In the Matter of N.C., 2006 PA Super 285 (Pa. Super. Ct. 10/10/2006)
| Decision Date | 10 October 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 2059 MDA 2005.,No. 455 MDA 2006.,No. 383 MDA 2006.,2059 MDA 2005.,383 MDA 2006.,455 MDA 2006. |
| Citation | 2006 PA Super 285 |
| Parties | IN THE MATTER OF N.C. IN THE MATTER OF A.C. IN THE MATTER OF L.C., DEPENDENT JUVENILES APPEAL OF: Y.C., NATURAL MOTHER IN THE MATTER OF: L.C. IN THE MATTER OF: N.C.<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> APPEAL OF: Y.C., NATURAL MOTHER IN THE MATTER OF: A.C. APPEAL OF: Y.C., NATURAL MOTHER |
| Court | Pennsylvania Superior Court |
Appeal from the Order Entered November 9, 2005 In the Court of Common Pleas of CUMBERLAND County Juvenile Division, at No. CP-21-JV-127-2002.
Appeal from the Order Entered February 8, 2006 In the Court of Common Pleas of CUMBERLAND County Juvenile Division, at No. CP-21-JV-127-2002.
Appeal from the Order Entered February 15, 2006 In the Court of Common Pleas of CUMBERLAND County Juvenile Division, at No. CP-21-JV-127-2002.
BEFORE: LALLY-GREEN., McCAFFERY, and COLVILLE*, JJ.
OPINION BY McCAFFERY, J.
¶ 1 Appellant, Y.C. ("Mother"), appeals from the orders of the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas that changed the placement goal for two of her dependent children from reunification to adoption. Specifically, Mother asks us to determine whether her substantial compliance with the permanency plan precluded the trial court from changing the placement goal to adoption. After careful consideration, we determine that the trial court did not err in changing the goal; hence, we affirm.
¶ 2 The facts and procedural history of this case are as follows. Mother has five children, all of whom have been dependent for a substantial portion of their lives. This appeal concerns only two of the children: a boy, N.C., born on March 29, 1992, and a girl, A.C., born on January 14, 2004. The other three children are all female: S.C., born on July 3, 1998; M.C., born on June 11, 1999; and L.C., born on December 28, 2000. The five children have three different fathers, none of whom are parties to the present appeal.2
¶ 3 N.C. was declared dependent in June 2002, after Mother left him unsupervised for extended periods of time at a point in her life when Mother was dealing with legal and other problems related to allegations of theft. Cumberland County Children and Youth Services ("CYS") placed N.C. with a family member for several months before returning him to Mother's care. Mother was ultimately placed on probation for the theft charges.
¶ 4 In March 2003, following an emergency placement hearing, the court found that Mother's three other children, as well as N.C., were all dependent and ordered emergency placement. The primary reason for the emergency placement was that a sex offender, B.G., who had served a prison term for the attempted rape of a child, had been observed in Mother's home, in contact with the children. Mother and B.G. apparently had a brief relationship, which she appeared reluctant to end. There was also concern because Mother had tested positive for marijuana, and had neither undergone psychiatric evaluation nor enrolled N.C. in counseling, as ordered by the court in 2002.
¶ 5 Placement hearings were held at regular intervals over the course of the next three years. Although Mother faced additional theft charges, she also made some progress. She underwent drug and alcohol evaluation and psychiatric evaluation. Mental health counseling and individual therapy were recommended, as was family therapy to help N.C. address his anger at Mother. Mother participated in the counseling and therapy, she completed a parenting
program, and she also enjoyed approximately weekly visitation with her children.
¶ 6Mother delivered her fifth child, A.C., on January 1, 2004. Prior to this birth, Mother's relationship with B.G. appeared to have ended. In March 2004, L.C. was returned to Mother's care and custody, although her dependency and protective services continued. Mother was cooperative with the agency, making progress, and concerned about reuniting with her other children.
¶ 7 In June 2004, when A.C. was five months old, Mother was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and related charges. CYS filed a petition for an emergency hearing, as Mother was incarcerated for violating her probation, and thus the two children living with her, A.C. and L.C., were without parental care and control. The court determined that both children were dependent, and placed L.C. with her paternal grandmother and A.C. in a foster home. Mother was in prison until July 29, 2004, at which time she was released on parole and ordered to participate in drug and alcohol counseling and individual counseling. Over the next few months, Mother again made progress, participating in individual and family counseling and obtaining employment.
