J-S11004-24
NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37
IN THE INTEREST OF: S.J., A MINOR : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : APPEAL OF: M.S., MOTHER : : : : : : No. 3000 EDA 2023
Appeal from the Order Entered January 3, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at No(s): CP-51-DP-0000447-2021
IN THE INTEREST OF: S.K.J., A : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA : : APPEAL OF: M.S., MOTHER : : : : : No. 3001 EDA 2023
Appeal from the Decree Entered November 16, 2023 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at No(s): CP-51-AP-0000326-2023
BEFORE: BOWES, J., McLAUGHLIN, J., and COLINS, J.*
MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.: FILED JUNE 06, 2024
M.S. (“Mother”) appeals from the November 16, 2023 decree
terminating her parental rights to her minor child, S.J. born in August 2016.1
____________________________________________
* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. 1 The child’s father is deceased. J-S11004-24
She also appeals the juvenile court’s January 3, 2024 order changing S.J.’s
permanency goal to adoption.2 We affirm.
The Philadelphia Department of Health services (“DHS”) was previously
involved with the family in 2016 and 2019, first, after receiving a General
Protective Service (“GPS”) report that Mother tested positive for phencyclidine
(“PCP”) during the birth of S.J., and then based on concerns with S.J.’s failure
to thrive and potential domestic violence in the home. DHS closed both cases
after Mother agreed to a safety plan and volunteered to receive services.
Two years after DHS closed the latter case, it received a GPS report
alleging that Mother had been arrested for operating a motor vehicle under
the influence of a controlled substance. Then-four-year-old S.J. was a
passenger in the vehicle, and Mother admitted to ingesting PCP.
On May 28, 2021, the juvenile court adjudicated S.J. dependent and the
agency continued the child’s kinship care placement with C.S., a maternal
cousin, who is a pre-adoptive resource.3 The court ordered Mother to, inter
alia, submit to a behavioral health evaluation and drug screening, engage in ____________________________________________
2 Appellant purported to challenge the goal change by appealing the November
16, 2023 order that was entered concomitant to the decree terminating parental rights. However, that order did not direct a goal change to adoption, but instead continued the status quo. On January 3, 2024, the juvenile court amended the November 16th order to confirm the goal change. While Mother’s notice of appeal is premature in relation to the January 3, 2024 order, we do not quash it. See Johnston the Florist, Inc. v. TEDCO Const. Corp., 657 A.2d 511 (Pa.Super. 1995)(an appeal filed prior to the entry of a final order will be treated as timely filed).
3 Although the notes of testimony refer to this witness as S.S., the certified
record confirms the correct spelling is C.S.
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a dual diagnosis assessment, and to attend the Achieving Reunification Center
(“ARC”) for parenting, housing, and employment training. Thereafter, the
Community Umbrella Agency (“CUA”) assigned to the family crafted a single
case plan (“SCP”) that outlined the foregoing court-ordered goals and required
Mother to attend supervised visitations with S.J. for two hours per week.
Initially, Mother complied moderately with these directives and made
modest progress towards reunification with S.J. However, her cooperation
declined during the ensuing two-and-one-half years. For example, Mother
eventually failed to maintain consistent attendance at the visitations, which
were increased to three times per week but never progressed beyond
supervised in-home contact with S.J., and ultimately reverted to supervision
at the agency during September 2023 because Mother triggered an alcohol-
related altercation at the home of C.S., the kinship placement resource. More
importantly, while Mother completed the initial in-patient dual diagnosis
program, she failed to complete the concomitant outpatient substance-abuse
treatment, periodically tested positive for marijuana and alcohol, missed the
last six scheduled drug screens, and permitted her substance abuse to
interfere with the in-home visitations.
