In re K.D.

Summary

The Ninth District Court of Appeals of Ohio affirmed juvenile-court judgments placing N.D. in the permanent custody of Summit County Children Services Board and K.D. in the legal custody of nonrelative custodians. The court rejected the parents’ challenges to the permanent-custody and legal-custody determinations, denial of a six-month temporary-custody extension, and Father’s ineffective-assistance claim. The court noted an erroneous “12 of 22” finding but concluded that an alternative statutory ground supported the permanent-custody judgment and that the error was not prejudicial.

Holdings

1. The trial court erred in finding that the 12-of-22-month ground under R.C. 2151.414(B)(1)(d) was satisfied because N.D. had been in CSB's temporary custody for less than nine months when CSB moved for permanent custody. The error did not require reversal because the trial court also found, and Father did not challenge, that N.D. could not or should not be placed with either parent under R.C. 2151.414(B)(1)(a), an independently sufficient alternative ground.
2. Clear and convincing evidence supported the juvenile court's determination that permanent custody of N.D. with CSB was in his best interest.
3. The award of legal custody of K.D. to the custodians was supported by a preponderance of the evidence and was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.
4. Father was not entitled to a first six-month extension because the statutory requirements were not satisfied: neither parent had made significant progress on the case plan, the extension was not in the children's best interest, and there was no reasonable cause to believe the children would be reunified with a parent or otherwise permanently placed during the extension.
5. Father failed to establish ineffective assistance because he identified no specific evidence that counsel should have presented and no reasonable probability that additional evidence would have changed the outcome.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the juvenile court properly awarded permanent custody of N.D. to Summit County Children Services Board despite an erroneous finding that N.D. had been in temporary custody for at least 12 of the preceding 22 months.
2. Whether clear and convincing evidence supported the determination that permanent custody of N.D. was in his best interest.
3. Whether the juvenile court's award of legal custody of K.D. to nonrelatives was against the manifest weight of the evidence or contrary to K.D.'s best interest.
4. Whether Father was entitled to a first six-month extension of temporary custody under R.C. 2151.415(D)(1).
5. Whether Father's trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to present evidence supporting Father's legal-custody motions.

Disposition

affirmed