J-S29017-18

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* Former Justice specially assigned to the Superior Court.

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

IN THE INTEREST OF: J.M., A MINOR 

APPEAL OF S.C., MOTHER

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 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

 PENNSYLVANIA

 No. 3471 EDA 2017

Appeal from the Dispositional Order September 22, 2017

In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at 

No(s): CP-51-DP-0002470-2017, 

FID: 51-FN-001733-2015

IN THE INTEREST OF: E.M., A 

MINOR

APPEAL OF: S.C., MOTHER

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 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF

 PENNSYLVANIA

 No. 3473 EDA 2017

Appeal from the Dispositional Order September 22, 2017

In the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Juvenile Division at 

No(s): CP-51-DP-0002544-2015, 

FID: 51-FN-001733-2015

BEFORE: PANELLA, J., MURRAY, J., and STEVENS*, P.J.E.

MEMORANDUM BY MURRAY, J.: FILED JUNE 13, 2018

In these consolidated appeals, S.C. (Mother), appeals from the 

dependency orders finding that she posed a grave threat to her two sons, J.M., 

born in October 2004, and E.M., born in March 2003 (collectively, Children),

and terminated her visits with Children. Upon review, we affirm.
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Mother and E.M. (Father) are the biological parents of Children. Prior to 

the underlying dependency actions, Mother and Father were opposing parties 

in custody litigation involving the Children. On November 29, 2016, the trial

court entered an order granting sole physical and legal custody of Children to 

Father; the trial court awarded Mother two hours of supervised visitation each 

week at the court nursery. Order, 11/29/16, at 1. 

On June 6, 2017, Father entered a one-year residential center for drug 

and alcohol treatment and left Children in the care of his wife (Stepmother). 

N.T., 9/22/17, at 12-13. The next day, Mother, in violation of the custody 

order, abducted Children from their school. Id. at 13-15. Stepmother sought 

the Children’s return, and Mother returned Children to Stepmother later that 

day. Id. at 15. On June 16, 2017, Mother abducted the Children again – this 

time from Stepmother’s home. Id. at 16-18. At the time, Bernice Guetant, 

an investigative caseworker with Philadelphia Department of Human Services 

(DHS),

1 attempted to obtain an order for protective custody (OPC) of the

Children because, inter alia, Mother and Children were residing with Mother’s

paramour, who had previously abused the Children. However, Ms. Guetant’s 

supervisor denied her request on the basis that the Children were allegedly 

residing with their maternal grandmother, and the matter was one of “custody 

issues versus dependency issues.” Id. at 19. Nonetheless, Ms. Guetant “did 

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1 DHS was involved with Mother and two of her other children. Mother’s rights 

to those two other children were involuntarily terminated in 2016. N.T., 

9/22/17, at 19, 22.
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a safety plan with maternal grandmother that specifically outlined that mom 

was to have supervised contact with the children; the children were not to 

leave with mom.” Id. at 20.

On September 12, 2017, Ms. Guetant discovered the Children living with 

Mother and was thus able to obtain an OPC for Children with a temporary 

commitment to DHS. Id. at 21. On September 14, 2017, the trial court 

conducted a shelter care hearing and ordered that Children’s placement 

remain with DHS.

On September 19, 2017, DHS filed a dependency petition and the trial 

court held an adjudicatory hearing on September 22, 2017, where Ms. Guetant

testified as the sole witness. Mother and Father did not testify or present any 

evidence.

2

 At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court adjudicated 

Children dependent and found Mother to be a “grave threat.” Id. at 28. 

Accordingly, the trial court terminated Mother’s visits and issued protective 

orders prohibiting her from having any contact with Children.

On October 21, 2017, Mother filed timely notices of appeal along with 

concise statements of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 

1925(a)(2)(i) and (b). The trial court issued an opinion pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 

1925(a) on January 31, 2018.

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2 Father remained in the one-year rehabilitation program and did not attend 

the hearing, but was represented by counsel. See, e.g., N.T., 9/22/17, at 

12-13. Mother attended the hearing, but at the advice of her counsel, did not 

testify. Id. at 36.
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On appeal, Mother raises the following issues:

1. Did the [t]rial judge rule in error that Mother was a grave 

threat to [Children] and therefore suspended Mother’s visits with 

[Children]?

2. Did the trial judge rule in [error] granting a stay away 

order/no contact order between Mother and [Children]?

Mother’s Brief at 4.

Our Supreme Court has set forth the standard of review for dependency 

cases as follows:

[T]he standard of review in dependency cases requires an 

appellate court to accept the findings of fact and credibility 

determinations of the trial court if they are supported by the 

record, but does not require the appellate court to accept the 

lower court’s inferences or conclusions of law. Accordingly, we 

review for an abuse of discretion.

In re R.J.T., 9 A.3d 1179, 1190 (Pa. 2010).

In dependency cases, the standard to measure visitation depends on 

the goal mandated in the family service plan. In re C.B., 861 A.2d 287, 293 

(Pa. Super. 2004), appeal denied, 871 A.2d 187 (Pa. 2005). “Where . . .

reunification still remains the goal of the family service plan, visitation will not 

be denied or reduced unless it poses a grave threat.” Id. (quoting In re B.G., 

774 A.2d 757, 760 (Pa. Super. 2001)). If the goal is no longer reunification 

of the family, then visitation may be limited or denied if it is in the best 

interests of the child. . . .” Id. 

