In the Int. of: I.B., Appeal of: M.B.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 4, 2024
Docket3039 EDA 2023
StatusUnpublished

This text of In the Int. of: I.B., Appeal of: M.B. (In the Int. of: I.B., Appeal of: M.B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Int. of: I.B., Appeal of: M.B., (Pa. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

J-S09012-24

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

IN THE INTEREST OF: I.B., A MINOR : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : APPEAL OF: M.B., MOTHER : : : : : : No. 3039 EDA 2023

Appeal from the Order Entered November 6, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at No(s): CP-51-DP-0001357-2020

IN THE INTEREST OF: I.M.B., A : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA : : APPEAL OF: M.B., MOTHER : : : : : No. 3040 EDA 2023

Appeal from the Decree Entered November 6, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at No(s): CP-51-AP-0000599-2022

BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J.E., NICHOLS, J., and BECK, J.

MEMORANDUM BY PANELLA, P.J.E.: FILED APRIL 04, 2024

In these consolidated appeals, M.B. (“Mother”) appeals from the decree

and order entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County which

granted the petitions of Philadelphia County Department of Human Services

(“DHS”) to change the permanency goal of I.B. (d.o.b. 7/2019) (“Child”) to

adoption and involuntarily terminate Mother’s parental rights to Child pursuant J-S09012-24

to Sections 2511(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(5), (a)(8) and (b) of the Adoption Act, 23

Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2511-2514.1 We affirm.

Mother is Child’s biological mother. Child and Mother came to DHS’s

attention in November 2020 when DHS received information that Mother lived

in a shelter, often left Child unattended, suffered from mental illness, and used

illegal drugs. Shortly thereafter, DHS obtained an order of protective custody

and placed Child in foster care after Mother presented at Einstein Medical

Center hallucinating, believing her death was imminent, and asking hospital

staff to take care of Child. When DHS visited her the same day, Mother

believed that she had died. Child exhibited signs of petit mal seizures and did

not display age-appropriate behavior and skills.

In December 2020, DHS and the Community Umbrella Agency (“CUA”)

established Mother’s single case plan (“SCP”), with family reunification as the

permanency goal. Mother was required to ensure Child’s basic needs were met

and Child’s medical, dental and vision appointments were current. Mother also

was to be available to the CUA, comply with the CUA’s services, apply for

Child’s services, and participate in a parenting program. Objectives for

Mother’s mental health, visitation and compliance with court-ordered

objectives also were added by the court in December.

____________________________________________

1 The court also terminated the parental rights of Child’s father and unknown

putative father. They have not appealed.

-2- J-S09012-24

On May 19, 2021, Child was adjudicated dependent and committed to

DHS’s custody. The court ordered Mother to comply with mental health,

substance abuse, and disability related assessments and services. At all

permanency review hearings in 2021, 2022, and 2023, the court found Mother

non-compliant with the permanency plan and that she had not made any

progress toward alleviating the conditions that led to Child’s placement.

On October 27, 2022, DHS filed petitions to terminate Mother’s parental

rights and to change Child’s permanency goal to adoption. The following

individuals testified on behalf of DHS at the goal change/termination of

parental rights (“TPR”) hearing: Michael Flowers, Child’s proposed placement

resource; Katina Alexander, Interim Supervisor, Children’s Crisis Treatment

Center (CCTC); Katherine D’Amora, DHS psychologist; Lashonna McRae, CUA

case manager; Adrien Gale, CUA case manager; Latoya Davenport, resource

parent; and Janice DeShields, Child Advocate social worker. The court

apparently interviewed Child in camera, but the interview was not recorded or

transcribed. Mother testified on her own behalf. The following testimony was

provided.

Gale testified that during the previous two years, Child’s placement was

changed four times, and included the removal from her current foster parent,

Davenport, due to allegations of abuse, and then Child’s return to her after

the allegations were unfounded. Child transitioned well to each of the

placements. Child has been diagnosed with adjustment disorder with

-3- J-S09012-24

disturbance of emotion and conduct. Child is aggressive, spits on others,

chokes peers, and often screams. Child needed eye surgery at one point, but

it was delayed for five months because the CUA was unable to find Mother to

sign the consents for anesthesia for the surgery.

Gale testified she was the individual who advised Mother of Mother’s

SCP and court-ordered objectives in December 2020. Gale has reached out to

remind Mother of her objectives, which included visitation, but Mother has not

requested or tried to arrange visitation with Child. According to Gale, Mother

failed to meet any of her objectives or to alleviate the conditions that

necessitated Child’s continued placement. Mother has not obtained suitable

housing and Gale could not comment on Mother’s current living arrangements

since Gale was not able to assess the accommodations at Ruth’s House (the

mental health treatment facility where Mother was enrolled at the time of the

TPR hearing). Mother never provided the CUA with proof of completion of any

mental health treatment program and failed to complete any of her substance

abuse objectives, which were intended to address Mother’s history of Percocet

abuse.

Flowers is the husband of Child’s maternal aunt. Flowers and his wife

have custody of Mother’s fifteen-year-old severely autistic son. The Flowers

wish to adopt Child and are prepared to address Child’s adjustment disorder

diagnosis. During this case, Flowers and his wife have had sixteen virtual and

-4- J-S09012-24

three in-person visits with Child. Gale and McRae, the CUA case manager

supervisor, have no concerns about the Flowers as adoption resources.

Davenport, Child’s current resource parent, testified Child was placed in

her care when Child was approximately seventeen months old. Child was

removed from her home for over a year after DHS received a report of abuse,

which was later determined to be unfounded. Davenport has two sons, ages

nine and thirteen, who live in her home. Although Child is aggressive with the

younger son, Davenport said he does not retaliate and hit her back.

According to Davenport, Child is bonded with her. Alexander, the

supervisor from CCTC, believes severing the bond would have a detrimental

impact on Child, but that a family that “commit[s] to her[,] … [has] some type

of bond with her” and attends to her needs would be an appropriate

placement. N.T. TPR Hearing, 11/6/23, at 58.

DeShields, child advocate social worker, saw Child more than seventeen

times over the course of the case. At first, Child did not walk or talk and was

developmentally behind for her age. Child progressed in Davenport’s care and

regressed when she was temporarily removed.

Mother conceded she has not completed her objectives for reunification,

but she does not want her rights to Child terminated because her failure to

achieve her objectives was due to her chronic homelessness and disability.

Mother also attributed her long absences from the case and lack of contact

with the CUA to homelessness, although she acknowledged she knew the

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