In re D.D.

Citations

• 2024 Ohio 2769

Syllabus

Abandonment is not solely about physical visitation. A parent can show continued interest and involvement in a child's life through letters, gifts, or other forms of communication. A court does not err in determining that a child could not be placed with a parent within a reasonable period of time or should not be placed with the parent at all when the record shows that the parent failed to remedy conditions causing the child's removal, suffered from chronic mental illness and substance abuse, lacked commitment to the child, and abandoned the child. Granting permanent custody to a children services agency may be in a child's best interest where the child had a strong bond with his foster family, the foster family wants to adopt the child, the child has no real bond with the parents, the parents have not addressed the issues that led to the child's removal and are not prepared to parent him within a reasonable timeframe, and the parents abandoned the child.