¶ 8 N.C. struggled with the upheaval in his life and with his anger toward Mother. During certain periods he refused to see Mother, although he did finally acquiesce to meeting with Mother in a therapeutic setting in the presence of his counselor. He had some problems in school and in his foster
home. In September 2005, he was moved to another foster home, one where A.C. was also residing. His new foster parents raised concerns about his exhibiting some inappropriate sexual behaviors. In addition, he made allegations of sexual abuse by a male relative that had occurred years before, prior to his placement into foster care.
¶ 9 A hearing was held on November 9, 2005, at which time CYS sought a goal change from reunification to adoption for N.C. and A.C.3 With regard to A.C., the court granted the goal change to adoption, ordered an assessment of the bond between A.C. and Mother, and continued visitation with Mother. With regard to N.C., the court changed his placement goal to another planned placement intended to be permanent, continued his individual counseling, continued supervised visitation with Mother, and noted that a goal change to adoption might be considered at the next permanency hearing. Indeed, after the next hearing, on February 8, 2006, the court did change N.C.'s placement goal to adoption and ended visitation with Mother. A third hearing was held on February 15, 2006, for the sole purpose of receiving the testimony of the expert who had conducted a bonding assessment with regard both to A.C. and Mother and to A.C. and her foster parents. Following this hearing, the court ordered discontinuation of the visitation between Mother and A.C.
¶ 10 Mother filed a timely appeal. Mother's brief raises numerous issues for review, which were summarized as headings in her brief as follows:4
A. [The trial court abused its discretion in changing the placement goal for N.C. and A.C. to adoption given that,] since the children have been in placement, Mother has diligently pursed the completion of her permanency plan and the return home of her children.
B. [The trial court abused its discretion in changing the placement goal for N.C. and A.C. to adoption given that,] at the November 9, 2005 hearing[,] the juvenile court explicitly ignored Mother's compliance with her permanency plan and the progress that she made in alleviating the circumstances that caused her children to have been placed outside her home.
C. [The trial court abused its discretion in changing the placement goal for N.C. and A.C. to adoption since] CCC&YS [has] not made reasonable efforts to reunite [N.C. and A.C. with] Mother and at times [has] made decisions that seem to thwart the reunification.
D. Because the goal changes were unjustified by law or by the evidence, there is no basis for the court to end visitation between Mother and N.C. and [A.C.].5
(Mother's Brief at 26, 31, 40, 47-48).
¶ 11 We note first our standard of review. When we review a trial court's order to change the placement goal for a dependent child to adoption, our standard is abuse of discretion. In re G.P.-R., 851 A.2d 967, 973 (Pa.Super. 2004). In order to conclude that the trial court abused its discretion, we must determine that the court's judgment was "manifestly unreasonable," that the court did not apply the law, or that the court's action was "a result of partiality, prejudice, bias or ill will," as shown by the record. Id. (citation omitted). We are bound by the trial court's findings of fact that have support in the record. Id. The trial court, not the appellate court, is charged with the responsibilities
of evaluating credibility of the witnesses and resolving any conflicts in the testimony. In carrying out these responsibilities, the trial court is free to believe all, part, or none of the evidence. In re Adoption of R.J.S., 901 A.2d 502, 506 (Pa.Super. 2006). When the trial court's findings are supported by competent evidence of record, we will affirm "even if the record could also support an opposite result." Id. (quoting In re In the Interest of S.H., 879 A.2d 802, 806 (Pa.Super. 2005), appeal denied, ___ Pa. ___, 892 A.2d 824 (2005)).
¶ 12 Placement of and custody issues pertaining to dependent children are controlled by the Juvenile Act,6 which was amended in 1998 to conform to the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act ("ASFA").7 See In re C.B., 861 A.2d 287, 295 (Pa.Super. 2004), appeal denied, 582 Pa. 692, 871 A.2d 187 (2005); G.P.-R., supra at 975. The policy underlying these statutes is to prevent children from languishing indefinitely in foster care, with its inherent lack of permanency, normalcy, and long-term parental commitment. See C.B., supra; G.P.-R., supra. Consistent with this underlying policy, the 1998 amendments to the Juvenile Act, as required by the ASFA, place the focus of dependency proceedings, including change of goal proceedings, on the child. Safety, permanency, and well-being of the child must take precedence over all other considerations, including the rights of the parents. C.B., supra; G.P.-R.,
¶ 13 At each review hearing for a dependent child who has been removed from the parental home, the court must consider the following, statutorily-mandated...
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