In the Interest of H.V.

37 A.3d 588, 2012 Pa. Super. 19, 2012 Pa. Super. LEXIS 18
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 30, 2012
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 37 A.3d 588 (In the Interest of H.V.) 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 H.V., 37 A.3d 588, 2012 Pa. Super. 19, 2012 Pa. Super. LEXIS 18 (Pa. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION BY

STRASSBURGER, J.:

L.V. (Mother) appeals from the orders dated March 31, 2011, by which the trial court granted the petition filed by Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency (CYS) appointing the paternal grandparent of each child, H.V., J.W., and C.L., as a Permanent Legal Custodian (PLC).1 After careful review, we reverse.

[590]*590Because of the complex nature of this family situation, we provide a short overview. Mother is the biological mother of four children, each of whom has a different biological father. The oldest child, H.V., was born in 1999, and is the biological child of Mother and A.V. H.V. has been living with her paternal grandmother and paternal step-grandfather, R.C. and J.C., since her placement.2 Second, J.W. is the biological child of Mother and R.W. J.W. was born in 2001 and has been living with her paternal grandmother, S.W., since November 12, 2008.3 The third child, C.L., born in 2005, is the biological child of Mother and M.L. C.L. is currently living with his paternal grandmother and paternal step-grandfather, W.R. and M.R.4 Finally, Mother and current boyfriend/fíancé, E.F., are the biological parents of a child born in 2011. That child is not dependent and is not involved in this case.

On August 25, 2005, CYS received a referral regarding this family, which at the time consisted of Mother and M.L. (who were unmarried) and two children, H.V. and J.W. Mother was pregnant with C.L. There was allegedly an instance of domestic violence between Mother and M.L. which precipitated the referral. The record does not indicate what, if any, services the family received at that time.

On August 10, 2006, CYS received another referral regarding a domestic dispute between Mother and M.L. (by this point, Mother had given birth to C.L.). The family was accepted for services and both Mother and M.L. signed Family Service Plans (FSPs) on October 19, 2006. At that point, Mother and M.L. were living separately. On March 6, 2007, Mother obtained a temporary Protection From Abuse (PFA) order against M.L., because M.L. had hit her and had been acting violently toward her during the prior 18 months. Mother withdrew the PFA petition shortly afterwards.

On September 17, 2007, CYS filed petitions for legal custody of the children due to the ongoing domestic violence between M.L. and Mother. That petition alleged that M.L. had refused to cooperate with his FSP by refusing to undergo drug testing when there was reason to believe he was using drugs and alcohol. CYS had also confirmed that M.L. had moved back into Mother’s residence, although the FSP allowed for no unsupervised contact between M.L. and the children. Additionally, Mother had refused services from CYS, including domestic violence education and a parenting program. On September 19, 2007, the trial court granted legal custody of the children to CYS, but allowed Mother to retain physical custody. As of February 12, 2008, CYS and the trial court determined that Mother had only minimal compliance with her FSP objectives. At [591]*591the next review hearing, on July 18, 2008, CYS and the trial court determined that Mother had progressed to moderate compliance with her FSP objectives.

On September 25, 2008, CYS was notified of a domestic disturbance at Mother’s home between M.L. and Mother. By the time police arrived at Mother’s home, M.L. was no longer there and Mother denied that M.L. had ever been there. M.L. had been ordered to have no contact with H.V. and J.W. and only supervised contact with C.L.

On October 6, 2008, the children were interviewed at school and told the interviewers that M.L. comes into Mother’s home with Mother’s permission. M.L. reported to police that he and Mother were in an “on again, off again” relationship. On October 7, 2008, when a CYS caseworker arrived at Mother’s home, Mother became angry and slammed the door in the caseworker’s face. Because of this situation, CYS filed a shelter care petition, which was granted by the trial court, for all three children. All three children were removed from Mother’s home and placed in the kinship foster care placements where they currently reside.

By February 27, 2009, Mother had substantially complied with her permanency plan and FSP. She provided bank statements showing adequate financial resources, provided a utility bill, and had the ability to rent a larger apartment to accommodate the children when they returned. Furthermore, she maintained employment and has received counseling. By July 17, 2009, Mother had completely complied with her FSP by obtaining suitable housing and completing a parenting class.

However, by November of 2009, CYS had concerns regarding contact between Mother and M.L. On November 13, 2009, M.L. and Mother had a confrontation in a bar which resulted in Mother being told to leave the bar. Mother claims she attempted to avoid contact with M.L., but M.L. threw her across the bar. Then, on December 27, 2009, CYS learned that Mother was involved in an altercation with several unknown females. Mother was charged with disorderly conduct for this incident. Mother did not report either of these incidents to CYS. Additionally, CYS learned that Mother was engaged to be married to E.F.; however, Mother refused to provide any information about E.F. for the purpose of conducting a background check.

The trial court held review hearings on March 30 and April 9, 2010. On April 14, 2010, the trial court concluded that Mother had not completed the domestic violence goal because there had been repeated instances of domestic violence between M.L. and Mother and they had purposely hidden those incidents from the caseworker. The trial court also concluded that Mother’s new boyfriend, E.F., has a lengthy criminal record for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and driving with a suspended license (DUS).

The trial court held another hearing on August 6, 2010. Mother had begun attending a domestic violence group, but CYS continued to be concerned about Mother’s romantic relationships, particularly because she was not straightforward with CYS. After another hearing on October 18, 2010, the trial court concluded that Mother still had achieved moderate compliance. However, it was also learned that E.F. had been incarcerated recently for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, but Mother was not concerned about that and was less than forthcoming with CYS.

After hearings on March 28, 2011 and March 30, 2011, the trial court changed the goal for all three children to PLC with their respective paternal grandparents. [592]*592At those hearings, the trial court heard testimony from Nicole Schwartz (Schwartz), the caseworker assigned to this family. Schwartz testified that on March 14, 2011, Mother contacted a caseworker and indicated that she was currently pregnant and due on September 1, 2011. N.T., 3/28/2011, at 5. It was the caseworker’s understanding that E.F. was the father of that child. Id. at 6. Schwartz testified that Mother reports that E.F. does not live with her, although he “often spends the night at her home.” Id,. The caseworker had also found E.F. at Mother’s home when she visited on September 15, October 21, and December 2, 2010. Id. The trial court admitted evidence regarding E.F.’s past criminal history, which includes guilty pleas to DUI and DUS. Id. at 47.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
37 A.3d 588, 2012 Pa. Super. 19, 2012 Pa. Super. LEXIS 18, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-hv-pasuperct-2012.