In re: J.W. and A.W.

Summary

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed the termination of petitioner father E.N.'s parental and custodial rights to J.W. and A.W. The court held that the circuit court properly considered the nature and duration of the father's incarceration, the children's best interests, and the lack of reasonable likelihood that the conditions of abuse and neglect could be substantially corrected, and that no less-restrictive alternative was required.

Holdings

1. The circuit court did not err in terminating father's parental and custodial rights because it considered the nature of his offense, the terms and length of his incarceration, his limited prior caregiving, the children's best interests, and their need for permanency; the termination was not based solely on incarceration.
2. Termination of parental rights may be ordered without first employing less-restrictive alternatives when there is no reasonable likelihood that the conditions of neglect or abuse can be substantially corrected.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court improperly terminated father's parental and custodial rights based solely on his incarceration.
2. Whether the circuit court was required to impose a less-restrictive dispositional alternative instead of terminating father's parental and custodial rights.

Disposition

affirmed