In re A.M.

Summary

The Ohio Court of Appeals for the Fifth Appellate District affirmed the termination of the mother's parental rights and the grant of permanent custody of A.M. to Tuscarawas County Job and Family Services. The court held that service by publication satisfied due process, the agency made reasonable reunification efforts, and the permanent-custody decision was supported by clear and convincing evidence and was in the child's best interest.

Holdings

1. Service by publication was proper because TCJFS filed an affidavit showing that Mother's address could not be ascertained with reasonable diligence, attempted personal service at the only location where Mother was known to be and had previously been served, and published notice containing the information required by statute and juvenile rule.
2. Because the magistrate made reasonable-efforts findings at prior adjudicatory, emergency, detention, and dispositional proceedings and Mother did not object to those findings, TCJFS was not required to prove again at the permanent-custody hearing that it had made reasonable reunification efforts.
3. The juvenile court's determination that permanent custody to TCJFS was in A.M.'s best interest was supported by competent and credible evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether service by publication provided Mother with constitutionally adequate notice of the permanent-custody hearing.
2. Whether TCJFS made reasonable efforts to reunify Mother and A.M. before permanent custody was granted.
3. Whether the juvenile court's finding that permanent custody was in A.M.'s best interest was supported by clear and convincing evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Disposition

affirmed