In re Walker C.

Syllabus

The respondent mother appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court terminating her parental rights with respect to her minor child. The trial court found, pursuant to statute (§ 17-112 (j) (3) (B) (i)), that the mother had failed to achieve a degree of personal rehabilitation as would encourage the belief that within a reasonable time she could assume a responsible position in the child's life. She claimed that the court, inter alia, erroneously found that the child's attorney argued in favor of the termination of the mother's parental rights and that such error was not harmless because there was insufficient evidence tending to support termination of parental rights rather than permanent transfer of guardianship. Held: 1. The respondent mother could not prevail on her claim that the trial court erroneously stated the position of the child's attorney and that such statement was not harmless error, as such claim did not challenge the court's underlying factual findings or its conclusion that the petitioner proved by clear and convincing evidence the adjudicatory ground of failure to rehabilitate; although the trial court did not accurately set forth the position of the child's attorney with respect to the termination of the mother's parental rights, and did not set forth such counsel's statements favoring a possible permanent transfer of guardianship as an alternative to termination, the court's erroneous one sentence sum- mary of the final position of the child's attorney was not a finding by the trial court, as it was not based on evidence, instead, it was a statement made by counsel in argument to the court, and, even if the court's summary of such counsel's position was to be considered a finding, any error deriving from the finding was harmless as there was abundant evidence of the mother's multiyear history of alcohol and substance abuse and her lack of cooperation with rehabilitative services to provide support for the trial court's ultimate fin