In re C & M Children

Citations

• 2020 Ohio 4206

Syllabus

CHILDREN – CUSTODY – PARENTAL TERMINATION: The juvenile court's determinations that a grant of permanent custody to the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services was in the best interest of the children and that the youngest child could not be placed with mother within a reasonable time or should not be placed with mother were supported by clear and convincing evidence, including evidence that mother could not provide a secure placement for the children in light of her continued relationship with the father of two of her children, despite her knowledge that the middle child had been severely injured while in father's care and doctors had opined that the injury was not accidental, and that father had been charged with child endangerment, had evaded the warrant for over a year, and had not been caught until he was arrested for the aggravated assault of another person. [But see DISSENT: The juvenile court's determinations were not supported by clear and convincing evidence where the court relied on facts unsupported by the record, including the unsupported fact that father had been convicted of child endangerment and the unsupported fact that mother had a substance-abuse problem, and relied on mere speculation, as opposed to fact, regarding mother's future relationship with father.]