In re V.T.

2026 Ohio 11
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 5, 2026
DocketCA2025-07-017; CA2025-07-018
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2026 Ohio 11 (In re V.T.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re V.T., 2026 Ohio 11 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

[Cite as In re V.T., 2026-Ohio-11.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO

FAYETTE COUNTY

IN RE: : CASE NO. CA2025-07-017 CA2025-07-018 V.T., et al. :

:

: OPINION AND JUDGMENT ENTRY : 1/5/2026

APPEAL FROM FAYETTE COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS JUVENILE DIVISION CASE NOS. AND20230129; AND20230130; AND20230131

Sabol Law Office, and Garry A. Sabol, for appellant, mother.

Steven H. Eckstein, for appellant, father.

Jess C. Weade, Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney, and Rachel S. Martin, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee.

Kristina Walkowicz, guardian ad litem. Fayette CA2025-07-017 CA2025-07-018

____________ OPINION

M. POWELL, J.

{¶ 1} Appellants, Mother and Father, appeal from a decision of the Fayette

County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, terminating their parental rights and

granting permanent custody of their children to appellee, Fayette County Children

Services ("the agency").1 For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the juvenile court's

decision.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

A. The children's removal

{¶ 2} V.T., M.T., and C.T. (born in 2016, 2018, and 2020, respectively) are the

biological minor children of Mother and Father. On March 23, 2023, the agency removed

all three children from Mother's custody after receiving reports of concern.

{¶ 3} The circumstances that led to this removal were grim. The agency had

attempted several home visits during which Mother would not wake up. Even then, before

formal custody proceedings began, the agency had already implemented a voluntary

case plan with Mother. She failed to comply. Mother continued to test positive for cocaine

and oxycodone. She failed to renew her SNAP benefits, neglected to ensure the oldest

child attended school, declined to obtain a substance-abuse assessment when

requested, allowed a known drug dealer into the home, and faced eviction. Father said

no when asked whether he could take custody of the children, explaining that his living

situation would not allow it and he could not pass a drug screen.

1. We sua sponte consolidated these appeals. App.R. 3(B). -2- Fayette CA2025-07-017 CA2025-07-018

{¶ 4} The juvenile court adjudicated the three children as dependent children on

June 13, 2023. The children were placed in the agency's temporary custody and have

resided in the same foster home since June 2023.

B. The Case Plans

{¶ 5} Following the dependency adjudication, the agency developed case plans

for both Mother and Father with a goal of reunification. The requirements were

straightforward. Mother's case plan required her to obtain and maintain employment and

provide proof of income, obtain county benefits, obtain and maintain suitable housing and

provide proof of lease, undergo mental-health and drug-and-alcohol assessments and

follow through with recommended counseling, take a parenting class, comply with random

drug screens, and engage in supervised visitation with the children.

{¶ 6} Father's case plan required him to attend parenting classes, complete a

mental-health assessment and follow any recommendations, complete a drug-and-

alcohol assessment and follow any recommendations, obtain and maintain legal income

and provide paystubs, and obtain and maintain housing.

{¶ 7} The agency gave both parents multiple extensions of these case plans to

allow additional time for compliance. Despite these extensions, the parents' progress

remained, at best, incomplete.

{¶ 8} The agency filed its motion for permanent custody on July 11, 2024. The

matter first came on for hearing on September 30, 2024, but was continued to allow for

the appointment of counsel for Father. On October 29, 2024, all parties stipulated to a

further continuance to allow Mother and Father even more time to work on their case

plans. The parties waived the statutory 120-day deadline for the permanent-custody

hearing.

-3- Fayette CA2025-07-017 CA2025-07-018

{¶ 9} The permanent-custody hearing was eventually resumed on January 16,

2025, and March 28, 2025. The juvenile court heard testimony from the children's

appointed guardian ad litem ("GAL"), the caseworker, the case supervisor, Mother,

Father, and Mother's counselor from Autumn Behavioral Health.

{¶ 10} The paternal grandfather filed a motion for custody and appeared at the

January 16, 2025 hearing. He was notified in open court of the next hearing date but failed

to appear on March 28, 2025. The agency indicated that it would not consider him for

placement.

C. Mother's Case-Plan Progress

{¶ 11} Mother was given two years to demonstrate she could provide a safe, stable

home for her children. The record shows she spent most of that time failing, equivocating,

or arriving late.

{¶ 12} By the time of the final permanent-custody hearing, Mother had cycled

through five different treatment centers for substance abuse. She had been consistent in

treatment for only two months as of the final hearing date. She failed to comply with the

agency's request for weekly random drug screens until after the first permanent-custody

hearing in September 2024. As recently as October 2024, she tested positive for drugs.

{¶ 13} Mother did not provide proof of income at the first two hearing dates. She

did not provide verification of her residence until March 28, 2025, the final day of the

permanent-custody hearing. She lives in a home where a man named Mr. Stone also

resides. The nature of the relationship between Mother and Mr. Stone remains unclear.

The agency requested that Mr. Stone undergo a background check, and he refused to

comply.

{¶ 14} Mother testified that she completed a mental-health assessment, but she

-4- Fayette CA2025-07-017 CA2025-07-018

never provided documentation of it to the agency. She testified that she did not know the

results of the assessment, did not know the recommendations, and was not currently

receiving mental-health counseling. She stated she did not believe she needed such

counseling. Mother presented her parenting-class certificate to the caseworker on the

morning of the final day of the permanent-custody hearing.

{¶ 15} Mother's housing plans remained wholly unsettled. She testified that she

"didn't know" whether she might move in with Father in the future. If she did move, she

had no plan for employment, no plan for childcare, and did not know the consequences

of breaking her current lease. As the juvenile court found, her "plans remained up in the

air."

{¶ 16} Mother's counselor from Autumn Behavioral Health testified that Mother had

"made great strides" in treatment and that she believed the children would be safe if

placed with Mother. But the caseworker's testimony told a different story: a two-year

pattern of missed appointments, broken commitments, incomplete tasks, and serial

failures, punctuated by a flurry of last-minute activity as the final hearing approached.

D. Father's Case-Plan Progress

{¶ 17} Father's participation in this case was troubling too. He was absent from the

case for nearly the first year after the children's removal. When he did engage, his

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