In re K.S.

Summary

The Ninth District Court of Appeals of Ohio affirmed an order awarding legal custody of three children to their maternal great aunt and uncle. The court held that the award was supported by the evidence and that the parents failed to establish the requirements for a six-month extension of temporary custody, including significant case-plan progress and a reasonable likelihood of reunification.

Holdings

1. The juvenile court properly awarded legal custody to the maternal great aunt and uncle because the award was supported by the preponderance of the evidence and was in the children’s best interests; the judgment was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.
2. The juvenile court properly denied the motions for a first six-month extension because the parents did not prove by clear and convincing evidence all three statutory requirements: that the extension was in the children’s best interests, that there had been significant case-plan progress, and that reunification with a parent was reasonably likely during the extension period.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the juvenile court’s award of legal custody of the children to the maternal great aunt and uncle was against the manifest weight of the evidence or not in the children’s best interests.
2. Whether the juvenile court erred by denying the parents’ motions for a first six-month extension of temporary custody under R.C. 2151.415(D)(1).

Disposition

affirmed