On August 24, 2023, DHS filed a petition to involuntarily terminate
Mother’s parental rights pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S. § 2511(a) and (b). The trial
court held a termination hearing on November 14 2023, at which point S.J.
was seven years old. Mother failed to attend the evidentiary hearing but she
was represented by counsel. Likewise, the court appointed separate counsel
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and guardian ad litem to represent S.J.’s legal interest and best interests,
respectively. DHS adduced testimony from Mikayla Williams, the CUA Case
manager assigned to the family, and C.S., both of whom the trial court
expressly deemed credible. See N.T., 11/16/ 23, at 20, 27. C.S. testified
about the frequency and quality of Mother’s visitations with S.J., and the
nature of the September 15, 2023 incident.
The trial court reconvened on November 16, 2023, for S.J.’s counsel to
update the court about the child’s legal interest and for the parties and the
guardian ad litem to present their respective legal arguments. Thereafter, the
trial court stated from the bench its rationale for terminating Mother’s parental
rights pursuant to § 2511(a)(1), (2), (5), and (8) and § 2511(b).
Although Mother attended the November 16, 2023 proceeding, the trial
court removed her from the hearing after she engaged in obstreperous
behavior. As the court referenced this outburst in its on-the-record statement
of rationale, we discuss it herein. Specifically, as the trial court was presenting
the basis for its decision, Mother rejected the court’s characterization of the
September 15, 2023 incident as follows:
THE MOTHER: That’s a fucking lie.
....
THE COURT: I’m sorry. It’s not time for you to speak in the court.
THE MOTHER: It’s hearsay though.
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THE COURT: You can excuse yourself if you’d like or you can stay and remain quiet. Those are your option.
THE MOTHER: You don’t even -- you all just -- this is hearsay.
THE COURT: Get the sheriff.
THE MOTHER: I’m fighting for my son here.
THE MOTHER: And you’re just talking about – you weren’t there.
THE COURT: [Mother], you can be excused from the courtroom.
THE MOTHER: No, I’ve been quiet for two years. I’ve been quiet for two years.
THE MOTHER: Allowing you all to run whatever circus and show that you all decided to choose for me. You all chose this for me and my child. I was -- I show way bigger and better every single day for my son. I provide for my son. I work and take care of my child without nobody asking me for nothing. I do what I have to do for my child. You’re going to sit here and try to tell me that I failed to do what.
THE COURT: [Mother], you need to remove yourself.
THE COURT: [Mother], you need to leave the courtroom.
THE MOTHER: I got a video of her pushing my son with fucking (unintelligible) and them smoking and drinking around my child.
COURT OFFICER: We do care about your child (inaudible).
THE MOTHER: No, the fuck you all don’t because you’re not there when I’m trying to see my son.
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COURT OFFICER: (inaudible)
THE MOTHER: You all don’t see [the] real me. I am his mother. I went [through] a lot of pain. Nobody cares. [To y]ou all . . . this is paperwork. This is my real life.
THE COURT: [Mother], you need to leave.
THE MOTHER: Terminate my fucking rights. You want to speak for my -- don’t touch me.
THE COURT: Let the record reflect that [M]other has left the courtroom. Mother’s outburst in this courtroom further demonstrates her ability to rationally operate. It causes me to question both her mental state . . . and whether she’s worked on her drug and alcohol issues conducted by the way she acted in this courtroom today.
N.T., 11/16/23 at 22-25. Thereafter, the court entered the decree terminating
Mother’s parental rights and filed the above-referenced goal change order, as
amended by the January 3, 2024 order that is currently on appeal.
Mother filed timely notices of appeal to this Court at both above-
captioned cases, along with respective concise statements of errors
complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a)(2)(i) and (b). The
trial court filed a consolidated Rule 1925(a) opinion which largely referred to
its on-the-record statements at the conclusion of the November 16, 2023
hearing. We consolidated the appeals for disposition.
Mother present the following issues for our review:
1) Whether the trial court abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law in terminating [M]other’s parental rights when DHS failed to meet its burden that termination of parental rights was warranted under 23 Pa.C.S. 2511(a) and (b).
