AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• In March 2013, a child born to Melvin C. (Father) and Samantha M. (Mother) tested positive for illegal drugs. Following a Family Centered Meeting, the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) filed an amended neglect or abuse petition, and the court awarded CYFD custody of the child. Father did not attend the custody hearing, and the court found the child could not be safely returned to the parents due to substance abuse and lack of safe housing. Father had no contact with the child or CYFD from March 2013 until September 2013, when he was served with the petition for neglect and abuse in prison. Father expressed a desire to work a treatment plan for reunification with the child (paras 2-3).

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Children, Youth and Families Department: Argued for termination of parental rights based on abandonment, abuse, and neglect, and later pursued termination solely on the theory of abandonment (paras 2, 8-9).
• Father: Filed a motion to continue the termination of parental rights hearing, expressing a desire to participate and work a treatment plan for reunification with the child. Later, argued that he had not abandoned the child and that he should be allowed to work a treatment plan as part of a dispositional hearing (paras 3, 7).

Legal Issues

• Whether the court erred by terminating Father's parental rights based on abandonment after making a finding of neglect and without conducting a dispositional hearing or implementing a treatment plan (para 1).
• Whether the court applied the correct subsection of Section 32A-4-28 in terminating Father's parental rights (para 10).

Disposition

• The court's order terminating Father's parental rights was reversed, and the case was remanded for a dispositional hearing in accordance with the Abuse and Neglect Act (para 26).

Reasons

• RODERICK T. KENNEDY, Judge (JONATHAN B. SUTIN, Judge and TIMOTHY L. GARCIA, Judge concurring): The court found that once it entered a finding of neglect, it was obligated to conduct a dispositional hearing and implement a treatment plan. The court's decision to allow CYFD to pursue termination of Father's parental rights solely on an abandonment theory, ignoring its previous finding of neglect, was erroneous. The court's failure to hold a dispositional hearing and to consider a treatment plan deprived Father of the statutory process due following an adjudication of neglect. The court's application of abandonment as the sole basis for termination, especially after a finding of neglect, was inappropriate. The court's reliance on the abandonment theory, without considering the statutory requirements following a finding of neglect, led to the reversal of the termination order. The case was remanded for proceedings consistent with the statutory duties following an adjudication of neglect, including the possibility of a treatment plan aimed at reunification (paras 16-25).