S.S. v. Madison County Department of Human Resources

892 So. 2d 944, 2004 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 409, 2004 WL 1178368
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedMay 28, 2004
Docket2030138, 2030139 and 2030140
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 892 So. 2d 944 (S.S. v. Madison County Department of Human Resources) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
S.S. v. Madison County Department of Human Resources, 892 So. 2d 944, 2004 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 409, 2004 WL 1178368 (Ala. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinions

CRAWLEY, Judge.

In these consolidated appeals, S.S. appeals from the juvenile court’s termination of her parental rights to T.D., and T.L.D. and T.B. appeal from the juvenile court’s termination of their parental rights to T.D.B. We affirm the juvenile court’s judgment as to S.S. and T.L.D.; we reverse the juvenile court’s judgment as to T.B. and remand the cause for further proceedings.

On Novembér 20, 2002, the Madison County Department of Human Resources (“the Department”) filed a petition to ter-mínate T.L.D.’s and T.B.’s parental rights to T.D.B. The Department alleged that T.D.B. had previously been adjudicated to be dependent,- that he remained dependent, and that T.L.D. and T.B. were unwilling or‘unable to discharge their responsibilities to and for T.D.B. The Department further alleged that all reasonable efforts to reunify T.L.D. and T.B. with T.D.B[ had failed and that less drastic alternatives to termination of parental rights were not available to serve T.DJB.’s best interests. On January 24, 2003, the Department filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of S.S. to T.D., making the same allegations; the father of T.D. was unknown., S.S. is the mother of T.L.D.

The juvenile court held consolidated hearings on both petitions — these cases were consolidated by agreement of the parties’ attorneys — on June 27, July 11, and September 4, 2003: On October 20, 2003, the juvenile court entered an order terminating T.L.D.’s and T.B.’s parental rights to T.D.B. that stated, in pertinent part:

“Based on the entiré record ... and upon clear and convincing evidence, competent, relevant, and material in nature, heard by the court ore tenus, the court finds that [T.D.B.] is a dependent child and has been' since previously declared to be by this court on October 4, 2002, and that the parents of [T.D.B.] are unable or unwilling . to discharge their responsibilities to and for [T.D.B.]. The court further finds that the conduct or condition of the parents is such as to render them unable to properly care for [T.D.B.], and that such conduct or condition is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. The court .also finds as follows:
“1. The parents have not provided child support or other material sup[946]*946port for the use and benefit of [T.D.B.] during the time [T.D.B.] has been in the care of the Department or a person designated by the Department;
“2. The parents have failed to adjust their circumstances to meet the needs of [T.D.B.]; and
“3. In accordance with the requirements of Public Law 96-272, that reasonable efforts have been made by the Department, following the placement of [T.D.B.] into foster care, to bring about [T.D.B.’s] safe and speedy return to the home. However, the court finds no reasonable efforts exist to reunify [T.D.B.] and his parents and that return of [T.D.B.] to the home is contrary to the welfare of and not in the best interest of [T.D.B.]. Among the efforts the court finds the Department to have made in that regard include but are not limited to psychological evaluations of the parents, Individualized Service Plans, Visitation, Counseling, Parenting Skills and other services clearly set out in the testimony heard by this court.
“4. The Department has considered less drastic alternatives to filing a petition to terminate parental rights. Neither the Department nor this court believes that there are any alternatives less drastic than termination of parental rights available to serve the best interests of [T.D.B.]. Placement alternatives which were considered were determined not to be in [T.D.B.’s] best interests. Despite a diligent search, the Department has been unable to locate a suitable relative to assume custody of [T.D.B.].
“5. The best interests of [T.D.B.] require that the parental rights of [T.D.B.’s] parents be terminated and that [T.D.B.] be placed in the permanent legal custody of State of Alabama Department of Human Resources for the purposes of adoptive planning.”

The juvenile court entered a separate order that same day making the same findings as they applied to S.S., and, based on those findings, the juvenile court terminated the parental rights of S.S. to T.D. S.S. filed a notice of appeal on October 31, 2003; T.L.D. and T.B. filed notices of appeal on November 3, 2003.

On appeal, all parties raise the same arguments. They all contend (1) that there was not clear and convincing evidence presented by the Department to support the juvenile court’s termination of their parental rights, and (2) that the juvenile court erred by allowing the admission of deposition testimony that included the results of psychological testing that, they say, was remote and prejudicial, and that, they also say, was not properly administered or evaluated.

I. Whether There was Clear and Convincing Evidence to Support the Juvenile Court’s Termination of the Appellants’ Parental Rights

This court has observed the statutory criteria and applicable standard of review in termination-of-parental-rights cases as follows:

“We review [an] appeal [from a termination-of-parental-rights case] based upon the standards enunciated in H.M.W. v. Mobile County Department of Human Resources, 631 So.2d 1049, 1050 (Ala.Civ.App.1993) ...:
“‘Initially, we recognize that every parent has a prima facie right to the custody of his or her child. L.G. v. State Department of Human Resources, 603 So.2d 1100 (Ala.Civ.App.1992). This prima facie right can be overcome only by clear and convincing [947]*947evidence that the child’s best interests would be served by removing the child from the parent’s custody. Id. It is the consideration for the best interests of the child that lies at the heart of every proceeding to terminate parental rights.. L.G., supra.
‘“The trial court is given the authority to terminate parental rights if it finds from clear and convincing evidence that the parents are unable or unwilling to discharge their responsibilities to and for the children. [Section] 26-18-7, Ala.Code 1975. The trial court shall consider whether the parents suffer from emotional illness, mental illness, or mental deficiency, whether the parents have abandoned their children, whether the parents have problems with drugs or alcohol, and whether reasonable efforts to rehabilitate the parents have failed. [Section] 26-18-7(a), Ala.Code 1975. If the children are not in the physical custody of their parent or parents, the trial court shall also consider such circumstances as whether the parents have provided material needs for the children, whether the parents have maintained, regular, scheduled visits with the children, and whether the parents have adjusted their circumstances to meet the needs of the children according to agreements reached administratively or judicially. [Section] 26-18-7(b), Ala.Code 1975.
“‘In this.ease, [the Department] petitioned to terminate the parental rights. In such cases as this, where a nonparent is the petitioner, the trial court’s determination is governed by the application of a two-pronged test. Ex parte Beasley, 564 So.2d 950 (Ala.1990). First, the" trial court must conclude from clear and convincing evidence that the child is dependent. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
892 So. 2d 944, 2004 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 409, 2004 WL 1178368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ss-v-madison-county-department-of-human-resources-alacivapp-2004.