In re I.W.
| Docket Number | 1404-2022 |
| Decision Date | 25 May 2023 |
| Parties | IN RE: I.W. |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Circuit Court for Baltimore County Case No. C-03-JV-22-000133
Graeff, Arthur, Getty, Joseph M. (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.
This appeal arises from an order by the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, sitting as a juvenile court, which adjudicated I.W. a child in need of assistance ("CINA"), [1] and placed him in the custody of the Baltimore County Department of Social Services (the "Department"), appellee. I.W.'s adoptive mother, S.W. ("Mother"), appellant, noted a timely appeal of the court's order.
On appeal, Mother presents the following questions for this Court's review, which we have rephrased slightly, as follows:
For the reasons set forth below, we shall affirm the judgment of the circuit court.
I.W was born in March 2017 with intrauterine substance exposure. Shortly after birth, he was removed from his biological parents and placed with Mother, his paternal aunt, who later adopted him.
When I.W. was approximately 15 months old, it became apparent to his pediatrician, Dr. Elias Gouel, that the child suffered from developmental delays due, in part, to being born substance exposed. Dr. Gouel referred I.W. to the Infants and Toddlers Program and the Kennedy Krieger Institute for services.
Danielle Rorarty, a service coordinator for the Infants and Toddlers Program, began working with I.W. in December 2018. After only one month, Mother started keeping I.W. home from the daycare facility where he received the services, saying that he was sick. Mother did not want I.W. to receive services at home, and she asked that services be put on hold. Mother did not respond to Ms. Rorarty's several messages about resuming services.
Ms. Rorarty scheduled a home review for August 16, 2019. When Ms. Rorarty went to the apartment, she smelled what she believed to be marijuana and urine.[2] After an evaluation, Ms. Rorarty determined that I.W. no longer required physical therapy services for his motor skills, but he still showed delays in communication.
After I.W. missed many more sessions because Mother did not send I.W. to daycare, Ms. Rorarty contacted a social worker, who scheduled a family involvement meeting with Mother and the Department to discuss removing I.W. from Mother's care. Ms. Rorarty opined that all the missed sessions halted I.W.'s progress in closing the gap in his delays, and she did not believe Mother's participation in the Infants and Toddlers program was sufficient to meet the needs of the child.
In March 2020, Mother elected to switch I.W.'s services to a school-based Individualized Education Plan ("IEP"). The IEP entitled I.W. to services in a full-day prekindergarten program, but Mother elected a half-day program.
The Kennedy Krieger Institute evaluated I.W. in April 2020. The evaluation determined that he had "global developmental delays," including delays in cognition and speech/language, along with difficulty with distractibility and paying attention.
Mother's adoption of I.W. was delayed due to concerns by his teacher and the Baltimore City Department of Social Services regarding her ability to care for the child.[3]Mother had sent I.W. to daycare dressed inappropriately for the weather and wearing multiple diapers, and she exhibited confusion about dates and times of court hearings and meetings. The court ordered a medical examination of Mother, and the court evaluator noted the concerns, but did not report any mental health issues or find Mother unable to care for I.W.[4] Mother legally adopted I.W. in July 2021, and he remained in her physical and legal custody until March 2022.[5]
Despite electing to have I.W. receive services through an IEP in school for the 202122 academic year, Mother did not send I.W. to his pre-kindergarten class when it started on September 8, 2021. When he did not show up to school for several weeks, his teacher, Kristin Cleaveland, removed him from her class roster. In February 2022, Mother left Ms. Cleaveland a voicemail advising that she was trying to enroll I.W. in school. Ms. Cleaveland heard I.W. in the background say: "I'm not dead," and she then heard a loud noise, crying, and screaming.
