In re: B.R.W.,a child

• Citation: 242 Ga. App. 232,530 S.E.2d 5
• Decision Date: 03 February 2000
• Docket Number: A99A2392
• Parties: In the Interest of B.R.W., a child. A99A2392 and A99A2393.
• Court: Supreme Court of Georgia

In the Interest of B.R.W., a child.

A99A2392 and A99A2393.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Feb. 3, 2000.

* * *PLEASE NOTE : THIS IS A SUBSTITUTE OPINION.

RUFFIN, Judge.

On May 28, 1999, the juvenile court entered an order terminating the parental rights of Jane Watts and Robbie Ritchie, the natural parents of B.R.W. In Case No. A99A2392, Watts appeals the termination of her parental rights.¹ In Case No. A99A2393, Watts' mother, Mary Janet Carroll, contends that the trial court violated OCGA § 15-11-90(a) by failing to place B.R.W. with her following termination of the natural parents' rights. For reasons discussed below, we affirm in both cases.

Case No. A99A2392

In March 1997, Watts was picked up by authorities after running away from home. She was sixteen years old at the time. The Murray County Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) was contacted because Watts indicated that she did not want to return to her mother and stepfather. She told DFCS that her stepfather had sexually abused her, but did not provide details other than to say that he had pinched her on her legs. An investigation was conducted by the Gilmer County Department of Family and Children Services, which apparently found the charges unsubstantiated.

A few days later, Watts apparently ran away from her grandmother's home, and was picked up in the company of Ritchie, an eighteen-year-old who had been twice convicted of theft by taking. They began a sexual relationship, and Watts became pregnant with B.R. W.. In June 1997, Ritchie was arrested for forgery. He pled guilty and was incarcerated until April 1999. It appears that Watts was also arrested in connection with the forgery.

When Watts was four or five months pregnant, she was placed in DFCS' custody and began living with a foster family, the Beavers. Watts gave birth to B.R.W. in December 1997. B.R.W. was also placed in DFCS' custody and placed in foster care with the Beavers.² After the birth, Watts continued for a time to attend school and live with the Beavers. Around June 1998, however, against DFCS' recommendation Watts decided to leave the foster home and return to live with her mother, while leaving B.R.W. to be raised by the Beavers. At that time, Watts told several people that she did not think B.R.W. should be placed in her mother's home.

DFCS prepared several case plans designed to reunify Watts and B.R.W. These case plans required Watts to contribute financially to the support of the child; to maintain a meaningful relationship with the child, including regular visitation; to cooperate with DFCS; to acquire nurturing and parenting skills, including the completion of a Better Beginnings program; and to obtain stable employment in order to provide a home for the child.³

Ruby Slack, Watts' DFCS case manager, testified that Watts called her several times in early 1999, telling her that she wanted to surrender her parental rights. They met in Slack's office, and Slack advised Watts to think more about it before surrendering her rights. Two or three weeks later, on February 16, Watts called back and said that she had thought about it and wanted to come in and sign her rights away. Watts came into the office that day, and Slack discussed the surrender papers with her, giving her a copy to study and making an appointment to sign the papers two days later. Watts did not show up for the appointment, however, and called Slack on February 23 to say that she had changed her mind. Later that day, Slack informed Watts and her mother that DFCS was going to request termination of parental rights. The decision to recommend termination was approved by the citizen's review panel on March 10. The petition for termination was filed on April 16, 1999, and a hearing on the petition was held on May 18, 1999.

At the hearing, Slack testified that Watts was required under the case plans to make support payments of $10 per week. Watts began making such payments in July 1998, but did not make any payments after February 12, 1999, three months before the termination hearing. The total amount paid by Watts was $350.

Linda Moore, a teacher in the Better Beginnings program, testified that the program is designed to improve the parenting skills of teenage mothers. Under the program, a mother and her child would come together twice a week for four hours. Moore testified that a bus would be sent to pick up Watts and then B.R.W. According to Moore, when Watts first entered the program, she showed positive interaction with the child. Over time, however, "that began to diminish," and Moore said that it appeared Watts was losing interest in caring for the child. At one point, Watts "talked about giving up her rights with [the child] because she thought that [DFCS] would never give her child back and she thought it would be better that she just gave it up." Moore said that Watts eventually just stopped showing up for the program, without ever contacting her. At the termination hearing, Watts admitted that she had stopped attending the program around March 1999, and that she never informed her case worker of that fact. She said one reason she stopped attending the program was because Slack had told her she was going to seek termination of parental rights. Watts testified that she attended four two-hour parenting classes at a church in Dalton, but did not indicate exactly what those classes consisted of.