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2) Whether the trial court abused its discretion and erred as a matter of law in changing the permanency goal to adoption from reunification as there was not competent evidence that it was in the best interests of the child.
Mother’s brief at 8.4
Our standard of review in this context is well-settled:
In cases concerning the involuntary termination of parental rights, appellate review is limited to a determination of whether the decree of the termination court is supported by competent evidence. When applying this standard, the appellate court must accept the trial court’s findings of fact and credibility determinations if they are supported by the record. Where the trial court’s factual findings are supported by the evidence, an appellate court may not disturb the trial court’s ruling unless it has discerned an error of law or abuse of discretion.
An abuse of discretion does not result merely because the reviewing court might have reached a different conclusion or the facts could support an opposite result. Instead, an appellate court may reverse for an abuse of discretion only upon demonstration of manifest unreasonableness, partiality, prejudice, bias, or ill- will. This standard of review reflects the deference we pay to trial courts, who often observe the parties first-hand across multiple hearings.
In considering a petition to terminate parental rights, a trial court must balance the parent’s fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of his or her child with the child’s essential needs for a parent’s care, protection, and support. Termination of parental rights has significant and permanent consequences for both the parent and child. As such, the law of this Commonwealth requires the moving party to establish the statutory grounds by clear and convincing evidence, which is evidence that is so clear, direct, weighty, and convincing as to enable a trier of fact to come to a clear conviction, without hesitance, of the truth of the precise facts in issue. ____________________________________________
4 DHS, J.S.’s legal counsel, and the guardian ad litem, each filed a separate
brief in favor of affirming the trial court’s termination decree and goal change order.
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Interest of M.E., 283 A.3d 820, 829-30 (Pa.Super. 2022) (internal citations
and quotation marks omitted).
The involuntary termination of parental rights is governed at statute by
23 Pa.C.S. § 2511 of the Adoption Act, which necessitates a bifurcated analysis
that first focuses upon the “eleven enumerated grounds” of parental conduct
that may warrant termination pursuant to § 2511(a)(1)-(11). M.E., 283 A.3d
at 830. If the trial court determines a petitioner has established grounds for
termination under at least one of these subsections by “clear and convincing
evidence,” the court then assesses the petition under § 2511(b), which
focuses upon whether termination will serve the child’s developmental,
physical and emotional needs and welfare. Id. (citing In re T.S.M., 283 A.3d
251, 267 (Pa. 2013)); see also 23 Pa.C.S. § 2511(b). This Court “need only
agree with any one subsection of § 2511(a), in addition to § 2511(b), in order
to affirm the termination of parental rights.” T.S.M., 283 A.3d at 267.
Our analysis in the instant proceedings implicates § 2511(a)(8) and (b),
which provide as follows:
(a) General Rule.—The rights of a parent in regard to a child may be terminated after a petition filed on any of the following grounds:
(8) The child has been removed from the care of the parent by the court or under a voluntary agreement with an agency, 12 months or more have elapsed from the date of removal or placement, the conditions which led to the removal or placement of the child continue to exist and
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termination of parental rights would best serve the needs and welfare of the child.
(b) Other considerations.—The court in terminating the rights of a parent shall give primary consideration to the developmental, physical and emotional needs and welfare of the child. The rights of a parent shall not be terminated solely on the basis of environmental factors such as inadequate housing, furnishings, income, clothing and medical care if found to be beyond the control of the parent. With respect to any petition filed pursuant to subsection (a)(1), (6) or (8), the court shall not consider any efforts by the parent to remedy the conditions described therein which are first initiated subsequent to the giving of notice of the filing of the petition.
