In re K.C.

• Citation: 200 A.3d 1216
• Decision Date: 31 January 2019
• Docket Number: 17-FS-1250 & 18-FS-578,Nos. 16-FS-899,s. 16-FS-899
• Parties: IN RE K.C.; D.C., Appellant.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Columbia District

200 A.3d 1216

IN RE K.C.; D.C., Appellant.

Nos. 16-FS-899

17-FS-1250 & 18-FS-578

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Submitted September 18, 2018

Decided January 31, 2019

Amended February 7, 2019

Jennifer A. Renton was on the brief for appellant D.C.

Karl A. Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Loren L. AliKhan, Solicitor General, Caroline S. Van Zile, Deputy Solicitor General, and Pamela Soncini, Assistant Attorney General, were on the brief for appellee the District of Columbia.

Allison Federoff, guardian ad litem, Melissa Colangelo, and Abraham Sisson, Children’s Law Center, were on the brief for appellee K.C.

Before Blackburne-Rigsby, Chief Judge, Glickman, Associate Judge, and Washington, Senior Judge.

Washington, Senior Judge :

Appellant D.C., the biological mother of minor child K.C., seeks review of orders suspending her visitation with K.C. (Case No. 16-FS-899), changing K.C.'s permanency goal to adoption (Case No. 17-FS-1250), and terminating her parental rights (Case No. 18-FS-578).¹ These appeals were consolidated and, pursuant to D.C.'s unopposed motion, were submitted without oral argument. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the orders.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Because these cases come to us after three years of extensive and intertwined factual developments and court proceedings, we set out the factual background and procedural posture in some detail.

A. Removal from the Home

On January 7, 2015, the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency ("CFSA" or "the Agency") received a call on its child abuse and neglect hotline regarding K.C., who was seven years old at the time. The caller alleged that K.C.'s mother, D.C., had serious mental health issues that were interfering with K.C.'s educational needs, as D.C. had enrolled and withdrawn K.C. in twelve schools, though he was only in second grade, and noted that K.C. could not read. CFSA opened a Family Assessment case, then converted the case to a Child Protective Services Investigation four days later upon learning that D.C. had just transferred K.C. to another school again.

Over the next few weeks, Katie Grodin, an Agency social worker, met with K.C. at school twice, with D.C. several times, including at her home, and with staff at two of the schools that K.C. had attended. She also reviewed school records and consulted with a CFSA medical abuse/special needs liaison. D.C. appeared to be paranoid and delusional, as she believed, without any evidence, that her son was being mentally and physically abused at school, and, as a result, repeatedly moved him between schools. It also became apparent that K.C. was significantly academically and developmentally delayed, as he had missed significant periods of schooling as a result of the many school changes he had experienced – by Grodin's count, a total of sixteen placements, including public schools, charter schools, and homeschooling options.

On March 10, 2015, CFSA received a report that K.C. had gotten into a fight with another student outside of a supermarket near the school, and that, when the students' parents and the police met at the school to discuss the incident, D.C. accused the principal of attacking her with a sword. Grodin again interviewed D.C. at her home the next day, where D.C. made further allegations against various school officials, including that they were falsely imprisoning and bribing K.C. Two days later, another CFSA social worker met with K.C. at home, though she had to interview him in front of D.C., as D.C. would not allow him out of her presence.

On March 16, CFSA removed K.C. from D.C.'s home and placed him in foster care. Agency staff completed a Child Abuse and Neglect Complaint and Referral Form the same day, and, on March 18, submitted a petition to open a neglect case in Superior Court.

On March 18 and 19, Magistrate Judge Janet Albert held an initial hearing and issued orders. The court granted D.C. weekly visitation with K.C., to be supervised by CFSA staff, with the conditions that D.C. was not to discuss the case with K.C., and D.C. was not to visit K.C.'s school except for arranged meetings or in the company of a social worker. The court also ordered D.C. to submit to drug testing, to have psychiatric and psychological evaluations done at the Department of Behavioral Health Assessment ("DBH") Center, and to follow the recommendations of the evaluations. Shortly thereafter, on the motion of K.C.'s guardian ad litem ("GAL"), the court issued an order on April 21 appointing a surrogate parent for educational purposes, who could make educational decisions for K.C.

