In re C.R.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the termination of petitioner mother J.R.’s parental rights to C.R. The court held that substantial evidence supported findings that the conditions leading to a prior termination of parental rights had not been remedied and that there was no reasonable likelihood of substantial correction in the near future. The court issued the decision as a memorandum decision under Rule 21 of the West Virginia Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Holdings

1. The circuit court properly terminated petitioner's parental rights because there was no reasonable likelihood that the conditions of abuse and neglect could be substantially corrected in the near future and termination was necessary for the welfare of C.R.
2. Petitioner was not entitled to additional time or services because the circuit court provided a sufficient opportunity to demonstrate remediation, and the evidence established that the conditions underlying the prior termination remained substantially unchanged.
3. Factual findings in an abuse and neglect case will not be set aside unless clearly erroneous, and the reviewing court must affirm findings supported by a plausible account of the evidence viewed in its entirety.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court erred by terminating petitioner's parental rights when she asserted that the conditions underlying the prior termination of her parental rights had been remedied.
2. Whether petitioner was entitled to additional time and services, including thirty days of drug screening, to demonstrate that the conditions of abuse and neglect had been corrected.

Disposition

affirmed