23 Pa.C.S. § 2511(a)(8), (b).
In order to satisfy the requirements of § 2511(a)(8) in the case at bar,
DHS was required to produce clear and convincing evidence that: (1) S.J. has
been removed from Mother for at least twelve months; (2) the conditions
which led to his removal continue to exist; and (3) involuntary termination of
parental rights would best serve the child’s needs and welfare. See Interest
of M.E., 283 A.3d 820, 832 (Pa.Super. 2022). Notably, Mother’s willingness
or ability to remedy the conditions that led to S.J. placement is not pertinent
to our review. Id. Instead, “[t]he relevant inquiry regarding the second prong
of § 2511(a)(8) is whether the conditions that led to removal have been
remedied and thus whether reunification of parent and child is imminent at
the time of the hearing.” Id. (quotation and citation omitted). “Further, the
Adoption Act prohibits the court from considering, as part of the § 2511(a)(8)
analysis, “any efforts by the parent to remedy the conditions described in the
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petition which are first initiated subsequent to the giving of notice of the filing
of the petition.” 23 Pa.C.S. § 2511(b). Id. (cleaned up).
S.J. has been in DHS’s care since May 28, 2021, due to Mother’s
substance abuse and mental health problems. As DHS filed the instant
petition to terminate Mother’s parental rights on August 24, 2023,
approximately twenty-seven months later, the agency satisfied the threshold
requirement concerning twelve-months placement. Next, we address whether
Mother’s substance abuse problems continue to exist.
Challenging §§ 2511(a)(5) and 2511 (a)(8) collectively, Mother contests
the trial court’s determination that there was clear and convincing evidence
regarding her persistent substance abuse. First, Mother highlights that she
completed the court-ordered thirty-day dual diagnosis inpatient treatment
program at Kirkbride Center (“Kirkbride”) during May 2021, periodically
participated in programs at Gaudenzia Addiction Treatment (“Gaudenzia”) and
SOAR over the course of the dependency case, and engaged Pinnacle
Treatment Centers (“Pinnacle”) approximately one-month before DHS filed
the petition to terminate her parental rights. Mother’s brief at 9-10, 21. Then,
limiting the salient issue to her abuse of PCP, Mother contends that there is
no evidence in the record to suggest that she ingested that substance since
the April 2019 traffic incident. Id. at 21. While she ultimately concedes the
“extensive testimony concerning some alcohol use . . . and trace amounts of
alcohol . . . in her random drug screens,” Mother stresses that she was only
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observed to be intoxicated on one occasion and has consistently engaged in
outpatient substance abuse programs. Id. In sum, Mother asserts that
because she remained active in “her abstinence from illegal substances,” the
statutory basis to terminate her parental rights did not exist. Id. at 22. For
the following reasons, we disagree.
Instantly, the trial court determined that Mother’s substance abuse
problems persisted, stating its rationale from the bench, as follows:
Mother’s outburst today [raises] questions [about] her stability. She originally was testing positive for PCP, but the [c]ourt . . . has significant concern as to her use of drugs and alcohol at this time as demonstrated today [and] by the incident that happened on September 15. . . . [M]other’s failure to appear for this last six drug screens leads this [c]ourt to believe she would likely test positive for something in her system, whether it be PCP, alcohol, or marijuana. Mother did not appear for those six screens and has not demonstrated an ability to have clean screens for the life of this case.
N.T., 11/16/ at 27-28. The trial court further determined,
Mother has had two years to demonstrate an ability to follow the recommendations that she received when she completed her thirty days of outpatient. She has not successfully completed any outpatient drug and alcohol program.
She has been testing positive throughout this case for different substances. She’s tested positive for marijuana. She’s showed traces of alcohol. She appeared at the resource home apparently under the influence with alcohol in her hand.
Id. at 26.5
5While the trial court proffered this portion of the discussion concerning Mother’s enduring substance abuse in reference to 2511(a)(5), the relevant (Footnote Continued Next Page)
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The certified record supports the trial court’s characterization of
Mother’s continuing substance abuse and belies her claimed progress toward
absolute abstention. While Mother protests that she no longer uses PCP, Ms.
