N.J. Div. of Child Prot. & Permanency v. C.S.R.
| Docket Number | A-2300-22 |
| Decision Date | 25 January 2024 |
| Parties | NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF CHILD PROTECTION AND PERMANENCY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. C.S.R., Defendant-Appellant, and T.D., Defendant. IN THE MATTER OF THE GUARDIANSHIP OF S.C.R., a minor. |
| Court | New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division |
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
Submitted January 8, 2024
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Mercer County, Docket No FG-11-0017-22.
Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Steven Edward Miklosey, Designated Counsel, on the brief).
Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Janet Greenberg Cohen, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Adam Robert Meisle, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief).
Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, Law Guardian, attorney for minor (Meredith Alexis Pollock, Deputy Public Defender, of counsel; Jennifer Marie Sullivan, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, of counsel and on the brief).
Before Judges Mawla and Marczyk.
Defendant C.S.R. ("Casey") appeals from the Family Part's March 14, 2023 judgment terminating her parental rights to S.C.R. ("Samuel").[1] Casey challenges the court's decision regarding the second part of the third and the fourth prong under N.J.S.A. 30:4C-15.1. The Division of Child Protection and Permanency ("Division") and the Law Guardian contend the judgment is supported by substantial, credible evidence in the record. Having considered the arguments in light of the record and applicable legal standards, we affirm.
Casey is the biological mother of Samuel who was born in October 2012.[2]Samuel has two maternal siblings, an adult sister I.J., and a fourteen-year-old brother X.C., who lives with his father.
In October 2017, the Division received its first referral regarding Casey's care of Samuel due to allegations of physical abuse, substance abuse, and domestic violence that resulted in Samuel sustaining a broken femur. These allegations were unfounded.[3] In February 2019, the Division received another referral from a healthcare facility because Casey, while under the influence, took Samuel to the emergency room for a rash. Specifically, the referral explained Samuel informed the doctor "his father hit him on his arm . . . [and] in the abdomen." Additionally, Casey appeared to be intoxicated after going to the restroom, when she came back "with an unsteady gait and slurred speech ...."
Casey asserted she was prescribed Percocet, Zanaflex, and Ambien. She was referred to the Child Protection Substance Abuse Initiative. She was dismissed for non-compliance. Ultimately, the allegations of abuse were not established.
In July 2020, the Division was again contacted concerning Casey's care of Samuel. The reporter, who was a close family friend, was concerned for Samuel's safety. Casey was ultimately substantiated for neglect due to inadequate supervision. It was alleged Casey locked Samuel out of the house to use substances, and her boyfriend choked him during a domestic violence incident. The reporter also indicated Samuel was making inappropriate TikTok videos. He was depicted "holding knives such as butcher knives and a cleaver knife [and putting] the knife to his neck like he is slitting his neck ...." When a Division worker went to the residence to investigate, a woman who matched Casey's description, but denied being Casey, answered the door and refused the worker entry. The worker left, called the police, and returned to the home, where she met with the police who were investigating a different matter involving Samuel. Samuel, then aged seven, was allegedly part of a burglary of a neighboring home. The worker attempted to speak with Casey again, and she said, "I don't fuck with [the Division] and I don't fuck with the police[,]" and she walked away.
During this interaction, the Division worker noticed "a cut on [Samuel's] right eyelid, an abrasion to the right side of his forehead[,] and bruising under both eyes." EMTs were called to the scene and suggested Samuel be taken to the hospital to have his injuries documented and evaluated. The Division worker accompanied Samuel to the hospital, but Casey did not go, nor did she inquire about his condition when at the hospital. When the Division worker asked about what led to Samuel's injuries, he explained, "[M]om didn't punch me in the face but she told me not to tell how I got them." Because Casey did not go to the hospital, the Division took emergency custody of Samuel to consent to his medical care. The Division thereafter conducted an emergency removal.
Samuel was evaluated at the Dorothy B. Hersh Regional Child Protection Center on July 31, 2020. When the child abuse pediatrician asked Samuel about the injuries to his face, he responded, The pediatrician determined the injuries neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of abuse and recommended Samuel undergo a psychological evaluation. In August 2020, Casey denied the domestic violence allegations and physical discipline allegations.
Following Samuel's emergent removal from Casey's care, he was placed in a non-relative resource home while the Division assessed numerous potential placements with his relatives.[4] His father T.D. advised the Division he did not want to be involved in Samuel's care because of Casey's erratic behavior and his own legal problems. The Division ruled out Samuel's cousin D.D. and family friend E.K.C. because neither were able to care for him. Although Samuel's grandmother J.T. ("Jenny") was able to care for Samuel for a period of time, she eventually advised she could not care for Samuel due to her declining health, Samuel's behavior, and concerns about dealing with Casey. Samuel's maternal grandfather R.R. did not respond to the Division's inquiries. Casey did not provide the names of any other potential family members who could care for Samuel. Samuel's step-maternal grandfather B.J. was later determined to be unable to care for him. The Division also subsequently explored Samuel's maternal aunt K.T. and again followed up with his maternal grandfather R.R., however, both were ruled out as neither was able to care for Samuel. Lastly, Samuel's "godfather" R.T. was ruled out due to an ASFA disqualifier.[5] When Samuel was first removed, he was delayed academically because he had missed a significant amount of school. While Samuel should have been in the third grade, he was placed into first grade special education because he did not know how to read, write, or do basic math. Samuel made significant academic progress despite lingering behavioral issues after he began attending school regularly. Moreover, after entering placement, Samuel began to recount violent incidents in or around Casey's home. On one occasion, he stated he saw his "dad" hitting Casey.[6] On another occasion, Samuel witnessed Casey and a paramour having sexual relations, which prompted the paramour to throw Samuel against a wall, before Casey told Samuel to stop crying and began choking him.
On May 11, 2021, Samuel's resource parents requested his removal from their home due to his behavioral issues. Samuel was placed in a temporary respite home while the Division tried to locate a new resource home, however, Samuel's initial resource parents welcomed him back just over a week later. Nevertheless, in July 2021, Samuel's resource parents again requested his removal because of Samuel's behavior.[7]
When Samuel was again removed from this resource home, Jenny, Samuel's maternal grandmother, advised the caseworker she was willing to be a placement for Samuel, and he was placed with her in August 2021. At first, Jenny expressed a desire to adopt Samuel but soon indicated she was struggling with his behavioral issues and her own health issues.[8] In March 2022, despite Samuel being provided with services, Jenny requested that he be removed from her home.[9] In March 2022 Samuel was moved to a new, non-relative resource home where he has resided to the present time. Samuel expressed that his resource parents "love him" and wanted to adopt him. At the resource home, Samuel continued to maintain contact with his biological family. The resource parents confirmed their interest in adopting Samuel as opposed to a kinship legal guardianship ("KLG") in order to avoid dealing with Casey's behavior.
The Division set up visits with Casey immediately following Samuel's removal, which she initially attended on a regular basis. However, the visits were not without issue. Periodically, Samuel told the Division worker that he did not want to attend visits with his mother. For example, he would observe that his mother seemed "strung out or high" and he did not want to see her in that condition. At one visit in March 2021, Samuel indicated, Casey later admitted to a Division worker she had "yoked [Samuel] up by his shirt." After this March 2021 visit, Casey's visits became sporadic.
Casey was referred to Children's Home Society ("CHS") for therapeutic visitation and other services. In May 2021 Casey began therapeutic visits with Samuel through CHS. At the first visit, Samuel recounted how his father would hit him, which Casey denied. Samuel explained: Their visits were suspended from May 18 to August 12, when Samuel stabilized in his placement...
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