In the Interest of A.S.

11 A.3d 473, 2010 Pa. Super. 164, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3222
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 9, 2010
StatusPublished
Cited by218 cases

This text of 11 A.3d 473 (In the Interest of A.S.) 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 Interest of A.S., 11 A.3d 473, 2010 Pa. Super. 164, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3222 (Pa. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION BY

ALLEN, J.:

In these consolidated appeals, K.S. (“Father”) appeals from the orders involuntarily terminating his parental rights to his two minor children, A.S. (d.o.b. 7/6/08) and W.S. (d.o.b. 7/3/09), (collectively, “Children”), pursuant to the Adoption Act. We affirm.

Father and Children’s mother (“Mother”) initially came to the attention of the Monroe County Children and Youth Services (“CYS”) in August of 2006, prior to Children’s birth, when referrals were made regarding two older siblings, K.S. and S.S.1

CYS subsequently provided a multitude of services to the parents to address issues of poor parenting, lack of employment, lack of housing, lack of income and other issues that plagued the parents for a number of years. A.S. was born on July 6, 2008, during the dependency of the older children. Mother did not receive prenatal care prior to A.S.’s birth. At the time of her birth, Mother and Father were residing in a trailer. CYS conducted a home assessment on July 8, 2008, and it was determined that the home was sufficiently appropriate for A.S., as long as she was not mobile.

In the fall of 2008, Mother and Father were arrested on bench warrants for nonpayment of child support. Safety concerns again arose regarding the condition of the family’s home. Mother and Father advised CYS that they intended to move to Georgia. In December, Father was arrested in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and incarcerated for various motor vehicle violations, including operating a vehicle without a license. While Father was incarcerated, the condition of the family’s mobile home deteriorated, and a hole developed in the floor of the trailer, causing the kitchen floor to sink to the ground.

On February 3, 2009, the CYS caseworker attempted to make a home visit at a residence that the family had moved to in Stroudsburg. Father and Mother refused to allow the caseworker to enter the home and alleged that they did not have permission to permit the caseworker’s entry since it was not their home. While the family lived in the Stroudsburg residence, their trailer continued to deteriorate further in condition, without water and operational plumbing.

CYS sought an adjudication of dependency relative to A.S. and, on March 12, 2009, the trial court adjudicated A.S. dependent. Initially, A.S. remained in the care of Father and Mother. However, Father was once more incarcerated from March 12, 2009 until April 28, 2009. During this time, CYS had difficulty locating [476]*476Mother and A.S. On April 9, 2009, Mother contacted CYS because the family had lost their trailer due to non-payment of rent. On that same day, CYS placed A.S. in fostér care.

On April 18, 2009, the trial court held, a permanency hearing and CYS requested a finding of aggravating circumstances based on the two previous terminations of Father’s and Mother’s parental rights to their older children. The trial court granted the request.

On July 3, 2009, Mother gave birth to W.S. Mother did not obtain prenatal care prior to the birth. At the time, CYS had received several referrals regarding the family, alleging that Mother was in labor and Father was unable to take her to the hospital, and claiming that Mother was living in a shed with no electricity or bathroom.

On July 6, 2009, CYS took emergency custody of W.S. and placed him in foster care. The trial court held a permanency review hearing on July 16, 2009, at which time the trial court determined W.S. to be dependent and made a finding of aggravated circumstances.

CYS filed separate petitions for the termination of Father’s parental rights to Children on November 4, 2009.2 In separate orders entered on February 22, 2010, the trial court terminated Father’s parental rights to Children pursuant to 23 Pa. C.S.A. § 2511(a)(1), (2), (5), and (b). Father filed timely notices of appeal on March 23, 2010. On the next day, Father filed concise statements of errors complained of on appeal.3

On appeal, Father raises three issues:

1. Was it error to terminate the parental rights of [K.S.], with respect to A.S. and W.S. when W.S. had only been in care for seven months at the time of the hearing and [A.S.] had only been in care for ten months and the family had made progress towards resolving their temporary housing problem?
2. Did the Court place an undue amount of weight on the prior history of the family in deciding whether termination was appropriate especially considering that A.S. had lived with the family during the first 11 months of her life and was well[-]cared for during that time, and W.S. had only been in care for seven months at the time of the hearing?
3. Was the termination petition filed prematurely as W.S. had not yet been in care for six month[s] at the time of the filing of the petition?

Father’s Brief at 6.

Our standard of review regarding orders terminating parental rights is as follows:

When reviewing an appeal from a decree terminating parental rights, we are limited to determining whether the decision of the trial court is supported by competent evidence. Absent an abuse of dis[477]*477cretion, an error of law, or insufficient evidentiary support for the trial court’s decision, the decree must stand. Where a trial court has granted a petition to involuntarily terminate parental rights, this Court must accord the hearing judge’s decision the same deference that we would give to a jury verdict. We must employ a broad, comprehensive review of the record in order to determine whether the trial court’s decision is supported by competent evidence.

In re S.H., 879 A.2d 802, 805 (Pa.Super.2005). In termination cases, the burden is upon the petitioner to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the asserted grounds for seeking the termination of parental rights are valid. Id. at 806. We have previously stated:

The standard of clear and convincing evidence is defined as testimony that is so “clear, direct, weighty and convincing as to enable the trier of fact to come to a clear conviction, without hesitance, of the truth of the precise facts in issue.”

In re J.L.C. & J.R.C., 837 A.2d 1247, 1251 (Pa.Super.2003).

The trial court is free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence presented and is likewise free to make all credibility determinations and resolve conflicts in the evidence. In re M.G., 855 A.2d 68, 73-74 (Pa.Super.2004). If competent evidence supports the trial court’s findings, we will affirm even if the record could also support the opposite result. In re Adoption of T.B.B., 835 A.2d 387, 394 (Pa.Super.2003).

The applicable statutory bases for termination are as follows:

§ 2511. Grounds for involuntary termination
(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:

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Bluebook (online)
11 A.3d 473, 2010 Pa. Super. 164, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3222, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-as-pasuperct-2010.