William’s testimony demonstrated that Mother failed to complete her
substance abuse treatment, and tested positive for marijuana, alcohol, and
other “undisclosed substances.” N.T., 11/14/23, at 21-22, 24, 31-32. Indeed,
she was discharged from Gaudenzia due to non-attendance, and her
participation level at SOAR was assessed to be as a low as fifty percent. Id.
at 21-22. Similarly, Ms. Williams pointed out both that Mother’s 11th hour re-
engagement with Pinnacle followed a prior discharge for non-attendance, and
that Mother neglected to provide the agency any information about the
program beyond the fact that she is receiving counseling services. Id. at 34.
As to the positive drug screens for undisclosed substances, Ms. Williams
further explained, “SOAR was not able to disclose to us what [substance
Mother] was testing positive for.” Id. at 32. Hence, Mother could have abused
PCP and SOAR simply refused to report the specific result. Moreover, Mother
neglected to appear for all six random drug screens between May 2023 and
November 2023, which are all presumed positive, and which further prevented
component of that subparagraph contains identical language regarding “the conditions which led to the removal or placement of the child continue to exist.” 23 Pa.C.S. § 2511(a)(5). As Mother assails the court’s findings concerning her substance abuse, generally, this portion of the trial court’s rationale is equally relevant to the 2511(a)(8) analysis.
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the court from confirming Mother’s alleged non-ingestion of PCP. Id. at 23,
25, 75. Hence, the record simply does not sustain Mother’s assertion of
sobriety, generally, or her claim that she has not used PCP, specifically.
Finally, as to the third component of § 2511(a)(8), relating to S.J.’s best
interests, Ms. Williams stated that Mother is incapable of satisfying the child’s
needs. Id. at 26-27, 37. We have outlined the pertinent consideration thusly:
“Although § 2511(a) generally focuses on the behavior of the parent, the third
prong of § 2511(a)(8) specifically ‘accounts for the needs of the child.’”
Interest of M.E., 284 A.3d at 832 (quoting In Re C.L.G., 956 A.2d 999,
1008-09 (Pa.Super. 2008) (en banc)). As explained in more detail in our
analysis of § 2511(b), the trial court did not err in prioritizing S.J.’s need for
permanence and security over his lingering attachment to Mother. Here Ms.
Williams testified, “if [Mother] is using [intoxicants], she cannot ensure safety
for the child. . . . . [S]he’s not showing us . . . consistency in her being clean,
and that’s a big part of this.” Id. at 26-27. As Ms. William’s testimony
supports the trial court’s “significant concerns as to” Mother’s stability and
ability to maintain sobriety, we do not disturb the court’s determination
pursuant to §2511(a)(8) that the termination of parental rights serves the
child’s best interest by providing him the permanency and security that Mother
cannot. N.T., 11/26/23, at 27.
Based upon the foregoing we find no abuse of discretion with the trial
court’s determination that S.J. has been removed from Mother for at least
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twelve months, the conditions which led to his removal continue to exist, and
termination of parental rights would serve the child’s needs and welfare.
Accordingly, the trial court did not err in terminating Mother’s parental rights
pursuant to § 2511(a)(8).
Having found that the record supports the trial court’s determination as
to § 2511(a), we turn to § 2511(b), which concerns whether S.J.’s
developmental, physical, and emotional needs and welfare will be best served
by terminating Mother’s parental rights. See 23 Pa.C.S. § 2511(b).
Our High Court recently provided the following guidance relevant to our
review of the trial court’s needs and welfare analysis: “Notably, courts should
consider the matter from the child’s perspective, placing [their]
developmental, physical, and emotional needs and welfare above concerns for
the parent.” In the Interest of K.T., 296 A.3d 1085, 1105 (Pa. 2023). This
determination “should not be applied mechanically,” but “must be made on a
case-by-case basis,” wherein “the court must determine each child’s specific
needs.” Id. at 1106. Accordingly, there is no “exhaustive list” of factors that
must be considered in this context. Id. at 1113 n.28.
