In re R. S. T.

• Decision Date: 16 March 2018
• Docket Number: A17A1595.
• Citation: 812 S.E.2d 614
• Parties: IN the INTEREST OF R. S. T., a child.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

345 Ga.App. 300

812 S.E.2d 614

IN the INTEREST OF R. S. T., a child.

A17A1595.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

March 16, 2018

Mark Robert Jeffrey, for Appellant

Christopher Michael Carr, Penny Hannah, Shalen S. Nelson, Atlanta, for Appellees

McMillian, Judge.

In 2013, the biological mother of R. S. T. first appealed a juvenile court order finding her minor daughter deprived. This Court reversed the order after finding the Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services (the "Department") failed to present clear and convincing evidence of present deprivation. In the Interest of R. S. T. , 323 Ga. App. 860, 748 S.E.2d 498 (2013). On remand, the Department filed a new dependency petition, ¹ and the mother’s rights were ultimately terminated in March 2016. The mother filed an application for discretionary appeal from this latest order, which this Court granted.² For the reasons that follow, we vacate and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

On appeal, we review an order terminating parental rights in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s findings to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the mother’s right to custody should have been terminated. In the Interest of A. B. , 311 Ga. App. 629, 629, 716 S.E.2d 755 (2011). So viewed, the record shows that R. S. T. was born in July 2012. Shortly after her birth, R. S. T. was taken into care by the Department due to concerns regarding the mother’s mental health, her ability to provide for R. S. T., and the mother’s non-cooperation with a case plan that had been developed for the mother’s seven other children who had previously been adjudicated deprived. In the Interest of R. S. T. , 323 Ga. App. at 861, 748 S.E.2d 498. The Department then filed a deprivation petition, alleging that the mother suffered from a psychotic disorder

and failed to complete treatment sufficient to ensure that her older children could be returned to the home. The Department also alleged the older children had previously been subjected to a home without utilities and suffered medical neglect and other abuse, and the Department feared R. S. T. would suffer a similar fate.

After this Court reversed the juvenile court’s first order finding R. S. T. deprived,³ the Department immediately filed a second deprivation complaint. The Department alleged the mother’s oldest child had been returned to her earlier in the year but was assaulted while in her care and removed again. Following a hearing, the juvenile court found R. S. T. deprived but granted the mother temporary custody in October 2013. However, by January 2014, R. S. T. was returned to the Department’s custody due to concerns regarding alcohol and physical abuse. In the fall of 2014, the Department filed a new dependency petition, and following a hearing in December

2014, the juvenile court entered an order finding that R. S. T. was a dependent child. Specifically, the juvenile court found that the mother remained unemployed, even though she was capable of finding employment, and unable to provide for the daily financial needs of R. S. T. and that her mental health issues adversely affected her ability to provide adequate care, control or supervision of the child. The juvenile court also found that the guardian of several of the mother’s other children and another witness had repeatedly heard the mother curse and scream and witnessed the mother shove one of her other daughters against a wall and knee her in the stomach. Based on these and other findings, the juvenile court ordered that custody of R. S. T. remain with the Department and approved a concurrent reunification and adoption plan.

In August 2015, the Department filed a petition for termination of parental rights, and a hearing on the petition was held in March 2016. At the hearing, the juvenile court heard testimony from multiple psychologists, three Department case workers, the court-appointed guardian ad litem, and the mother. The Department presented testimony that a case plan was developed early on wherein the mother was to maintain stable and suitable housing and sufficient income, follow all recommendations from her providers, and also undergo psychological and parental fitness assessments and take parenting classes. Angela Maxwell, the first case manager assigned to R. S. T.’s case, testified that the Department was unable to confirm in 2012 whether the mother completed the required parenting skills or psychological assessments because she refused to use the Department’s providers, stating instead that she wished to use her own provider.

A new case plan was developed in 2013 with the same goals. However, by 2014, the only goal the mother completed was attending parenting training classes. The mother was frequently verbally aggressive with members of the Department, including towards Maxwell on multiple occasions throughout her years assigned to R. S. T.’s case. In early 2015, the Department attempted to convene a family meeting to review the mother’s case plan goals, but the meeting had to be stopped because the mother became "very irate and aggressive." The mother cursed at Maxwell and appeared to want to fight her physically before Maxwell left the room, and the mother left the building. Throughout this time, the mother remained without employment, receiving only social security payments, and was evicted from her apartment for failure to pay rent. She also refused to pay her required child support.

After the mother visited R. S. T. in May 2015, she informed the visitation provider that she did not wish to visit with R. S. T. any more. The mother also told a case manager that she only wanted visitation if it was at her home and unsupervised. In July 2015, a case manager personally delivered a MARTA card to the mother so she could visit the child and participate in the services offered by the Department. While at the mother’s residence, the case manager observed that it was very cluttered, that the landlord had sectioned off a portion of the living room to serve as the mother’s bedroom, and that the mother had a large dog. The mother remained "very adamant" that she would not cooperate with the Department or use the services it provided. Another case manager also testified that in most of her interactions with the Department, the mother was aggressive, making it difficult to ascertain which providers the mother may have been seeing.

In December 2015, the Department contacted the mother regarding visitation, but the mother once more reported that she would not visit her child again unless the visits were unsupervised. The mother also admitted to the new case manager that "every now and then she [smokes] marijuana" and that she was out of her prescribed medication. When the case supervisor contacted the mother later that month, the mother cursed at her and told her not to call anymore before hanging up. The mother again refused visitation with R. S. T. in January 2016. She eventually attended one visitation with R. S. T. in March 2016 but complained about the location. The Department agreed to change the location for the next visit, but the mother then cancelled the next scheduled visit.

The current case manager testified at the termination hearing that she had visited the mother’s most current residence and did not feel it was appropriate for R. S. T. as the mother was living with her boyfriend, his mother, his mother’s husband, and his mother’s great granddaughter in a two-bedroom apartment.⁴ None of these individuals had ever met R. S. T. Although the mother stated that R. S. T. would be able to share a bedroom with the other child, she did not have a bed for R. S. T. in that room. Moreover, the Department did not have any information regarding the other adults residing in the home, and the mother did not have a lease or other legal arrangement with either the landlord or legal tenant to live there with R. S. T. She had moved in only two weeks prior to the hearing after she and her prior landlord had "an issue." When questioned by her own counsel about her future plans with her boyfriend, the mother became argumentative and repeatedly replied, "It’s none of your business."

Dr. Andrew Gothard, a psychologist who performed a psychological and parental fitness evaluation on the mother,⁵ testified that he learned through his interview with her that she was not employed and relied solely on social security benefits. She also had zero social support, meaning she had neither family nor friends that she could rely on for assistance, save one member of her church and professionals who were providing services to her. She admitted to drinking vodka at least once per week but refused to clarify the frequency or the quantity. She also admitted to smoking marijuana "socially." Gothard was particularly struck by the mother’s proud assertion that—despite having nine children in total from five different fathers and her problems with caring for those children—she intended to have additional children.

Gothard further testified that, although the mother acknowledged a prior history of mental health issues, she was "vague and guarded" in her description. At one point during the testing, her mood shifted very dramatically and inexplicably. She told Gothard, "I'm not with game playing now; I'm getting irritated; now I'm getting aggressive; you just ask me straight up." The mother denied any current significant mental health issues, but reported taking Seroquel

, which would not typically be prescribed absent a mental health concern. Gothard found the mother’s behavior to be suggestive of bi-polar disorder and her test scores indicative of antisocial behavior. However, although her prior records included diagnoses of bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, personality disorder, anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder, Gothard did not feel he could give a definitive diagnosis due to the mother’s...