COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 

Present: Judges Elder, Felton and Senior Judge Willis 

KAREN CHANDLER 

 MEMORANDUM OPINION*

v. Record Nos. 2853-02-3 through PER CURIAM 

 2856-02-3 MAY 13, 2003 

 

STAUNTON-AUGUSTA COUNTY 

 DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES 

FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF AUGUSTA COUNTY 

Thomas H. Wood, Judge 

 (Kathleen M. Mizzi Todd, on briefs), for 

appellant. 

 (James B. Glick; Vellines, Cobbs, Goodwin & 

Glass, P.L.C., on briefs), for appellee. 

 Karen Chandler (mother) appeals the decisions of the circuit 

court terminating her residual parental rights in her children, 

Jeffrey, James, Ryan, and Shannon. On appeal, mother argues that 

(1) the Department of Social Services (DSS) failed to provide 

extensive reunification services as required by law, (2) the early 

move for termination of parental rights was not supported by clear 

and convincing evidence, (3) DSS failed to establish by clear and 

convincing evidence that it provided a vast array of 

rehabilitative services and interventions to remedy the conditions 

leading to foster care, and (4) DSS failed to allow her a 

 

* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not 

designated for publication.
reasonable time to attempt to remedy the conditions which led to 

her children's foster care placement. Upon reviewing the record 

and briefs of the parties, we conclude that these appeals are 

without merit. Accordingly, we summarily affirm the decisions of 

the trial court. See Rule 5A:27. 

BACKGROUND

 We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the 

prevailing party below and grant to it all reasonable inferences 

fairly deducible therefrom. See Logan v. Fairfax County Dep't 

of Human Dev., 13 Va. App. 123, 128, 409 S.E.2d 460, 462 (1991). 

So viewed, the evidence established mother first became involved 

with rehabilitative services through the Knoxville, Tennessee 

Department of Social Services during the early 1990's. Suzanne 

Keck, a representative of that agency, explained the Knoxville 

DSS provided mother with services including substance abuse 

counseling, sexual abuse counseling, recommendation and 

referrals to facilitate the provision of a safe and sanitary 

home, and referrals for marriage counseling. The Knoxville DSS 

made five findings of abuse and neglect. 

 Mother began receiving services from the Augusta County DSS 

and the City of Waynesboro DSS in 1992 and continued receiving 

services through the removal at issue in this case, a period of 

nine years. During that time, in 1998, Ryan was removed from 

mother's home. He was returned home but removed again, along 

with his three siblings, in July 2001. On September 24, 2001, 

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DSS filed its initial foster care service plans with the goals 

of adoption for all four children. 

 Dr. Jamie Smith, a professional counselor, testified he 

worked with James, Shannon, and Jeffrey beginning in February 

2002. He opined that a return to mother would be detrimental to 

their health and delaying the determination of their future 

placement would cause behavior problems and deeper depression 

for the children. 

 Amy Simmons, a DSS social worker, testified about the 

agency's work with mother and her family. In 1992, DSS made a 

finding of abuse and neglect due to inadequate supervision and 

inadequate food. In September 1998, Ryan was hospitalized after 

consuming a potentially lethal dose of an antidepressant 

medication. DSS made a finding against mother of physical 

neglect. DSS enrolled mother and her husband in a parenting 

program, provided substance abuse evaluations and treatment, 

drug screening, and supervised visitation with all of the 

children. DSS further provided mother with a referral for 

funded counseling, arranged funding for drug treatment, provided 

food stamps, and Medicare and daycare funding for Ryan. 

 Julie Hawkins, the social worker assigned to mother's case, 

testified about the initial complaint and removal. The 

complaint concerned poor supervision and an allegation that the 

children were playing unsupervised in the roadway. The yard of 

mother's residence was filled with scattered debris, and three 

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dogs were chained or loose. The house was dirty, and had a 

broken window that left shards of glass in the yard and window 

frame. The children's mattresses lacked sheets, and the kitchen 

was filled with food debris and dirty dishes on the counters and 

floor. Hawkins requested mother undergo a number of drug 

screens. Mother did not immediately comply with any of the 

requests, instead waiting to be tested between four and fifteen 

days after the request. Hawkins scheduled psychological 

evaluations for mother on three separate occasions, and mother 

failed to appear for any of the appointments. During the time 

her children were in foster care, mother lived in seven 

different places and had not maintained steady employment. 