The court likewise ordered psycho-educational and speech and language evaluations for K.C., and ordered that he follow the recommendations of the evaluations. The initial evaluation showed that K.C. had significant academic, social, and emotional deficits, including specific learning disorder with impairment in reading, adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct, and low average IQ, including low and very low scores on cognitive functioning and achievement functioning tests. The evaluation also identified strengths and potential areas of growth, and recommended several services and interventions for K.C. At some point, K.C. was also diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

and oppositional defiant disorder, which was consistent with the fact that he was considered a bully at school and had displayed aggressive behaviors toward others on several occasions.

On June 11, 2015, D.C. entered a stipulation that K.C. was a neglected child, due to being left without proper education required by law. On June 19, Magistrate Judge Albert held a disposition hearing, at which she found that the Agency had made reasonable efforts to allow K.C. to return safely home, but that returning home at that time would be contrary to K.C.'s best interests. She set a permanency goal of reunification, meaning that CFSA was required to work to reunify K.C. with D.C., with the goal date set as May 15, 2016. The hearing order did not indicate that a CFSA case plan had been filed or attached, but specified:

The Mother shall participate in the following services in order to be considered for reunification with [K.C.]:

Individual Therapy and related services recommended by the provider;

Psychiatric consultation for possible medication; Parenting Classes;

Medical examination to include a neurological assessment;

Allow the social worker to conduct a home assessment;

Attend educational and medical appointments for [K.C.].

In addition to issuing the written order, the magistrate judge addressed D.C. orally in court, advising her of these requirements. The June 19 order also reiterated and expanded upon the conditions for D.C.'s supervised visitation with K.C., stating that D.C. was not to discuss the case with K.C., make disparaging remarks about any party (including the foster parent, school staff, or social workers), or whisper to K.C. during the visits.

Following the June 19, 2015 disposition hearing, the court conducted periodic review hearings in the neglect matter, including on September 29, 2015, January 7, 2016, March 17, 2016, May 19, 2016, November 1, 2016, and April 13, 2017. D.C. was present at these hearings, and the magistrate judge informed her orally and in writing of the steps that she was required to take toward reunification.

B. The Plan for Reunification

In the months after K.C. was removed from the home, the Agency attempted to work with D.C. on a plan to reunify her with K.C., pursuant to the March 19 and June 19 orders. However, D.C. was resistant to engaging with the Agency on the plan. Mary Gordon, the CFSA social worker assigned to the case from the initial hearing in March of 2015, consistently attempted to discuss with D.C. what was required of her and what services she should be receiving, but D.C. refused to review the case plan that Gordon presented to her or to meet with Gordon to discuss the plan. At one point, D.C. even refused to give Gordon her phone number. Still, Gordon communicated the plan requirements to D.C.'s attorney and, because she was supervising D.C.'s visitation with K.C., used the visits to remind D.C. of the requirements. Both Gordon and Tania Abdulahad, the CFSA social worker who took over the case from Gordon in April of 2016, discussed court-ordered services with D.C. on many occasions.

D.C. did have psychiatric and psychological evaluations done at the DBH Assessment Center in May of 2015, which resulted in her being diagnosed with delusional disorder and child neglect by a DBH psychiatrist and psychologist. However, while both evaluations recommended that D.C. engage in weekly individual therapy sessions, and while the court had specifically ordered D.C. to follow the recommendations of the evaluations, D.C. appeared to refuse therapy, asserting that she did not need mental health assistance.

For example, on somewhere between five and twelve occasions, Gordon attempted to provide D.C. with the information for the Access Helpline, a CFSA service that connects individuals with mental health service providers, but D.C. refused to accept it, alleging that any services associated with CFSA would be biased against her.² Gordon also tried to discuss mental health services with D.C. several times, but she would always refuse. Several months later, Gordon discovered that D.C. had, in fact, been seeing her own personal therapist, Dr. James Ballard. However, when Gordon attempted to speak with him, D.C. would not waive her physician-patient privilege, so Gordon was initially unable to determine what services Dr. Ballard was providing and how the treatment was progressing. After the court issued an order waiving the privilege on December 31, 2015, and after making several attempts to contact him, Gordon finally spoke with Dr. Ballard in April of 2016. Based on what he shared with her, Gordon expressed her concerns to Dr. Ballard that he was...