In the Int. of: M.T.S., Appeal of: N.C.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided May 26, 2023·No. 2850 EDA 2022·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

IN THE INTEREST OF: M.T.S., JR., : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF A MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA :

:

APPEAL OF: N.C., MOTHER :

:

:

:

: No. 2850 EDA 2022

Appeal from the Decree Entered October 13, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at CP-51-AP-0000224-2021

IN THE INTEREST OF: E.R.U.F., : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF A MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA :

:

APPEAL OF: N.C., MOTHER :

:

:

:

: No. 2851 EDA 2022

Appeal from the Decree Entered October 13, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at CP-51-AP-0000047-2022

IN THE INTEREST OF: Z.N.G., JR., : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF A MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA :

:

APPEAL OF: N.C., MOTHER :

:

:

:

: No. 2852 EDA 2022

Appeal from the Decree Entered October 13, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at CP-51-AP-0000048-2022

BEFORE: DUBOW, J., MURRAY, J., and McCAFFERY, J.

MEMORANDUM BY MURRAY, J.: FILED MAY 26, 2023 N.C., (Mother), appeals from the decrees involuntarily terminating her parental rights1 to M.T.S., E.R.U.F. and Z.N.G. (Children).2 We affirm.

Mother gave birth to E.R.U.F. in October, 2012; to M.T.S. in March, 2017; and to Z.N.G. in June, 2020. On August 28, 2018, the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) received a report that M.T.S.,

then one year old, had purple and red bruises on both sides of his back and on the back of his upper thigh near his buttock; that … Mother, N.C., admitted she had hit [M.T.S.] on his legs, causing the bruises; that the Children’s maternal grandmother, S.B., with whom Mother and the Children were residing, was not present at the home during the incident; that the exact date of the incident was unknown; that on the morning of August 28, 2018, S.B.

observed [M.T.S.’s] injuries and instructed Mother not to hit the child due to his age; that S.B. did not physically discipline either child; and that [M.T.S.] cried when Mother was near him. The report also alleged that Mother had been incarcerated after a domestic violence incident involving [M.T.S.’s] Father; that S.B.

cared for [E.R.U.F.] during Mother’s incarceration; that Mother gave birth to [M.T.S.] while she was incarcerated; that S.B. had cared for [M.T.S.] since his birth; that S.B. had been awarded legal custody of [E.R.U.F.] but not [M.T.S.]; that [M.T.S.’s f]ather … was incarcerated and uninvolved in [M.T.S.’s] care; that [M.T.S.’s f]ather ... had obtained a Protection From Abuse (PFA)

Order against Mother; and that [E.R.U.F.’s f]ather … was not involved in her care; that Mother was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Mother had expressed suicidal ideations while she was incarcerated; that Mother had been recently released from prison and enrolled in mental health treatment through Community

1Mother has appealed from the December 21, 2022 order changing E.R.U.F.’s permanency goal to adoption at 242 EDA 2023.

2 The trial court terminated the parental rights of Children’s fathers. The fathers of M.T.S. and Z.N.G. have not appealed. E.F., who is the father of E.R.U.F., has appealed at 243 and 244 EDA 2023.

Behavioral Health (CBH) with the assistance of her prison supervisor and prison social worker from the Release Program;

and that Mother had obtained public assistance benefits for [both children] and was planning to enter a shelter. [DHS determined t]he report [of abuse] was indicated.

Trial Court Opinion, 12/20/22, at 3. On September 12, 2018, the trial court adjudicated M.T.S. dependent and placed him with Mother’s mother (Grandmother). Id. at 6.

Mother has bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and anger management issues. Id. at 4. In 2018, the trial court ordered Mother to participate in various services to address her mental health, parenting, and housing issues. Mother was noncompliant. Consequently, “Mother’s visits [with M.T.S. were] suspended [on] 12/18/2018.” Id. at 9.

The court continued to refer Mother for mental health, parenting, and housing services. On October 23, 2019, the court ordered Mother to participate in supervised visitation with M.T.S. for two hours a week. Id. at 9. In June 2020, Mother gave birth to Z.N.G. After DHS visited Mother and Z.N.G. at the hospital, Mother and Z.N.G. were discharged to a women’s shelter with “a safety plan signed by shelter staff.” Id. at 11.

Following a review hearing on July 10, 2020, the court returned M.T.S.

to Mother, directed DHS to “implement supervision,” and Mother “to continue her mental health treatment and comply with [] safety visits.” Id. at 12. “Mother was discharged from the shelter on July 31, 2020, due to her lack of

compliance with shelter rules. Mother and the Children subsequently began residing in an apartment.” Id.

On September 8, 2020, M.T.S.’s cousin took M.T.S., who was then three years old, to the emergency department of St. Christopher’s Hospital. M.T.S. had numerous bruises, cuts, and abrasions “all over his body,” a black eye, and a “left humeral fracture.” Id. at 13-15. At the hospital the following day, a DHS representative observed M.T.S. to be “fragile and afraid of Mother.” Id. at 15. The hospital Child Protection Team “found the pattern of bruising was the result of being hit with a cord or belt.” Id. at 14. The Child Protection Team opined that M.T.S.’s injuries “were highly associated with inflicted trauma.” Id. at 16. The “totality of [M.T.S.]’s injuries was diagnostic of child physical abuse, likely on more than one occasion.” Id. M.T.S.’s treatment included surgery on his arm. Id. at 14.

On September 11, 2020, DHS obtained an order of protective custody for M.T.S. On September 18, M.T.S. “was placed in a confidential medical foster home … where he currently remains.” Id. at 19. On October 2, 2020, DHS “filed urgent dependent petitions” for E.R.U.F. and Z.N.G., who were placed with Grandmother. Id. at 19-22.

On October 26, 2020, the Commonwealth charged Mother with crimes involving M.T.S.3 Mother was released on bail on December 15, 2020; as a condition of release, Mother was to have no contact with M.T.S. See Trial Court Opinion, 12/20/22, at 20.

On January 6, 2021, the trial court held a permanency review hearing regarding M.T.S. and a dependency hearing as to E.R.U.F. and Z.N.G. The court entered findings of abuse of M.T.S. and aggravated circumstances against Mother.4 The court “ordered that no efforts were to be made” to reunify M.T.S. with Mother. Id. at 22. The court also adjudicated E.R.U.F. and Z.N.G. dependent. The court ordered “custody of the Children vacated [as] to [Grandmother] and legal custody transferred to DHS and placement in foster care.” Id. The Children’s placements were to remain confidential. The court referred Mother to “an intensive anger management program, to attend

3The Commonwealth charged Mother with aggravated assault, simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person. See 18 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 2702, 4304, 2701, and 2705. Mother’s case remains active at CP-51-CR-0002490-2021; at this writing, the most recent docket entry is a “status listing” on May 11, 2023. Mother states that “trial is scheduled for May 2023.” Mother’s Brief at IX.

4 Aggravated circumstances exist when the “child or another child of the parent has been the victim of physical abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, sexual violence or aggravated physical neglect by the parent[ ]”). 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 6302.

[a behavioral] consultation evaluation, and to be referred for a parental capacity evaluation.” Id.

From January 6, 2021, to the present, E.[R.U.]F. and Z.N.G.

have experienced numerous placement disruptions. E.[R.U.]F.

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In the Int. of: M.T.S., Appeal of: N.C., (Pa. Ct. App. 2023).

In the Int. of: M.T.S., Appeal of: N.C. (In the Int. of: M.T.S., Appeal of: N.C.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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