ANALYSIS

I. and III. 

 Mother argues DSS failed to provide her with adequate 

rehabilitative and reunification services. 

 "The record must demonstrate that all 'appropriate, 

available and reasonable' efforts were taken by social agencies 

to remedy the conditions leading to the infant's foster care 

placement." Banes v. Dept. of Soc. Servs., 1 Va. App. 463, 466, 

339 S.E.2d 902, 904 (1986) (citation omitted). 

 The evidence established that prior to announcing the goal of 

adoption for mother's children, DSS offered her a wide array of 

services. DSS provided mother with substance abuse counseling, 

sexual abuse counseling, recommendations to alleviate a dirty 

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home, marriage counseling, referrals for parenting classes, drug 

screens, in-home counseling, visitation services, referrals for 

psychological evaluations, Medicaid reimbursement for 

transportation, funding for substance abuse treatment, food 

stamps, daycare funding, lift services, housing assistance, and 

the provision of transportation. Mother was provided services 

from at least three different social service agencies over a 

period exceeding nine years. 

 Mother was ordered to undergo psychological evaluations, to 

obtain and maintain suitable housing, to obtain and maintain 

stable employment, to undergo random drug screens, and to have 

regular supervised visitation with her children. Mother failed to 

cooperate with DSS and was unable to maintain regular employment 

or stable housing. Mother, without good cause, failed to respond 

to the extensive and repeated rehabilitative efforts. The 

evidence supports the trial court's conclusion that DSS proved, 

by clear and convincing evidence, that it provided mother with 

adequate services. 

II. and IV. 

 Mother argues the immediate goal for termination of 

parental rights was not supported by clear and convincing 

evidence and that DSS failed to provide her with a reasonable 

amount of time to remedy the conditions which led to foster 

care. 

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 Code § 16.1-281 requires social services agencies such as 

DSS to develop foster care plans detailing the services to be 

offered children placed in their legal custody. Subsection (B) 

provides, in pertinent part, that 

[i]f the department, child welfare agency or 

team concludes that it is not reasonably 

likely that the child can be returned to his 

prior family within a practicable time, 

consistent with the best interests of the 

child, in a separate section of the plan the 

department, child welfare agency or team 

shall (a) include a full description of the 

reasons for this conclusion; (b) provide 

information on the opportunities for placing 

the child with a relative or in an adoptive 

home; (c) design the plan to lead to the 

child's successful placement with a relative 

if a subsequent transfer of custody to the 

relative is planned, or in an adoptive home 

within the shortest practicable time . . . .

Code § 16.1-281(B). DSS determined, based upon mother's lengthy 

prior relationship with social service agencies and her 

inability to profit from the extensive services previously 

offered, that an immediate goal of adoption was in the best 

interests of the children. 

 The evidence supported a finding that DSS offered mother a 

wide array of different services designed to address, to the 

extent possible, all areas of concern and that, by failing to 

cooperate with these services, mother was unable to parent 

effectively. DSS was not required "to force its services upon 

an unwilling or uninterested parent." Harris v. Lynchburg Div. 

of Soc. Servs., 223 Va. 235, 243, 288 S.E.2d 410, 415 (1982). 

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DSS properly determined adoption and the termination of parental 

rights was an appropriate immediate goal. 

 The record shows clearly that DSS representatives met often 

with mother and counseled her concerning her needs and problems, 

advised her of the social and rehabilitative services available 

to assist her, and offered to provide her with transportation to 

obtain those services. Yet, mother refused to accept many of 

the services offered her and failed to keep a number of the 

appointments. More important, mother exhibited little ability 

or willingness to improve the situation that existed when DSS 

first began contact with her. Mother was offered a variety of 

services from three different agencies over a period of almost 

ten years. The record supports the court's conclusion that 

mother was offered a reasonable time to correct the problems 

that led to foster care for her children. 

 The trial court's decisions to terminate mother's residual 

parental rights are supported by credible evidence showing both 

that the termination is in the best interests of the children 

and that the factors required by Code § 16.1-283(C)(2) are 

present. Accordingly, we summarily affirm the decisions of the 

trial court. See Rule 5A:27. 

Affirmed.

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