Opinion ID: 2584054
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Trial Court Properly Considered the Length of Time Bernard Spent with his Foster Parents.

Text: Constance and Clark argue that the special master assigned too much weight to the length of time Bernard had spent with Ruth and John, thereby ignoring Bernard's bonds with Constance and Clark as well as several other factors which will be discussed below in Part IV.B. They claim that this contravenes our holding in In re A.S. that no single factor should be allowed to outweigh all others in applying the `best interests of the child' standard. [18] Constance and Clark also claim that the superior court should have taken more trouble to compare the quality and duration of Bernard's bond with each of the parties, as was ordered in In re W.E.G. & J.R.G. [19] In Adoption of N.P.S., we held that in determining the best interest of a child, [w]hether one factor outweighs another is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. [20] In the present case, expert witnesses testified that continuity of caregiving is very important to the happiness and emotional development of very young children and that unnecessary transfers of care should be avoided, because children can suffer dramatic emotional problems when they are not able to form stable attachments with those around them. This accords with the finding of the Alaska Legislature in AS 47.05.065(5)(C) that it is important ... to ensure that all children, especially those under the age of six years, who have been removed from their homes are placed in permanent homes expeditiously. In his findings of fact, the special master did not ignore Constance and Clark's relationship and bond with Bernard, but simply found that even a gradual transition into their care would disrupt his life unnecessarily and possibly to his great detriment. The special master considered numerous other factors in Bernard's case, including cultural literacy and participation, ability to meet his physical needs, and access to his other relatives, and often found either that they weighed equally in favor of both parties, or that Ruth and John had performed better in the past. While it is certainly true that Bernard's continuous residence with Ruth and John for thirty of his thirty-seven months by March 2002, the end of trial, appears to have been the most significant factor in this case, it is hardly an abuse of discretion to find that among several factors, many of which weigh equally between the parties, one takes on the most importance. This does not amount to a single factor ... outweigh[ing] all others in applying the `best interests of the child' standard. [21] Constance and Clark also argue that Bernard's continuity of care with Ruth and John results artificially from the superior court's refusal to hear their first adoption petition in February 2001 when they filed it. In effect, they imply that continuity of care should be disregarded in determining placement in this case because continuity of care resulted from the superior court's refusal to hear their first petition promptly. As a preliminary matter we must observe that a standing master of the Fairbanks Probate Office notified Constance and Clark on February 15, 2001 that their petition was incomplete because it lacked numerous supporting documents required under Alaska Adoption Rules 6, 8, 9, and 10; AS 18.50.510; AS 25.23.040, .060,.080, .090, .100, .170, and .185; and 25 U.S.C. §§ 1912-1913. Constance and Clark did not file the last of these documents until September 27, 2001, and the case progressed smoothly thereafter given its complexity. But we also note that even in February of 2001, Bernard had spent eighteen of his twenty-four months in the sole care of Ruth and John. It is unfortunate that an initial foster care placement of a very young child in need of aid may ripen into an adoptive placement precisely because of the need for continuity of care. [22] For this reason we encourage trial courts to expedite and dispose of adoption contests as soon as possible. But statutory law [23] and the testimony of experts relied upon in case law [24] tell us that multiple placements of very young children put them at risk of grave psychological consequences. It is the duty of the trial court to move cases expeditiously and to rule in the best interest of the child, and the perceived fairness of the result to the adults involved is necessarily of secondary, and far less, importance than the best interests of the child. As one expert in the case put it, the question is where the child's best interests lie, not which of the applicants is the most deserving.