIFEST WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE.

{¶ 11} In their respective assignments of error, appellants essentially present two issues. Initially, they assert that BCCS failed to make reasonable efforts as required by R.C. 2151.419. Next, they argue that the juvenile court's decision to grant permanent custody to BCCS was not supported by sufficient evidence and was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Reasonable Efforts

{¶ 12} Mother contends that she was not given an opportunity to reunify with S.H., in part because a case plan was not adopted by the court. A public children services agency "shall prepare and maintain" a case plan when it files a complaint alleging abuse, neglect, or dependence; or has temporary or permanent custody of the child. R.C. 2151.412(A). The juvenile court shall journalize the case plan as part of its dispositional order. R.C. 2151.353(E); see also R.C. 2151.412(E). As will be discussed more below, BCCS filed a case plan in this case, as well as, in the prior case. Therefore, mother's argument that the juvenile court erred by not adopting a case plan prior to the disposition hearing lacks merit.

{¶ 13} Appellants together argue that the magistrate erred when it found that BCCS made reasonable efforts to "reunify" the family pursuant to R.C. 2151.419. Again, their argument lacks merit. R.C. 2151.353(I) provides that [t]he court shall not issue a dispositional order pursuant to

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division (A) of this section [that is, R.C. 2151.353] that removes a child from the child's home unless the court complies with section 2151.419 of the Revised Code and includes in the dispositional order the findings of fact required by that section.

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In re S.H., 2020 Ohio 3499 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020).

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