On February 24, 2022, the first day I.W. attended his pre-kindergarten class, both the school nurse and the school social worker reported to the Department that I.W. had arrived at school with a "profoundly distended stomach." He also had visible ribs and dried stool on his buttocks, which "appeared to indicate an imminent health concern." The school's staff further reported that I.W was often hungry at school, asking for and rapidly ingesting large quantities of food. He also displayed unidentifiable injuries to his wrist and lower back, but, because of language delays, he was unable to explain how he was injured. He ultimately indicated that Mother made marks on his wrists and head with her fingernails. The administration expressed concerns about Mother's mental health after her "random and unreasonable explanations" about I.W.'s near total absence from school that year, her withholding and restricting of food from the child, and her placement of him in a car seat to attend virtual school and to sleep.
On March 1, 2022, Breena Radke, the Department's social worker, interviewed I.W., who said that the injuries on his wrists were caused by Mother digging her nails into his skin. Ms. Radke asked what Mother would do if he got hurt, and I.W. said: "[S]he would leave me to die." The school nurse was very concerned about I.W.'s stomach.
That night, Ms. Radke transported I.W. to the Greater Baltimore Medical Center ("GBMC") for evaluation by Dr. Sara Eleoff.[6] A skeletal survey indicated "multiple growth arrest lines" on I.W.'s arms and legs, periods when he exhibited no growth, which could have been caused by trauma, disease, or malnourishment. I.W.'s colon was moderately distended due to constipation. Dr. Eleoff ordered an enema, and I.W. then had multiple bowel movements over the next six hours. Dr. Eleoff found that the injuries to I.W.'s wrist and back were consistent with child abuse from fingernails. His stomach was much softer and not distended after the enema. Dr. Eleoff explained that, if I.W.'s constipation had remained untreated, it potentially could have led to a bowel blockage.
On the evening of March 1, 2022, the Department removed I.W. from Mother's home and placed him in shelter care. On March 2, 2022, the Department filed a CINA petition with a request for continued shelter care, alleging that Mother had neglected and abused I.W.[7]
The juvenile court granted the Department's request for shelter care and placed I.W. in the custody of the Department pending further disposition before the court. The Department sheltered I.W. in a treatment foster home with the L. family.
Ahead of a scheduled March 31, 2022, adjudication hearing-later rescheduled to May 10, 2022-the Department filed a report requesting commitment. The report relayed the GBMC evaluation findings and explained that I.W. was doing well in his foster placement, although the foster parents stated that he rushed through meals and continued to have challenges with bowel movements and constipation. I.W. had also expressed fear and hesitancy toward eating food, having his hair touched, playing on the playground, and interacting with other children. He continually asked permission to eat and constantly sought approval to undertake developmentally appropriate activities, such as playing with toys or other children. He used inappropriate and vulgar language for his age and told his foster parents that Mother "beat [his] ass" and hit him with a stick. The Department recommended a CINA finding, along with a referral of Mother for a psychological evaluation to assess for mental health concerns.
On April 28, 2022, the Department filed a notice to introduce into evidence statements I.W. made to his teacher, two social workers, and Dr. Eleoff.[8] According to the Department, the hearsay statements, explained in more detail, infra, were admissible pursuant to CP § 11-304, the "tender years" exception to the hearsay rule.
On May 2, 2022, the Department filed its report in support of its request for commitment of I.W. as a CINA. The Department detailed Dr. Eleoff's opinion that the injuries the school staff had observed on I.W.'s wrist were consistent with fingernail marks and that the bruising/abrasions on his spine was "concerning for non-accidental injury." The totality of the medical findings, including I.W.'s distended stomach caused by severe constipation, were, to Dr. Eleoff, indicative of medical neglect.[9] Mother declined to discuss with Child Protective Services ("CPS") the concerns about her abuse and neglect of I.W.
The court held a CINA adjudication hearing on May 10, 2022, July 19, 2022, and July 26, 2022.[10] The following evidence was adduced.
Although I.W.'s IEP made him eligible for services in a full-day kindergarten, Mother wanted I.W. to participate in a half-day class. Mother did not participate in several conferences scheduled with his teacher, Ms. Cleaveland, prior to the start of the school year in September 2021, saying that she was ill.
The day before school was scheduled to begin, Mother notified Ms. Cleaveland that
I.W was...
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