In re S.L. and E.L.

Summary

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed the termination of petitioner father K.L.'s custodial rights to S.L. and E.L. The court held that the circuit court properly denied an extension of the father's improvement period and terminated his custodial rights based on continuing alcohol abuse and the absence of a reasonable likelihood that the conditions of neglect would be corrected in the near future. The court also upheld post-termination visitation at the discretion of the children's guardians.

Holdings

1. A parent may comply with many specific case-plan requirements yet fail to fully participate in an improvement period when the parent does not address the underlying substance-abuse problem. The circuit court therefore did not err in terminating Father's post-dispositional improvement period or denying his request for an extension.
2. Termination of Father's custodial rights was proper because the evidence supported findings that there was no reasonable likelihood that the conditions of neglect could be substantially corrected in the near future and that termination was necessary for the children's welfare.
3. The circuit court did not err by making post-termination visitation contingent on the discretion of the children's guardians, because visitation after termination may occur only when it is in the children's best interests and is not detrimental to their well-being.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the circuit court properly terminated Father's post-dispositional improvement period and denied his motion for an extension.
2. Whether the circuit court properly terminated Father's custodial rights based on the continuing risk posed by his substance abuse and the absence of a reasonable likelihood that the neglect conditions would be substantially corrected in the near future.
3. Whether the circuit court properly granted post-termination visitation at the discretion of the children's guardians rather than at the children's discretion.

Disposition

affirmed