Opinion ID: 1343594
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Procedural Delays

Text: We face yet another case where the delays in resolving the underlying allegations of abuse, in developing an effective improvement plan, in resolving whether the family could be reunified, and in bringing permanency to this child's life are totally unacceptable. Upon reviewing another egregiously delayed abuse and neglect case chronology in In re Carlita B., 185 W.Va. 613, 408 S.E.2d 365 (1991) we said: Certainly many delays are occasioned by the fact that troubled human relationships and aggravated parenting problems are not remedied overnight. The law properly recognizes that rights of natural parents enjoy a great deal of protection and that one of the primary goals of the social services network and the courts is to give aid to parents and children in an effort to reunite them. The bulk of the most aggravated procedural delays, however, are occasioned less by the complexities of mending broken people and relationships than by the tendency of these types of cases to fall through the cracks in the system. The long procedural delays in this and most other abuse and neglect cases considered by this Court in the last decade indicate that neither the lawyers nor the courts are doing an adequate job of assuring that childrenthe most voiceless segment of our societyaren't left to languish in a limbo-like state during a time most crucial to their human development. Id. at 623, 408 S.E.2d at 375. Since the Carlita B. case in 1991, this Court has consistently urged the circuit courts that they must accord abuse and neglect cases the highest priority and must not let them languish during the critical formative years in a child's life. We emphasized this point again in State ex rel. Amy M. v. Kaufman, 196 W.Va. 251, 470 S.E.2d 205 (1996), while recognizing how difficult it can be for courts to appreciate that the time is ripe for decision: A circuit judge overseeing a case such as this has an immensely difficult task, for in many abuse and neglect cases there is a genuine emotional bond as well as the natural biological bond between parent and child which courts are understandably hesitant to break if there is hope of meaningful change. In most abuse and neglect cases, the parent(s) may have redeeming qualities that create such hope that they will be able to make the necessary changes to become adequate parents. .... Although it is sometimes a difficult task, the trial court must accept the fact that the statutory limits on improvement periods (as well as our case law limiting the right to improvement periods) dictate that there comes a time for decision, because a child deserves resolution and permanency in his or her life, and because part of that permanency must include at minimum a right to rely on his or her caretakers to be there to provide the basic nurturance of life. Id. at 260, 470 S.E.2d at 214. Despite this Court's emphasis on the level of attention that should be given to abuse and neglect cases, lawyers and judges continue to allow these cases to lag on without prompt resolution. While blame for the delays experienced in the instant case can be assessed against various entities, our goal is not to point the finger of fault but to seek once again to capture the circuit courts' attention on this issue. Hopefully, this Court's adoption of the new Rules of Procedure for Abuse and Neglect Proceedings, on December 5, 1996, will create progress in this very difficult arena.