Nonetheless, our Supreme Court has also mandated that a court’s
§ 2511(b) analysis must include “consideration of the emotional bonds
between the parent and child.” T.S.M., 283 A.3d at 267. Thus, the court
must determine whether the “trauma” caused by sundering the parent-child
bond is “outweighed by the benefit of moving the child toward a permanent
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home.” Id. at 253 (cleaned up). The recognized threshold for this finding is
that the court must determine whether termination will sever a “necessary
and beneficial relationship,” such that the child “could suffer extreme
emotional consequences.” K.T., 296 A.3d at 1110. The High Court has
emphasized, however, that such consequences must constitute more than
mere proof of “an adverse or detrimental impact from severance of the
parental bond” to preclude termination. Id. at 1113.
Our case law reflects that a court’s analysis pursuant to § 2511(b) is not
narrow but must include consideration of “intangibles such as love, comfort,
security, and stability.” T.S.M., 283 A.3d at 267. Indeed, our Supreme Court
has affirmed that “the parental bond is but one part of the overall subsection
(b) analysis.” K.T., 296 A.3d at 1113. Thus, “courts must not only consider
the child’s bond with the biological parent, but also examine the . . . love,
comfort, security, and stability the child might have with the foster parent.”
K.T., 296 A.3d at 1111 (emphasis in original) (cleaned up). In conformity
with this instruction, courts should also consider factors that naturally arise
due to the particular facts of a case, such as: (1) the child’s need for
permanency and time in foster care; (2) whether the child is in a pre-adoptive
home and bonded with foster parents; and (3) whether the foster home meets
the child’s needs. Id. at 1113.
Mother argues that the record does not support the trial court’s
conclusion that terminating parental rights would not cause S.J. significant
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irreparable harm. Mother’s brief at 25. Essentially, she highlights the portions
of the record that support her position that S.J. enjoys his visitation with
Mother and would desire to live with her if different circumstances existed.
Id. at 26. She continues that, considering the current level of conflict between
Mother and C.S. following the September 2023 incident, the child will be
unable to maintain a relationship with Mother, thereby severing “something in
existence that [is] necessary and beneficial to [S.J.] and would [cause]
significant irreparable harm to [him].” Id. at 26-27. For the following
reasons, we disagree.
The trial court’s needs-and-welfare analysis acknowledged that S.J. has
positive feelings toward Mother and enjoyed their visits. N.T. 11/16/23, at
28. However, it also highlighted the fact that S.J. was fully aware that Mother
neglected to serve the role of a parental figure and S.J. does not look to her
in that manner. Id. The court reasoned,
[Mother] does not participate in dealing with his educational needs. She does not participate in dealing with his medical needs. To the contrary, the clear and convincing testimony is that she thinks he doesn’t have these issues when clearly he does.
So it is not a parent child bond that [S.J.] has with his mother. Wanting to see her does not mean that he has a parent and child bond. He also wants to see other people that he likes to visit. But being a visitation resource that he enjoys [spending] time with when she decides that she is going to show up does not establish a parent child bond. And I find that this young child, who has been in a loving home with family for over two years, will not suffer irreparable harm [if M]other’s rights [are] terminated.
Id. at 28-29.
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We discern no abuse of discretion with respect to the trial court’s
analysis. The record contradicts Mother’s assertion that termination would
cause irreparable harm.
C.S. testified about her relationship with S.J., the September 2023
incident, and her supervision of Mother’s in-home visitations between October
2022 and September 2023. First, concerning her relationship with S.J., C.S.
testified that S.J. has thrived in her care for approximately three years, and
that he looks to her for care and assistance. N.T., 11/14/23, at 89. C.S.
discussed S.J.’s assimilation into the pre-adoptive kinship foster-home and
the bond shared between them. She testified that S.J. wanted to remain in
her care permanently and visit Mother occasionally. Id. at 95, 96, 101.
Regarding Mother’s concern that she would be shut out of her son’s life if the
court terminated her parental rights, C.S., a maternal cousin, rejected that
notion unequivocally, stating “I would never keep him from his mother.” Id.
at 97.
