Department of Social Services v. Pritchett
| Decision Date | 24 January 1985 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, Respondent, v. Ronnie PRITCHETT and Priscilla C. Pritchett, Appellants. In the Interest of Kimberly Dawn CANTRELL, DOB: |
Ben G. Leaphart, of Love, Thornton, Arnold & Thomason, and Samuel W. Outten, of Leatherwood, Walker, Todd & Mann, Greenville, for appellants.
Stephen J. Henry and Jesse A. McCall, Greenville, for respondents.
Gregory A. Newell, Greenville, for GAL.
Ronnie and Priscilla Pritchett appeal from a family court order terminating their parental rights and granting Reba and Richard Kapp's petition to adopt the Pritchetts' child, Kimberly. We affirm.
Kimberly Dawn Cantrell was born prematurely on January 24, 1985. She was at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and was on a respiratory cardio monitor. On April 15, 1985, Kimberly's parents, Priscilla and Ronnie Pritchett, were married and Kimberly was left with the maternal grandmother. On April 17, 1985, an altercation arose between the couple and Priscilla's relatives and it was alleged Kimberly and her monitor were thrown into an automobile. At this time, Kimberly was taken into emergency protective custody and placed in a foster home. After a day or two in one foster home, she was placed in the Kapp foster home. Kimberly stayed with the Kapps from April until October of 1985, at which time she was returned to Ronnie and Priscilla.
In November of 1985, Ronnie and Priscilla separated. In early December of that year, they reunited and DSS recommended the couple participate in family and marriage counseling. Attendance in the sessions was sporadic. In April of 1986, a violent argument erupted between Ronnie and Priscilla during which Ronnie blackened Priscilla's eyes. Ronnie and Priscilla then separated and Priscilla filed for a divorce. At a hearing on that matter, Ronnie and Priscilla accused each other of threatening Kimberly. Kimberly was taken into protective custody on April 21, 1986, and was again placed in the Kapp home. By April 30, 1986, the couple had reconciled and DSS made tentative treatment recommendations adopted by the court. However, the couple separated again and did not reunite until August, 1986. The recommended drug and alcohol abuse counseling and marriage counseling was not followed by the couple until August of 1986.
On June 5, 1986, the Kapps filed a petition for termination of parental rights and adoption of Kimberly. The case proceeded to trial on October 21, 1986, and resumed on November 18, 1986, and January 7, 1987. On February 5, 1987, the trial judge issued his order terminating the parental rights of Ronnie and Priscilla and granted the Kapps' petition for adoption.
The trial judge found clear and convincing evidence justified termination of parental rights on several statutory grounds. Because we find termination was proper under § 20-7-1572(2) of the South Carolina Code of Laws, 1976, we need not address the other grounds.
§ 20-7-1572(2) provides for termination of parental rights upon the following finding:
The child has been removed from the parent pursuant to § 20-7-736, has been out of the home for a period of six months, and despite a reasonable and meaningful effort by the agency to offer appropriate rehabilitative services, the parent has not remedied the conditions which caused the removal.
The trial judge found it uncontroverted that the child was removed pursuant to § 20-7-736 and was out of the home for a six month period. He also found DSS had made reasonable efforts to offer rehabilitative services to Ronnie and Priscilla. Ronnie and Priscilla do not except to these findings. Rather, they argue they made every reasonable effort to rehabilitate themselves.
It is significant to note the statute allows for termination of parental rights where the parent has not remedied the conditions causing removal. This does not suggest that an attempt to remedy alone is adequate to preserve paternal rights. Otherwise, the statute would be couched in such terms. The...
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S.C. Dep't of Soc. Servs. v. Smith
...Code Ann. § 63-7-20(17) (Supp. 2016) (providing "[p]arty in interest" includes a foster parent); Dep't of Soc. Servs. v. Pritchett, 296 S.C. 517, 520–21, 374 S.E.2d 500, 501–02 (Ct. App. 1988) (finding the Children's Code indicates foster parents have standing as interested parties to file ......
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S.C. Dep't of Soc. Servs. v. Smith
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S.C. Dep't of Soc. Servs. v. Smith
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