In the Interest of: K.M.G., A Minor

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 28, 2017
DocketIn the Interest of: K.M.G., A Minor No. 3535 EDA 2016
StatusUnpublished

This text of In the Interest of: K.M.G., A Minor (In the Interest of: K.M.G., A Minor) 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: K.M.G., A Minor, (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

J-S27001-17

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

IN THE INTEREST OF: K.M.G., A : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA : : APPEAL OF: J.L.C.R., FATHER : No. 3535 EDA 2016

Appeal from the Decree Entered October 14, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Family Court Juvenile Division at No(s): CP-51-AP-0000026-2015, CP-51-DP-0002367-2013, FID: 51-FN-004216-2013

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., OTT, J., and PLATT, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY GANTMAN, P.J.: FILED APRIL 28, 2017

Appellant, J.L.C.R. (“Father”), appeals from the decree entered in the

Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Family Court Juvenile Division,

which granted the petition of the Department of Human Services (“DHS”) for

involuntary termination of Father’s parental rights to his minor child, K.M.G.

(“Child”). We affirm.

In its opinion, the Juvenile Court fully and correctly set forth the

relevant facts and procedural history of this case. Therefore, we have no

reason to restate them.

Father raises two issues for our review:

WHETHER THE [JUVENILE] COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR WHEN IT INVOLUNTARILY TERMINATED FATHER’S PARENTAL RIGHTS WHERE SUCH DETERMINATION WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE UNDER THE ADOPTION ACT, 23 PA.C.S.A. § 2511(a)(1) AND (2)?

_____________________________

*Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. J-S27001-17

WHETHER THE [JUVENILE] COURT COMMITTED REVERSIBLE ERROR WHEN IT INVOLUNTARILY TERMINATED FATHER’S PARENTAL RIGHTS WITHOUT GIVING PRIMARY CONSIDERATION TO THE EFFECT THAT THE TERMINATION WOULD HAVE ON THE DEVELOPMENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF CHILD AS REQUIRED BY THE ADOPTION ACT, 23 PA.C.S.A. § 2511(B)?

(Father’s Brief at 7).

Appellate review of termination of parental rights cases implicates the

following principles:

In cases involving termination of parental rights: “our standard of review is limited to determining whether the order of the trial court is supported by competent evidence, and whether the trial court gave adequate consideration to the effect of such a decree on the welfare of the child.”

In re Z.P., 994 A.2d 1108, 1115 (Pa.Super. 2010) (quoting In re I.J., 972

A.2d 5, 8 (Pa.Super. 2009)).

Absent an abuse of discretion, an error of law, or insufficient evidentiary support for the trial court’s decision, the decree must stand. … 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 B.L.W., 843 A.2d 380, 383 (Pa.Super. 2004) (en banc), appeal denied, 581 Pa. 668, 863 A.2d 1141 (2004) (internal citations omitted).

Furthermore, we note that the trial court, as the finder of fact, is the sole determiner of the credibility of witnesses and all conflicts in testimony are to be resolved by the finder of fact. The burden of proof is on the party seeking termination to establish by clear and convincing evidence the existence of grounds for doing so.

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In re Adoption of A.C.H., 803 A.2d 224, 228 (Pa.Super. 2002) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). The standard of clear and convincing evidence means testimony that is so clear, direct, weighty, and convincing as to enable the trier of fact to come to a clear conviction, without hesitation, of the truth of the precise facts in issue. In re J.D.W.M., 810 A.2d 688, 690 (Pa.Super. 2002). We may uphold a termination decision if any proper basis exists for the result reached. In re C.S., 761 A.2d 1197, 1201 (Pa.Super. 2000) (en banc). If the court’s findings are supported by competent evidence, we must affirm the court’s decision, even if the record could support an opposite result. In re R.L.T.M., 860 A.2d 190, 191-92 (Pa.Super. 2004).

In re Z.P., supra at 1115-16 (quoting In re Adoption of K.J., 936 A.2d

1128, 1131-32 (Pa.Super. 2007), appeal denied, 597 Pa. 718, 951 A.2d

1165 (2008)).

DHS filed a petition for the involuntary termination of Father’s parental

rights to Child on the following grounds:

§ 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:

(1) The parent by conduct continuing for a period of at least six months immediately preceding the filing of the petition either has evidenced a settled purpose of relinquishing parental claim to a child or has refused or failed to perform parental duties.

(2) The repeated and continued incapacity, abuse, neglect or refusal of the parent has caused the child to be without essential parental care, control or subsistence necessary for his physical or mental well-being and the conditions and causes of the incapacity, abuse, neglect or refusal cannot or will

-3- J-S27001-17

not be remedied by the parent.

* * *

(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.A. § 2511(a)(1), (a)(2), and (b). “Parental rights may be

involuntarily terminated where any one subsection of Section 2511(a) is

satisfied, along with consideration of the subsection 2511(b) provisions.” In

re Z.P., supra at 1117.

Initially, the focus is on the conduct of the parent. The party seeking termination must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the parent’s conduct satisfies the statutory grounds for termination delineated in Section 2511(a). Only if the court determines that the parent’s conduct warrants termination of his…parental rights does the court engage in the second part of the analysis pursuant to Section 2511(b): determination of the needs and welfare of the child under the standard of best interests of the child.

In re L.M., 923 A.2d 505, 511 (Pa.Super. 2007) (internal citations omitted).

Termination under Section 2511(a)(1) involves the following:

To satisfy the requirements of [S]ection 2511(a)(1), the moving party must produce clear and convincing evidence of conduct, sustained for at least the six months prior to the filing of the termination petition, which reveals a

-4- J-S27001-17

settled intent to relinquish parental claim to a child or a refusal or failure to perform parental duties. In addition,

Section 2511 does not require that the parent demonstrate both a settled purpose of relinquishing parental claim to a child and refusal or failure to perform parental duties.

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