It should be understood that the difference just noted is real and 

not merely semantical. As [In re C.J., 729 A.2d 89 (Pa. Super. 

1999),] points out, in considering the matter of visitation, more 

than just the child’s best interests are at issue; there is also the 

constitutionally protected interest of a parent to visitation that 
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must be considered. See Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 

102 S. Ct. 1388, 71 L. Ed. 2d 599 (1982). Moreover, if the 

parents’ right to visitation is injected into the equation, then, 

logically speaking, a result that is strictly in the child’s best 

interests might have to yield somewhat to accommodate the 

parents’ constitutionally protected right where the two are not the 

same.2In other words, where the two are seen as in conflict, 

both interests would have to be weighed and a result which 

equitably balances the two must be reached. If this were not the 

case there would be no need for a different standard, as the “best 

interests of the child” standard would apply regardless of the 

underlying circumstances and the interest of the parents would 

play no part in the decision at all.

2 Of course, ideally, continued parental visitation would be in the 

child’s best interests. 

B.G., 774 A.2d at 760 (footnote in original). In In re C.B., this Court 

explained the “grave threat” standard as follows:

The “grave threat” standard is met when the evidence clearly 

shows that a parent is unfit to associate with his [or her] . . . 

children; the parent can then be denied the right to see them. 

This standard is satisfied when the parent demonstrates a severe 

mental or moral deficiency that constitutes a grave threat.

861 A.2d at 294 (internal citations and some quotation marks omitted).

Here, the trial court concluded that Mother posed a grave threat to the 

Children. In support of its conclusion, the trial court found: (1) Mother’s 

parental rights had been involuntarily terminated to two other children; (2) 

Mother abducted Children on two occasions in violation of a custody order; (3) 

Mother’s history of breaching court orders and interfering in Children’s daily 

lives caused Children significant emotional and physical harm; and (4) there 

were no practical alternatives to visitation. Trial Court Opinion, 1/31/18, at 

4-5; N.T., 9/22/17, at 37-38. In reaching its conclusions, the trial court 
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credited the testimony of Ms. Guetant. See Trial Court Opinion, 1/31/18, at 

4-5; N.T., 9/22/17, at 37.

On appeal, Mother argues that the trial court erred in finding her to be 

a grave threat to Children, terminating her supervised visits, and issuing no 

contact orders with Children. Specifically, Mother contends that there was no 

evidence establishing that she physically harmed Children or that she posed a 

threat to the Children’s psychological well-being. Mother’s Brief at 5-6. 

Based upon our review of the certified record, we conclude that the trial 

court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Mother posed a grave threat 

to Children. Ms. Guetant testified that Mother had a lengthy history of drug 

and alcohol abuse and criminal activity. N.T., 9/22/17, at 9, 21-24, 30. Ms. 

Guetant also expressed concern that Mother has a general propensity for 

placing Children at risk for harm. Id. at 22-28. Notably, Ms. Guetant testified 

that Mother refused to return Children to Stepmother’s custody despite being 

confronted by the police, and instead, resided with Children in the home of 

her paramour, who had previously abused Children. Mother did so despite an 

order of court prohibiting contact between Children and Mother’s paramour.

Likewise, Ms. Guetant noted that Mother offered conflicting stories to 

DHS as to why she abducted Children, and additionally appeared intoxicated 

during her interactions with DHS. Id. at 30. Moreover, Ms. Guetant explained 

that Mother’s behavior towards Children interferes with their normal routines. 

She explained:
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[Mother] is calling the kids constantly. They get out of school, 

she’s on the phone. They’re eating dinner, she’s on the phone. 

So she’s kind of interfering with their normal routines.

She told the children that they were going to be in court today 

and that they need to be on the phone. They were in school calling 

me, asking me are they going to be present in court. . . I just feel 

like she’s kind of interfering with their well-being.

Id. at 23-24. Ms. Guetant opined that Mother’s behavior posed a grave threat 

to Children and recommended that Children be adjudicated dependent. Id. 

Upon review, the record confirms that Mother exposed Children to 

significant physical and emotional harm, and her parenting deficiencies 

constitute a grave threat to the welfare of the Children. See In re C.B., 861 

A.2d at 294 (holding that grave threat standard is satisfied when the evidence 

clearly shows that a parent is unfit to associate with her children) (citation 

omitted). After Mother abducted the Children, they resided with Mother’s 

paramour, a known abuser, in an environment where Mother abused drugs 

and alcohol and engaged in criminal activity. N.T., 9/22/17, at 21-22. For 

example, Mother was arrested on charges of forgery and tampering with public 

records the day before DHS obtained its OPC. Id. at 22, 35. 

The trial court stated that Mother is “not capable of safely caring for 

these children”, and determined that any visits with Mother, supervised or 

unsupervised, posed a significant risk of emotional and psychological harm to 

Children. Id. at 38. These findings are supported by the record, and it is well 

settled that we many not disturb the trial court’s findings of fact and 

determinations regarding credibility. In re R.J.T., 9 A.3d at 1190. 
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Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s dependency orders terminating 

Mother’s visitation and the protective orders prohibiting her from having any 

contact with Children, based on its finding that Mother posed a grave threat 

to Children.

Orders affirmed. 

Judgment Entered.

Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.

Prothonotary

Date: 6/13/18