In re B/K Children

Citations

• 2020 Ohio 1095

Syllabus

CHILDREN – CUSTODY – PROCEDURE/RULES – JUV.R. 40(D)(4)(d) – PARENTAL TERMINATION: The juvenile court complied with the requirement, set forth in Juv.R. 40(D)(4)(d), that it rule on objections to the magistrate's decision, because the court's decision on remand leaves no question that it properly considered mother's objections to the magistrate's decision granting HCJFS's motion for permanent custody, found the objections meritless, and overruled them. The juvenile court's determination that mother's children cannot be returned to her within a reasonable time or should not be returned to her was supported by clear and convincing evidence, including that mother had failed continuously and repeatedly to address domestic violence in her life, resulting in a threat of harm to the children that is not speculative but grounded in the facts and leaves the children unprotected in the future. The juvenile court's determination that the children's best interest is served by not returning them to mother is supported by clear and convincing evidence, including evidence of mother's pervasive dishonesty that aggravated her repeated failure to protect the children, her lack of insight into domestic violence and her own violent tendencies, the absence of a significant bond between mother and the children, who had lived the majority of their lives in agency custody, the children's proven ability to bond with substitute caregivers, and the very young children's need for a stable and secure placement.