Slack testified that Watts did not contact her to arrange any visits with the child after the March 10 panel review. Ms. Beaver testified that, during the two months before the May 18 termination hearing, Watts only visited the child once. Watts stopped by the house on another occasion with a male companion, but told Ms. Beaver that she had come to see her, not B.R.W. Beaver told Watts that she needed to get in touch with Slack to make arrangements to visit the child. Although Watts said she would, she never did. Watts admitted at the hearing that she stopped regularly visiting B.R.W. in early 1999, claiming she was never able to get hold of Slack to set up an appointment. Slack, however, testified that she had no contact with Watts after the March 10 panel review, except for one occasion when Watts left a message saying she could not show for a court date.

Ms. Beaver testified that she had ample opportunity to observe Watts' interaction with B.R.W. while they were living together. Although Watts appeared to love B.R. W., Beaver said "she just didn't seem to have the ability to discern, you know, certain things to make wise decisions in some circumstances." For example, Watts once tried to give her a bottle that was "extremely hot." Beaver testified that Watts resented it when she would try to teach her how to take care of the child. After Watts moved back in with her mother, she was allowed to keep B.R.W. for an overnight visit on at least one occasion. When B.R.W. was returned to Beaver, the child was "very upset, sort of agitated, cried a lot." On several occasions, Watts told Beaver that she did not think she was able to take care of B.R. W., and asked if the Beavers wanted to adopt the child. Watts' mother agreed that Watts did not have the maturity to raise B.R. W., and said that it would not be a good idea to let Watts keep the child by herself.

With respect to employment, Watts testified that she worked at KFC for about a month, worked part-time for Hardee's for about six months, and then worked for McDonalds for about a month. After quitting the McDonalds job, she testified that she was unemployed for about a month. She testified at the hearing that she had been working the 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift at a different company, Beaulieu, for about a month. However, she never notified Slack that she had obtained this job. Watts testified that if B.R.W. were returned to her, a neighbor would take care of her while she was at work. However, she admitted that she had not discussed this with the neighbor, and did not know whether the neighbor would agree to take care of the child.

After leaving the Beavers' home in the spring of 1998, Watts moved in with her mother, Mary Janet Carroll. According to Watts, Carroll would often tell her that she did not want Watts living with her any more. However, Watts said "[s]he always said it out of anger, but she didn't mean it." Every two weeks, Watts would go to stay with her father for a few days in Copperhill, Tennessee. Around December 1998, Watts said she stayed for about two weeks with a friend in Cleveland, Tennessee. Watts testified at the hearing that she was buying a trailer and had been living by herself for the past month. However, she could not give an address and did not know the name of the person she was buying the trailer from. Slack testified that Watts did not keep her informed of her whereabouts. She said Watts told her that she "went back and forth" to Cleveland to stay with a friend, but that Watts would not identify the friend. Slack said Watts never informed her that she was buying a trailer.

1. In her first enumeration, Watts contends that DFCS prematurely filed its termination petition. Watts relies on OCGA § 15-11-41(n), which requires DFCS, subject to certain exceptions, to seek termination if a child has been in foster care under DFCS' responsibility for 15 of the most recent 22 months. Because Watts moved out of the Beavers' home less than 15 months before the petition was filed, Watts argues that the petition was premature. This contention is without merit, however, as OCGA § 15-11-41(n) does not limit DFCS' ability to seek termination, but simply requires it to seek termination under certain circumstances. Moreover, although Watts lived with B.R.W. in the Beavers' foster home for a period of time, DFCS has had custody of B.R.W. since her birth in December 1997, more than 15 months before the filing of the termination petition.

2. In two enumerations, Watts contends the evidence was insufficient to support the...