Opinion ID: 148956
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sam and Tony M.

Text: Sam and Tony M. are brothers who were placed in DCYF custody in May 1999 due to allegations that their mother had substance abuse and mental health problems. The complaint details that the boys were victims of sexual and physical abuse and neglect. After the DCYF took custody of Sam and Tony in 1999, they were placed in the home of a family friend. From 2000 to 2003, Sam and Tony were returned to their birth mother's custody. During that period, the boys were abused and neglected by their birth mother, step-father and grand-father. In 2003, Sam and Tony were once again placed in foster care. They were subsequently returned to their birth mother's custody until May 2004 when they were placed in a group care facility. In 2005, Sam and Tony were transferred to different psychiatric hospitals where they received visits from their maternal grandparents. The record reveals that the boys continue to live in separate institutions. On August 4, 2006, the family court determined that reasonable efforts to reunify Sam and Tony with their birth mother were no longer required; stated that the DCYF had filed for termination of parental rights; and decreed that Sam and Tony were candidates for adoption.