In re M.B., 19-0375

• Decision Date: 08 November 2019
• Docket Number: No. 19-0375,19-0375
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: In re M.B.

In re M.B.

No. 19-0375

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

November 8, 2019

(Ohio County 18-CJA-89 MJO)

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Petitioner maternal grandfather J.B., by counsel Richard W. Hollandsworth, appeals the Circuit Court of Ohio County's March 19, 2019, order terminating his custodial rights to M.B.¹ The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources ("DHHR"), by counsel S.L. Evans, filed a response in support of the circuit court's order. The guardian ad litem, Joseph J. Moses, filed a response on behalf of the child in support of the circuit court's order. Petitioner filed a reply. On appeal, petitioner argues that the circuit court erred in denying his motion for a post-adjudicatory improvement period based on an incorrect standard of evidence, failing to follow the requirements set forth in Maranda T., 223 W. Va. 512, 678 S.E.2d 18 (2009), and terminating his custodial rights without granting him an improvement period.

This Court has considered the parties' briefs and the record on appeal. The facts and legal arguments are adequately presented, and the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument. Upon consideration of the standard of review, the briefs, and the record presented, the Court finds no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error. For these reasons, a memorandum decision affirming the circuit court's order is appropriate under Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure.

In August of 2018, the DHHR filed a child abuse and neglect petition alleging that six-year-old M.B. was abandoned by his mother and left in petitioner's care. The DHHR reported that petitioner failed to provide proper medical care to M.B, including treatment for a condition which caused M.B.'s toe to appear "completely black" and "swollen." The DHHR further alleged that petitioner's home was "in a dilapidated state and filled with clutter," including a hallway full of toys and old rugs that was "waist-high" at its lowest point, and "almost to the ceiling at its highest point." The yard of the home was full of scrap metal and debris. Additionally, the DHHR alleged petitioner did not ensure that M.B. exercised proper hygiene and noted that the child was not "pottytrained." During the DHHR's investigation, the child described that he suffered from "itches that won't go away." Petitioner denied that bed bugs were in the home, but DHHR workers observed a "bed bug trap box" in the kitchen. Finally, the DHHR alleged that prior referrals were received regarding petitioner's care of M.B. and the family previously received services, such as "[a]dult life skills . . . in August and September of 2016, and from January, 2017 through July of 2017. Safety services were put in the home from September . . . 2016 through March . . . 2017. Supervision was put in the home from May . . . 2017 until March . . . 2018."

Later in August of 2018, the circuit court held a preliminary hearing and the DHHR presented testimony and photographs consistent with the allegations in the petition. Further, the DHHR worker testified that he sought medical treatment for M.B.'s infected toe prior to removing the child from petitioner's home, but that petitioner did not fill the prescription provided as a result of that treatment and the medication was never utilized. Petitioner presented no evidence. The circuit court ultimately found that M.B. was in imminent danger and ratified his removal from petitioner's home.

In September of 2018, petitioner stipulated to the allegations that he failed to provide appropriate housing, the home was infested with bugs, the child exhibited poor hygiene and was not "potty trained," and the home and yard were unsafe for the child. The circuit court accepted this stipulation and adjudicated petitioner as an abusing parent. Petitioner filed a motion for a post-adjudicatory improvement period, and the circuit court scheduled an evidentiary hearing on the motion for a post-adjudicatory improvement period in January of 2019. In the interim, petitioner was ordered to participate in a forensic psychological and parental fitness examination and completed that examination in October of 2018.

At the hearing on the motion for a post-adjudicatory improvement period, petitioner testified that he would participate in any services provided by the DHHR. However, petitioner admitted that he previously participated in services designed to address his unsafe and unsanitary home when M.B. was four years old and agreed that the current petition alleged the same issues. Petitioner asserted that he remedied several conditions already, such as cleaning the yard and treating for vermin and testified that he needed to clear M.B.'s room of clutter and finish clearing the yard, but, afterwards, the home would be suitable for the child.

