COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Petty, Athey and Senior Judge Clements UNPUBLISHED
WILLIAM RICHARD ALLEN, JR. MEMORANDUM OPINION* v. Record No. 0476-20-2 PER CURIAM OCTOBER 6, 2020 PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY J. William Watson, Jr., Judge
(Michael J. Friedman; Elder & Watkins, P.C., on brief), for appellant. Appellant submitting on brief.
(Kemper M. Beasley, III; Ashley Ailsworth Sterling, Guardian ad litem for the minor children, on brief), for appellee. Appellee and Guardian ad litem submitting on brief.
William Richard Allen, Jr. (father) appeals the circuit court orders terminating his parental
rights to his three children. Father argues that the circuit court erred by finding that termination of
his parental rights was in the children’s best interests and that he “had been unable or unwilling
within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 12 months from the date of placement in foster care
to remedy substantially the conditions which led to or required continuation of his children’s
placement in foster care, notwithstanding the rehabilitative efforts of the agencies involved.” Upon
reviewing the record and briefs of the parties, we conclude that the circuit court did not err.
Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the circuit court.
* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not designated for publication. BACKGROUND1
“On appeal from the termination of parental rights, this Court is required to review the
evidence in the light most favorable to the party prevailing in the circuit court.” Yafi v. Stafford
Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 69 Va. App. 539, 550-51 (2018) (quoting Thach v. Arlington Cnty. Dep’t
of Hum. Servs., 63 Va. App. 157, 168 (2014)).
Father and Crystal Stokes (mother) are the biological parents to the three children who
are the subject of this appeal.2 In 2018, the Prince Edward County Department of Social
Services (the Department) became involved with the family after they had relocated to Prince
Edward County from Amelia County, where they had been involved in a child protective
services investigation. On August 7, 2018, one of the children needed medical treatment. After
becoming angry, father left the children with a babysitter at a local hospital and returned to his
motel room. The hospital contacted the Department because there was no parent available to
consent to medical treatment. The Department called mother, while police officers went to the
motel where father was staying and asked him to return to the hospital. Mother and father
entered into a safety plan with the Department and agreed to place the children temporarily with
a family friend.
When the family friend was no longer able to care for the children, the parents met with
the Department and signed another safety plan allowing the children to live temporarily with
1 The record in this case was sealed. Nevertheless, the appeal necessitates unsealing relevant portions of the record to resolve the issues appellant has raised. Evidence and factual findings below that are necessary to address the assignments of error are included in this opinion. Consequently, “[t]o the extent that this opinion mentions facts found in the sealed record, we unseal only those specific facts, finding them relevant to the decision in this case. The remainder of the previously sealed record remains sealed.” Levick v. MacDougall, 294 Va. 283, 288 n.1 (2017). 2 Mother voluntarily terminated her parental rights to the children at the beginning of the circuit court hearing. -2- father’s cousins. After visiting with the children, father refused to return the children to his
cousins, so on October 1, 2018, the Department filed a petition seeking emergency removal of
the children. At the time of the removal, the children were six, eight, and nine years old. The
Prince Edward County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (the JDR court) entered a
preliminary removal order and subsequently adjudicated that the children were abused or
neglected.
The Department required father to obtain housing and employment and participate in
substance abuse services and a psychological evaluation. Father also had to maintain contact
with the Department and participate in visitations with the children. Father participated in an
initial substance abuse evaluation and “some follow-up appointments,” but the program
ultimately discharged him for non-compliance because he “failed to engage or make significant
progress.” Between November 2018 and March 2019, father regularly attended the visitations
and was “meaningfully engage[d] with the children.” Thereafter, he stopped visiting and did not
appear for scheduled visitations.
After March 2019, the Department “lost contact with [father] for a significant amount of
time,” and later determined that he had been incarcerated “multiple times.” In the fall of 2019,
father was a patient in “a rehab type of hospital,” but was discharged for violating a rule of the
facility. At that point, father did not have stable housing or employment, and he had not visited
with the children in months. On October 30, 2019, the JDR court terminated father’s parental
rights to the children under Code § 16.1-283(B). Father appealed the JDR court’s rulings.