As to serving the child’s needs and welfare, C.S. explained that she
navigated S.J. through the process of dental surgery, ensured that he
maintained proper nutrition, and administered to his educational and mental
health needs. Id. at 90-102. Specifically, S.J. had several cavities when he
came into her care and C.S. was responsible for securing dental surgery. Id.
90-91. Mother’s role was limited to making an appointment and signing a
release for the child to receive anesthesia. Id. at 90. Mother even failed to
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attend the surgery despite her agreement to be present for the child. Id. at
91. Likewise, Mother resisted helping C.S. combat the child’s
undernourishment and poor weight gain, as she did not believe that was
medically necessary. Id. at 98. In this regard, C.S. testified, “I reached out
to her to tell her about . . . his weight gain and everything because I needed
her help with the Pediasure that he takes daily. . . . That was the last thing
we talked about because to her, he has no medical problems.” Id. Mother
also is resistant to discussing S.J.’s educational needs and behavior issues
because “she feels as though he doesn’t need [educational services], and that
he has behavioral issues because he needs to be with his mom.” Id. at 99.
C.S. confirmed that Mother failed to attend any school meetings, even going
so far as ignoring the meetings concerning S.J.’s individual education plan
(“IEP”) because she objected to him having an IEP. Id. at 101-02. Likewise,
she has never asked for contact information for his mobile therapist, although
she met the therapist by chance during a supervised visitation at C.S.’s home.
Id. at 102. In addressing the foregoing issues in Mother’s absence, C.S.
performed the parental role that Mother could not.
As to the September 2023 altercation with Mother, C.S. stated that
Mother appeared at C.S.’s residence with a can of alcohol behaving drunk and
aggressive. Id. at 86. Mother attempted to engage another person in a
physical altercation, antagonized C.S. with a veiled threat that she was
carrying a firearm, and twice called the police on C.S.: first, to report that C.S.
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was holding S.J. hostage; and later, to claim that C.S. assaulted her
physically. Id. S.J. was present in the home at the time, but C.S. moved him
and the other children out of harm’s way. Id. at 87-88. Since that incident,
the supervised visitations occurred at the agency. Id. at 13.
Finally, C.S. discussed the visitation log that she maintained while
supervising Mother’s visitations with S.J. between October 2022 and
September 2023. Id. at 83-85; DHS Exibit-7. C.S. used the log to record
Mother’s attendance after the visitations were moved to the kinship home to
alleviate the need for S.J. to go to the agency three times per week. Id. at
85, 88-89. C.S. reported that Mother frequently missed the supervised
visitations, attending only approximately one-third of the twelve visits
scheduled monthly. Id. at 85. (“I guess it would be 12 visits a month. She
probably came [to] about four or five” per month). However, when Mother
did attend the visitations, her interactions with S.J were positive and the child
enjoyed the interactions. Id. at 91-92.
Similarly, as discussed supra, Ms. Williams also testified about the
parent-child relationship, observing that S.J. is not bonded with Mother and
does not look to her for parental care. N.T. 11/14/23, at 39. Instead, S.J.’s
parental bond is with C.S., who has attended to his daily needs for
approximately three years. Id. at 37-38. Ms. Williams explained, “[S.J.]
views himself as one of [C.S.’s] children.” Id. at 37. She also confirmed that
S.J. wants to remain with C.S. permanently. Id. at 39.
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Likewise, Ms. Williams corroborated that Mother attended supervised
visitations sporadically, missing approximately sixty-eight of the 141
scheduled visitations. Id at 16. While her failure to appear at the visitations
initially upset S.J., the missed visits affected him progressively less as Mother
continued to visit inconsistently. Id. at 16-17. Ms. Willaims reported, “[h]e
doesn’t ask about her as much. When I would see him and he hadn’t seen
her in a while he would ask about her, but as time went on, he stopped asking
about her as much.” Id. at 18.
