DH v. CALHOUN COUNTY DEPT. OF HUMAN RES.
Decision Date | 07 June 2002 |
Citation | 837 So.2d 313 |
Parties | D.H. v. CALHOUN COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES. |
Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
William J. Miller of Fite, Field & Miller, L.L.C., Anniston, for appellant.
Bill Pryor, atty. gen.; J. Coleman Campbell, deputy atty. gen., and John D. Harrison and Lynn S. Merrill, asst. attys. gen., Department of Human Resources, for appellee.
The Calhoun County Department of Human Resources ("DHR") filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of D.H. ("the mother") as to her five children; M.A.H. is the father of one of the children, M.A.H., Jr., but is not the father of the other children. DHR filed a petition to terminate his parental rights as to M.A.H., Jr. Following a one-day hearing, the trial court terminated the mother's parental rights as to all five children. The trial court also terminated the parental rights of M.A.H. as to M.A.H., Jr.; the older four children have never been legitimated.
Only the mother appeals; she argues (1) that there is not clear and convincing evidence to support the trial court's finding that the children are dependent and (2) that the trial court did not properly evaluate viable alternatives to termination of her parental rights before rejecting those alternatives.
A nonparent who seeks to terminate a parent's parental rights must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the child is dependent and that there are no viable alternatives to terminating the parents' parental rights. Ex parte Beasley, 564 So.2d 950 (Ala.1990).
Section 26-18-7(a) states in relevant part:
Section 26-18-7(b) further provides that if the child is not in the custody of the parents, the juvenile court may consider whether the parents are providing monetary support for the child, whether they are regularly exercising visitation with the child, and whether they are adjusting their "circumstances to meet the needs of the child."
We first conclude that the record contains clear and convincing evidence that the children are dependent. DHR began its involvement with the family in May 2000 after the mother, the father, and the five children along with another family of four had been involved in a car accident. The driver and the 10 passengers were in a two-door car. The four adults were legally intoxicated,...
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