After the JDR court terminated his parental rights and father was released from
incarceration, father met with the Department to review the requirements necessary to reunite
with his children. The Department indicated that it would assist him with obtaining services and
referred him to several resources, but father never followed up. In December 2019, father was
-3- arrested and incarcerated on a felony charge of possession of a Schedule I/II controlled
substance.
On January 27, 2020, the parties appeared before the circuit court. The Department
presented evidence that father had been incarcerated multiple times while the children were in
foster care and never had consistent, stable housing. After receiving assistance from the
Department, father obtained a job, which he held “for probably a month or two.” Father initially
participated in a few substance abuse services, but he did not complete them and was discharged
from the program. Father acknowledged that in July 2019, he was “found . . . in a bathroom with
a schedule one schedule two substance,” which resulted in him being arrested in December 2019.
Father also regularly attended visitations for the first few months, but after March 2019, he did
not maintain contact with the Department. The foster father testified that the children’s last
telephone call with father was in March 2019, and thereafter, they have been unable to reach
him.
The foster father testified that when the children entered foster care, the children were
“defiant” and argumentative. While in foster care, the children’s behaviors had improved
“tremendous[ly].” The foster father described them as being polite and obedient, although they
occasionally acted out or had a “meltdown.”
Father admitted that after the Department removed the children in October 2018, he “fell
in a deep, deep hole,” and he started using heroin, quit his job, and lost his house. Father stated
that he went to “a few rehabs” for substance abuse treatment. Father explained that after the JDR
court terminated his parental rights, he met with the Department when he was released from
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COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Petty, Athey and Senior Judge Clements UNPUBLISHED
WILLIAM RICHARD ALLEN, JR. MEMORANDUM OPINION* v. Record No. 0476-20-2 PER CURIAM OCTOBER 6, 2020 PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY J. William Watson, Jr., Judge
(Michael J. Friedman; Elder & Watkins, P.C., on brief), for appellant. Appellant submitting on brief.
(Kemper M. Beasley, III; Ashley Ailsworth Sterling, Guardian ad litem for the minor children, on brief), for appellee. Appellee and Guardian ad litem submitting on brief.
William Richard Allen, Jr. (father) appeals the circuit court orders terminating his parental
rights to his three children. Father argues that the circuit court erred by finding that termination of
his parental rights was in the children’s best interests and that he “had been unable or unwilling
within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 12 months from the date of placement in foster care
to remedy substantially the conditions which led to or required continuation of his children’s
placement in foster care, notwithstanding the rehabilitative efforts of the agencies involved.” Upon
reviewing the record and briefs of the parties, we conclude that the circuit court did not err.
Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the circuit court.
* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not designated for publication. BACKGROUND1
“On appeal from the termination of parental rights, this Court is required to review the
evidence in the light most favorable to the party prevailing in the circuit court.” Yafi v. Stafford
Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 69 Va. App. 539, 550-51 (2018) (quoting Thach v. Arlington Cnty. Dep’t
of Hum. Servs., 63 Va. App. 157, 168 (2014)).
Father and Crystal Stokes (mother) are the biological parents to the three children who
are the subject of this appeal.2 In 2018, the Prince Edward County Department of Social
Services (the Department) became involved with the family after they had relocated to Prince
Edward County from Amelia County, where they had been involved in a child protective
services investigation. On August 7, 2018, one of the children needed medical treatment. After
becoming angry, father left the children with a babysitter at a local hospital and returned to his
motel room. The hospital contacted the Department because there was no parent available to
consent to medical treatment. The Department called mother, while police officers went to the
motel where father was staying and asked him to return to the hospital. Mother and father
entered into a safety plan with the Department and agreed to place the children temporarily with
a family friend.