She also verified Mother’s limited role in S.J.’s educational needs and
medical care. Id. at 18-19. While there is testimony that Mother scheduled
at least one medical appointment and ultimately signed a release for
permitting the use of anesthesia for his dental care, she did not attend any
school or medical appointments. Id. at 19, 77-78. Again, Ms. Williams
confirmed that Mother did not believe that the services were needed. Id. at
20.
For these reasons, Ms. Williams averred that the termination of Mother’s
parental rights would not cause irreparable harm to S.J. because “[h]e doesn’t
view her as a caregiver [or] look to her for anything.” Id. at 39. To the
contrary, expressing the importance of having a stable, supportive parental
figure, she testified that S.J. would be “devastated” if he were removed from
C.S.’s household, particularly, in light of the child’s educational and medical
needs. Id. at 37.
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As noted above, the trial court credited the testimony of C.S. and Ms.
Williams and, since the record supports the court’s conclusion, we will not
disturb its findings on this point. N.T., 11/16/23, at 20. Moreover, consistent
with the High Court’s instruction in K.T., the trial court reconciled the child’s
affection for Mother with the other relevant factors relating to S.J.’s need for
permanency, the existing parent-child bond that he shares with C.S., and the
fact that C.S. is a pre-adoptive resource that has satisfied the child’s needs
for approximately three years. See K.T., 296 A.3d at 1113. Thus, we find no
abuse of discretion or error of law in the trial court’s holding that termination
was warranted pursuant to § 2511(b). Therefore, we affirm the decree
involuntarily terminating Mother’s parental rights.
We now turn to Mother’s separate challenge to the trial court’s order
changing S.J.’s permanency goal from reunification to adoption. While this
challenge is at least arguably moot following our decision to affirm the trial
court’s termination decree, see In re Adoption of A.H., 247 A.3d 439, 446
(Pa.Super. 2021), we address it in an abundance of caution.
This Court reviews a trial court’s permanency determination for an
abuse of discretion. See Interest of J.B., 296 A.3d 1234 (Pa.Super. 2023).
In this context, an abuse of discretion occurs only if the record reflects that
the court’s judgment was manifestly unreasonable, it did not correctly apply
the law, or its action was the result of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill will. See
Interest of H.J., 206 A.3d 22, 25 (Pa.Super. 2019) (cleaned up). We must
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“accept the findings of fact and credibility determinations of the trial court if
they are supported by the record,” but we are not bound by the trial court’s
“inferences or conclusions of law.” In re R.J.T., 9 A.3d 1179, 1190 (Pa.
2010). Our review is deferential to the trial courts, “who see and hear the
parties and can determine the credibility to be placed on each witness and,
premised thereon, gauge the likelihood of the success of the current
permanency plan.” Id. We are “not in a position to reweigh the evidence and
the credibility determinations of the trial court.” Id.
Mother’s challenge to the goal change order overlaps her termination-
related contentions. Essentially, she argues that the goal change was not
warranted because she “was active in her goals, had almost daily contact with
the child and should have been afforded more time to complete her goals.”
See Mother’s brief at 28. Hence, she asserts that competent evidence did not
support the goal change. Id. at 27-28. This assertion fails for the same
reason that we affirm the decree terminating Mother’s parental rights. Stated
succinctly, Mother’s persistent substance abuse undermined her ability to
provide her son with proper care and supervision. After approximately three
years of services, Mother remains unable to reunify with her son. Hence, the
court did not abuse its discretion in changing the permanency goal from
reunification to adoption. See In re R.M.G., 997 A.2d 339, 347 (Pa.Super.
2010) (observing, a court cannot subordinate a child’s need for permanence
and stability to a parent’s claim of progress).
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Based on the foregoing, we affirm both the decree terminating Mother’s
parental rights and the order changing the permanency goal to adoption.
Decree affirmed. Order affirmed.
Date: 6/6/2024
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