In re T.T.

Summary

The Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals affirmed judgments terminating the mother's parental rights and granting permanent custody of two dependent children to the Lake County Department of Job and Family Services. The court rejected challenges based on sufficiency and manifest weight of the evidence, denial of a continuance, and the trial court's inquiry obligations under the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Holdings

1. Mother failed to establish plain error from the alleged lack of an ICWA inquiry because the record indicated that an inquiry had occurred, the missing hearing transcripts required the court to presume the inquiry was conducted at an earlier hearing, and Mother identified no evidence that either child was an Indian child under the ICWA.
2. The evidence was legally sufficient to support the grants of permanent custody and the judgments were not against the manifest weight of the evidence.
3. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying a continuance because Mother never requested one, failed to show prejudice, and did not proffer evidence or testimony that would likely have changed the outcome.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the juvenile court committed plain error by failing to conduct or document an inquiry into whether the children had Indian or Native American ancestry under the Indian Child Welfare Act.
2. Whether the permanent-custody judgments were unsupported by sufficient evidence or against the manifest weight of the evidence.
3. Whether the juvenile court abused its discretion by failing to grant a continuance of the permanent-custody hearing after Mother left during the hearing.

Disposition

affirmed