When the family friend was no longer able to care for the children, the parents met with
the Department and signed another safety plan allowing the children to live temporarily with
1 The record in this case was sealed. Nevertheless, the appeal necessitates unsealing relevant portions of the record to resolve the issues appellant has raised. Evidence and factual findings below that are necessary to address the assignments of error are included in this opinion. Consequently, “[t]o the extent that this opinion mentions facts found in the sealed record, we unseal only those specific facts, finding them relevant to the decision in this case. The remainder of the previously sealed record remains sealed.” Levick v. MacDougall, 294 Va. 283, 288 n.1 (2017). 2 Mother voluntarily terminated her parental rights to the children at the beginning of the circuit court hearing. -2- father’s cousins. After visiting with the children, father refused to return the children to his
cousins, so on October 1, 2018, the Department filed a petition seeking emergency removal of
the children. At the time of the removal, the children were six, eight, and nine years old. The
Prince Edward County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (the JDR court) entered a
preliminary removal order and subsequently adjudicated that the children were abused or
neglected.
The Department required father to obtain housing and employment and participate in
substance abuse services and a psychological evaluation. Father also had to maintain contact
with the Department and participate in visitations with the children. Father participated in an
initial substance abuse evaluation and “some follow-up appointments,” but the program
ultimately discharged him for non-compliance because he “failed to engage or make significant
progress.” Between November 2018 and March 2019, father regularly attended the visitations
and was “meaningfully engage[d] with the children.” Thereafter, he stopped visiting and did not
appear for scheduled visitations.
After March 2019, the Department “lost contact with [father] for a significant amount of
time,” and later determined that he had been incarcerated “multiple times.” In the fall of 2019,
father was a patient in “a rehab type of hospital,” but was discharged for violating a rule of the
facility. At that point, father did not have stable housing or employment, and he had not visited
with the children in months. On October 30, 2019, the JDR court terminated father’s parental
rights to the children under Code § 16.1-283(B). Father appealed the JDR court’s rulings.
After the JDR court terminated his parental rights and father was released from
incarceration, father met with the Department to review the requirements necessary to reunite
with his children. The Department indicated that it would assist him with obtaining services and
referred him to several resources, but father never followed up. In December 2019, father was
-3- arrested and incarcerated on a felony charge of possession of a Schedule I/II controlled
substance.
On January 27, 2020, the parties appeared before the circuit court. The Department
presented evidence that father had been incarcerated multiple times while the children were in
foster care and never had consistent, stable housing. After receiving assistance from the
Department, father obtained a job, which he held “for probably a month or two.” Father initially
participated in a few substance abuse services, but he did not complete them and was discharged
from the program. Father acknowledged that in July 2019, he was “found . . . in a bathroom with
a schedule one schedule two substance,” which resulted in him being arrested in December 2019.
Father also regularly attended visitations for the first few months, but after March 2019, he did
not maintain contact with the Department. The foster father testified that the children’s last
telephone call with father was in March 2019, and thereafter, they have been unable to reach
him.
The foster father testified that when the children entered foster care, the children were
“defiant” and argumentative. While in foster care, the children’s behaviors had improved
“tremendous[ly].” The foster father described them as being polite and obedient, although they
occasionally acted out or had a “meltdown.”
Father admitted that after the Department removed the children in October 2018, he “fell
in a deep, deep hole,” and he started using heroin, quit his job, and lost his house. Father stated
that he went to “a few rehabs” for substance abuse treatment. Father explained that after the JDR
court terminated his parental rights, he met with the Department when he was released from
incarceration in November 2019, but then he was incarcerated again in December 2019 on felony
drug charges and unable to follow up with the suggested services. He admitted that he had not
been in a position to care for the children and that he would not be available to care for them
-4- until he “[got] out of this mess” he was facing. Father testified that upon his release from
incarceration, he planned to move to Petersburg to live and work with a friend. He hoped to save
enough money for his own residence. Father also admitted that he had had a drug problem and
indicated that upon his release, he would “probably” go to Narcotics Anonymous (NA) for help.
