In the Interest of: B.W., Appeal of: B.W.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided June 19, 2019·No. 1634 WDA 2018·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

IN THE INTEREST OF: B.W., A : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA :

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APPEAL OF: B.W. :

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: No. 1634 WDA 2018

Appeal from the Order Entered October 15, 2018 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Orphans' Court at No(s): CP-02-AP-0000029-2018

IN RE: M.M.-W., A MINOR : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

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APPEAL OF: B.W. :

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: No. 1635 WDA 2018

Appeal from the Order Dated October 15, 2018 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Orphans' Court at No(s): CP-02-AP-0000030-2018, CP-02-AP-30-2018

IN THE INTEREST OF: C.M.-W., A : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA :

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APPEAL OF: B.W. :

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: No. 1636 WDA 2018

Appeal from the Order Entered October 15, 2018 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Orphans' Court at No(s): CP-02-AP-0000031-2018

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J.E., McLAUGHLIN, J., and MUSMANNO, J. MEMORANDUM BY McLAUGHLIN, J.: FILED JUNE 19, 2019 B.W. (“Mother”) has appealed from the order involuntarily terminating her parental rights as to her children, B.W., M.M.-W., and C.M.-W. (“Children”). We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in terminating Mother’s parental rights and affirm.

B.W. was born in June 2008, M.M.-W. was born in November 2013, and C.M.-W. was born in January 2015.1 N.T., 7/20/18, at 58. The Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Families (“CYF”) became involved with Mother in August 2015 due to Mother’s drug dependency issues. Id. at 59-61. The Children were not adjudicated dependent at that time. However, on September 1, 2016, the Children were removed from Mother’s care due to Mother’s ongoing drug use and mental health instability. Id. at 61, 64; Order of Adjudication dated September 20, 2016. At that time, Mother was hospitalized on an involuntary mental health commitment due to severe drug withdrawal. N.T., 7/20/18, at 64. B.W. and M.M.-W. were placed with their Maternal Grandmother and C.M.-W. was placed with his Maternal Great-Aunt. Id. at 108-109; Order of Adjudication dated September 20, 2016. The

1G.C. is the father of B.W. and D.M. is the father of M.M.-W., and C.M.-W. Both fathers did not appeal the court’s order terminating their parental rights. Mother is the only appellant in this appeal.

Children were adjudicated dependent on September 20, 2016 pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 6302(1).2 After the Children were adjudicated dependent, Mother left her psychiatric hospitalization against medical advice. N.T., 7/20/18, at 70-71. On September 22, 2016, Mother was incarcerated and ultimately sent to Federal prison in West Virginia on a charge of conspiracy to commit a felony involving 405 stamp bags of heroin. Findings of Fact at ¶20. She was incarcerated in West Virginia until April 25, 2017 and then returned to Pennsylvania. Id. at ¶21. On May 14, 2017, Mother was arrested on a warrant for failure to appear and returned to Federal prison in West Virginia. Id. at ¶22. While in prison, Mother did not have visits with the Children, but did maintain contact with the Children through phone calls and letters. N.T., 10/11/18, at 67-69. She was released to a halfway house on January 30, 2018. Findings of Fact at ¶22. On June 17, 2018, Mother was released from the halfway house and placed on parole. Id. at ¶23. When Mother was in the halfway house, she had unsupervised visits with the Children and has continued to have unsupervised

2 Per this subsection, a dependent child is a child who “is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for his physical, mental, or emotional health, or morals. A determination that there is a lack of proper parental care or control may be based upon evidence of conduct by the parent, guardian or other custodian that places the health, safety or welfare of the child at risk, including evidence of the parent’s, guardian’s or other custodian’s use of alcohol or a controlled substance that places the health, safety or welfare of the child at risk.”

visitation with them since her release from the halfway house. Id. at ¶¶24- 25.

On January 30, 2018, CYF filed a Petition for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights. The trial court conducted hearings on the Petition for Involuntary of Parental Rights on July 20, 2018 and October 11, 2018. CYF presented the testimony of Stacey Dyrwall, CYS caseworker since March 4, 2017, and Dr. Eric Bernstein, who had conducted psychological evaluations of Mother, the Children, and the caregivers and issued two reports (“CYF Exh. 1”). Mother also testified on her own behalf at the termination hearings.

Ms. Dyrwall testified that CYF initially established the following Family Service Plan (“FSP”) goals for Mother: address her drug and alcohol issues, visit with the Children, resolve her criminal matters and cooperate with CYF. N.T., 7/20/18, at 65-66. The additional goals of obtaining housing, attending parenting classes, and addressing her mental health were later added to Mother’s FSP goals. N.T., 10/11/18, at 6-7. At the termination hearing, Ms. Dyrwall stated that she believed that Mother had not addressed her drug and alcohol issues. N.T., 7/20/18, at 95. Specifically, Ms. Dyrwall testified that since Mother had been home from prison, she did not show up for any drug screens requested by CYS and had not been engaged in any drug treatment. N.T., 10/11/18, at 11, 45. Further, Ms. Dyrwall testified that Mother did not have any plans to follow up on drug treatment since she was released from prison. N.T., 7/20/18, at 87, 95-97. In terms of visitation, Ms. Dyrwall stated that although there were no problems with the visits when they occurred,

visitation was not consistent with the Children during the course of this case. Id. at 92-93. Further, Ms. Dyrwall stated that Mother does not currently have housing. N.T., 10/11/18, at 8. Ms. Dyrwall also testified that there has also been no compliance by Mother regarding her mental health treatment. Id. at 26-27, 45.

Ms. Dyrwall further testified that Mother has not shown CYS that she is able to parent all three Children for extended periods of time while remaining sober. Id. at 25, 28. Ms. Dyrwall noted that the Children have remained in care for the entire time since their removal in September 2016 and that the Children need permanency. N.T., 7/20/18, at 108-09; N.T., 10/11/18, at 29- 30. She stated that B.W. and M.M.-W. are placed with their Maternal Grandmother and are doing well in her care, while C.M.-W. is placed with his Maternal Great-Aunt and is also doing well in her care. N.T., 7/20/18, at 108- 109. The Children have remained with those respective caregivers throughout the entirety of this case. Id. at 109. Ms. Dyrwall further testified that the Children are bonded to their respective caregivers and the caregivers are meeting all of the Children’s needs. Id. at 109-110; N.T., 10/11/18, at 46-49. B.W. has straight A’s in school and is active in dance. N.T., 7/20/18, at 109. Maternal Grandmother ensures that M.M.-W.’s special needs are being addressed. Id. at 109-111. Maternal Great-Aunt has addressed C.M.-W.’s speech issues and early development. Id. at 109. Ms. Dyrwall testified that the Children have a very loving relationship with their caregivers. N.T.,

10/11/18, at 46, 48-49. The caregivers also ensure that the siblings have visits with each other. Id. at 48.

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In the Interest of: B.W., Appeal of: B.W., (Pa. Ct. App. 2019).

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