In re Joziah B.

Citations

• 207 A.3d 451

Syllabus

The respondent, Heather B., appealed from a decree entered in the Family Court that terminated her parental rights with respect to her son, Joziah B. The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) filed a petition in Family Court to terminate the respondent's parental rights with respect to the child and informed the court that the respondent's address was \unknown.\ The Family Court ordered that a notice of advertisement be placed in the local newspaper that alerted the respondent of the date of the hearing on the petition. The respondent failed to appear at that hearing. After hearing testimony from a casework supervisor at DCYF, the trial justice found that the respondent had abandoned her child after she failed to have contact with the child for more than six months and that it was unlikely that the child could be returned to the respondent's care within a reasonable period of time. The trial justice therefore determined that the respondent was unfit to parent she ordered that the respondent's parental rights be terminated and that DCYF would have the exclusive right to place the child for adoption. On appeal, the respondent contended that she was not aware of the hearing date for the petition for termination of her parental rights. The Supreme Court held that DCYF was required, under statutory authority, to file an affidavit with the Family Court stating that the respondent could not be found and to report its last contacts with the respondent as well as any other information that would have been pertinent in determining the respondent's whereabouts. Importantly, the Court held that the affidavit must have been filed in advance of the court order of notice by publication. The record did not reflect that such an affidavit had been filed. Accordingly, the Supreme Court vacated the decree and remanded to the Family Court for a hearing with appropriate notice in accordance with the statute.