After hearing all the evidence and arguments, the circuit court terminated father’s
parental rights under Code § 16.1-283(B). On March 3, 2020, the circuit court entered its orders
memorializing its rulings. This appeal followed.
ANALYSIS
“On review, ‘[a] trial court is presumed to have thoroughly weighed all the evidence,
considered the statutory requirements, and made its determination based on the child’s best
interests.’” Castillo v. Loudoun Cnty. Dep’t of Fam. Servs., 68 Va. App. 547, 558 (2018)
(quoting Logan v. Fairfax Cnty. Dep’t of Hum. Dev., 13 Va. App. 123, 128 (1991)). “Where, as
here, the court hears the evidence ore tenus, its finding is entitled to great weight and will not be
disturbed on appeal unless plainly wrong or without evidence to support it.” Fauquier Cnty.
Dep’t of Soc. Servs. v. Ridgeway, 59 Va. App. 185, 190 (2011) (quoting Martin v. Pittsylvania
Cnty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 3 Va. App. 15, 20 (1986)).
Father argues on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support the termination of
his parental rights under Code § 16.1-283(C)(2); however, the circuit court terminated father’s
parental rights under Code § 16.1-283(B), not subsection (C)(2). “[E]ach subsection, although
similar in nature, is written as a distinct and grammatically independent provision of the statute.
Accordingly, it is clear that Code § 16.1-283(B) and (C)(2) set forth individual bases upon which
a petitioner may seek to terminate residual parental rights.” City of Newport News Dep’t of Soc.
Servs. v. Winslow, 40 Va. App. 556, 563 (2003); see also Toms v. Hanover Dep’t of Soc. Servs.,
46 Va. App. 257, 269 (2005). Accordingly, father’s failure to challenge the circuit court’s
-5- decision to terminate his parental rights under subsection (B) renders moot his argument that the
evidence was insufficient to terminate his parental rights under subsection (C)(2). See Fields v.
Dinwiddie Cnty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 46 Va. App. 1, 8 (2005) (termination of parental rights
upheld under one subsection of Code § 16.1-283 forecloses the need to consider termination
under alternative subsections); see also Castillo, 68 Va. App. at 574 n.9.
Moreover, contrary to father’s arguments, the evidence supported the circuit court’s
determination that termination of father’s parental rights was in the best interests of the children.
“In its capacity as factfinder, . . . the circuit court retains ‘broad discretion in making the
decisions necessary to guard and to foster a child’s best interests.’” Toms, 46 Va. App. at 266
(quoting Farley v. Farley, 9 Va. App. 326, 328 (1990)).
The circuit court found that father had “abused and [was] addicted to dangerous drugs to
the extent that proper parental ability ha[d] been seriously impaired . . . .” Father acknowledged
that when the children entered foster care, he “fell in a deep, deep hole.” Father was incarcerated
multiple times while the children were in foster care, and at the time of the circuit court hearing,
he was awaiting trial for a felony drug charge. He did not have stable housing or employment;
he had not followed through with substance abuse treatment and did not participate in a
psychological evaluation. Father was not in a position to assume custody of the children.
At the time of the circuit court hearing, the children had been in foster care for
approximately fifteen months, but they had not been in father’s custody for approximately
seventeen months. The foster father described the “tremendous” improvements that the children
had made behaviorally and academically while in foster care. “It is clearly not in the best
interests of a child to spend a lengthy period of time waiting to find out when, or even if, a parent
will be capable of resuming his [or her] responsibilities.” Tackett v. Arlington Cnty. Dep’t of
Hum. Servs., 62 Va. App. 296, 322 (2013) (quoting Kaywood v. Halifax Cnty. Dep’t of Soc.
-6- Servs., 10 Va. App. 535, 540 (1990)). Considering the totality of the evidence, the circuit court
did not err in finding that it was in the children’s best interests to terminate father’s parental
rights.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the circuit court’s ruling is affirmed.
Affirmed.
-7-