In the Interest of: Y.W.-B. Appeal of: J.B.

2020 Pa. Super. 245
Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided October 8, 2020·No. 1642 EDA 2019·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

2020 PA Super 245

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

:

APPEAL OF: J.B., MOTHER & G.W.- :

B., FATHER :

:

:

: No. 1642 EDA 2019

Appeal from the Order Entered June 11, 2019 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Family Court at No(s): CP-51-DP-0002108-2013, FID# 51-FN-004204-2013

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

:

APPEAL OF: J.B., MOTHER & G.W.- :

B., FATHER :

:

:

: No. 1643 EDA 2019

Appeal from the Order Entered June 11, 2019 In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Family Court at No(s): CP-51-DP-0002387-2016, FID# 51-FN-004204-2013

BEFORE: NICHOLS, J., MURRAY, J., and COLINS, J.* OPINION BY NICHOLS, J.: Filed: October 8, 2020 J.B. (Mother) and G.W. (Father) appeal from the orders granting the petitions to compel their cooperation with a home visit by the Philadelphia

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

Department of Human Services (DHS).1 Mother claims that DHS failed to establish probable cause to compel her cooperation with a home visit. Mother also contends that the order violated her First Amendment free speech rights by prohibiting her from photographing or recording the DHS workers conducting the home visit. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

Mother and Father are the parents of Y.W.-B., born in June 2012, and N.W.-B., born in January 2015 (collectively, Children). On May 31, 2019, DHS filed the instant petitions to compel Mother’s cooperation with a home visit.

In its petitions, DHS alleged, in part, that on May 22, 2019, it received a general protective services (GPS) report. Pets. to Compel Cooperation with Child Protective Services Investigation of Abuse and/or Neglect, 5/31/19, ¶ j. The GPS report indicated that three weeks earlier, the family slept outside a Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) office, and that on May 21, 2019, Mother was outside the PHA office from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with a child. Id. The petitions further stated that Mother told a Project Home outreach worker that she was not homeless, but that her previous residence was burned down.

According to the petition, it was “unknown if [Mother] was feeding [Children

1 Counsel for Mother and Father filed separate notices of appeals from the separate orders filed at the trial court’s separate docket numbers for each child. Cf. Commonwealth v. Walker, 185 A.3d 969, 976-77 (Pa. 2018). However, while these appeals are captioned in this Court as appeals by Mother and Father, it appears that Mother was the only party named in the notices of appeal and the only party captioned in the appellate briefs. Therefore, we generally refer to Mother as the appellant throughout this opinion.

while] she stood outside of the PHA office for extended periods of time.”2 Pets. to Compel Cooperation with Child Protective Services Investigation of Abuse and/or Neglect, 5/31/19, at ¶ j. According to the petitions to compel, DHS workers attempted to assess the family’s home on the same day it received the GPS report, but Mother and Father refused them entry to the home or access to Children. Id. at ¶ p.

On June 11, 2019, the trial court held a hearing on DHS’s petitions to compel. Mother and Father were represented by present counsel, and Children also appeared at the hearing. DHS presented testimony from Tamisha Richardson, the DHS investigator assigned to the May 22, 2019 GPS report. N.T., 6/11/19, at 4-7. During Mother’s cross-examination of Ms. Richardson, the trial court interjected and noted that it was familiar with Mother and Father.3 Id. at 12. The trial court then questioned Mother regarding her address, whether she had utilities and income, and whether

2 The record does not contain a copy of the GPS report referenced in DHS petitions to compel. We note that DHS did not present further evidence clarifying whether it obtained the information attributed to the Project Home outreach worker directly or from the same source who originally indicated that Mother was outside the PHA office.

3 As noted below, the family has had prior involvements with DHS from 2013 to 2015. Although not referred to by Mother, DHS, or the trial court, the record also indicates that in 2016, the trial court previously granted DHS’s petitions to compel Mother and Father’s cooperation with a home visit based on allegations that their home did not have water service. The record contains no indication that DHS commenced any dependency proceedings based on the results of the 2016 petition to compel. We add that the 2016 petitions to compel involved the same address of Mother’s residence as in the instant petition to compel.

Children were “up to date” with medical checkups. Id. at 12-15. After the trial court addressed Mother regarding the need for an assessment of her home, Mother and her counsel objected, and the trial court stated that it found “ample probable cause,” and that it was granting the petition. Id. at 18-19. The trial court then made arrangements for how the home assessment would be conducted. Id. at 19-32.

While arranging for the home visit, Mother noted that one of the DHS workers “became very angry and then there was a time over there that she was crying.” Id. at 32. DHS’s counsel subsequently asked the trial court to recall Ms. Richardson for further examination. Id. at 34. When the trial court asked about the purpose of the questioning, the following exchange occurred:

[DHS’s Counsel]: Well, Your Honor, there’s additional things;

videos, photography taken, posted on social media.

THE COURT: They’re not -- they’re not -- oh.

[DHS’s Counsel]: -- that made her feel intimidated.

THE COURT: All right. So you cannot -- you see, you cannot take pictures and video people; that’s against the law, about video [sic]

people.

[Mother]: I have video of public officials performing a public function --

THE COURT: No. No. No. No. No. No. See, the problem is, you don’t want to listen. You want to do what you want to do and that’s why you get yourself in trouble, okay. You got to start listening, because my patience only goes this far, okay.

When they go there, I want you to treat them with as much respect that you want them to treat you. It’s a two-way street.

No pictures, no harassment, nothing on social media, because that could get you in trouble and arrested. Because just like you feel threatened, they feel threatened.

* * *

[DHS’s Counsel]: Your Honor, and for the videos that have --

[Mother]: Is this courtroom recording?

[DHS’s Counsel]: -- and what they have of her on social media, may they be removed?

THE COURT: Remove the videos from social media.

Id. at 34-36.

The trial court entered the orders granting DHS’s petitions to compel cooperation and further directed that “Mother is NOT to record or video, nor post on social media” and “is to remove current videos regarding [DHS] from social media.” Orders, 6/11/19. DHS conducted the home visit on June 14, 2019.4 Mother filed notices of appeals the same day as the hearing and submitted an amended statement of errors complained of on appeal the following day.5 See Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a)(2)(i), (b). The trial court filed a responsive opinion asserting that (1) Mother’s issues were moot; (2) there

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In the Interest of: Y.W.-B. Appeal of: J.B., 2020 Pa. Super. 245 (Pa. Ct. App. 2020).

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In the Interest of: Y.W.-B. Appeal of: J.B.
2020 Pa. Super. 245 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020)