A DHHR worker testified that he last visited petitioner's home in November of 2018 and that many of the unsafe and unsanitary conditions still existed in the home, such as "relatively high" stacks of scrap metal, pests in the kitchen, and a partially blocked upstairs hallway. Additionally, M.B.'s foster parent confirmed that the child was not accustomed to using the toilet, but that he was trained to do so within a week of arriving at their home. A Wheeling city building inspector testified, at the evidentiary hearing, that petitioner's home had no furnace and was heated by space heaters only. The inspector explained that the home could be condemned based on this lack of a permanent heating supply. Further, the inspector noted "numerous electrical hazards," fire hazards, and a failing roof. A service provider testified that she worked with petitioner for four months during the pendency of this proceeding and noticed little improvement. Additionally, the service provider observed bed bugs on her shoes following a visit to petitioner's home and stopped entering the home for fear of spreading the bugs to other clients.

Petitioner's forensic psychological and parental fitness examination, completed in October of 2018, was admitted into evidence. In the report, petitioner was quoted as saying, "I don't know why I'm involved in [Child Protective Services]. I guess the welfare snuck in and took my grandson." Further, petitioner was quoted as saying, "They are trying to say his toe was black. It wasn't black. It was a little brown." Petitioner's examination results indicated that he "likely [did] not have a basic grasp of the child's needs." The psychological examiner testified that petitioner's overall "IQ" score was in the "borderline intellectual functioning range" and his reading and writing comprehension corresponded to a kindergarten level. During the examination, petitioner was "minimally willing to admit to some problems." The examiner opined that, based on the lack of change after past services and petitioner's current lack of insight, there was a small likelihood of success with additional services. Based on the evidence presented, the circuit court found that petitioner did not provide clear and convincing evidence that he was likely to fully participate in an improvement period. The circuit court found that petitioner did not appreciate the extent of the changes that were required and lacked insight into the issue of the child's continued use of diapers at his age. Accordingly, the circuit court denied petitioner's motion for a post-adjudicatory improvement period.

The circuit court held a final dispositional hearing in February of 2019, where petitioner moved for a post-dispositional improvement period. In support, petitioner proffered that certain improvements were made to the home since the prior hearing and otherwise relied on evidence presented during the January of 2019 hearing. The DHHR objected to petitioner's motion and presented recent photographs of the home in contradiction to petitioner's proffer. The circuit court found that the photographs of the home were taken in February of 2019 and "show[ed] little improvement in the home," which the circuit court characterized as "deplorable and unsafe." Additionally, the circuit court noted that it previously found that petitioner did not "appreciate the extent of the changes that need[ed] to be made" and "that remain[ed] true" at the dispositional hearing. The circuit court concluded that there was no reasonable likelihood that the conditions of abuse and neglect could be substantially corrected in the near future and that it was in the best interest of M.B. to terminate petitioner's custodial rights. Accordingly, the circuit court terminated petitioner's custodial rights by its March 19, 2019, order. Petitioner now appeals that order.²

The Court has previously held:

"Although conclusions of law reached by a circuit court are subject to de novo review, when an action, such as an abuse and neglect case, is tried upon the facts without a jury, the circuit court shall make a determination based upon the evidence and shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law as to whether such child is abused or neglected. These findings shall not be set aside by a reviewing court unless clearly erroneous. A finding is clearly erroneous when, although there is evidence to support the finding, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. However,a reviewing court may not overturn a finding simply because it would have decided the case differently, and it must affirm a finding if the circuit court's account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety." Syl. Pt. 1, In Interest of Tiffany Marie S., 196 W.Va. 223, 470 S.E.2d 177 (1996).

Syl. Pt. 1, In re Cecil T., 228 W. Va. 89, 717 S.E.2d 873 (2011). Upon review, this Court finds no error in the proceedings below.

On appeal, petitioner argues that the circuit court erred in denying his motion for a post-adjudicatory improvement period.³ Petitioner asserts that he...