Opinion ID: 1358677
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Permanent Foster Care

Text: Chapter 49 of the West Virginia Code is entitled Child Welfare, and W.Va.Code § 49-1-3 [1994] therein defines an abused child as a child who is harmed or threatened by [a] parent, guardian or custodian who knowingly or intentionally inflicts, attempts to inflict or knowingly allows another person to inflict, physical injury or mental or emotional injury, upon the child or another child in the home[.] In addition, W.Va.Code § 49-1-3 [1994] defines a neglected child as a child who is harmed or threatened by a present refusal, failure or inability of the child's parent, guardian or custodian to supply the child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, supervision, medical care or education, when such refusal, failure or inability is not due primarily to a lack of financial means on the part of the parent, guardian or custodian[.] Article 6 of Chapter 49 is entitled Procedure in Cases of Child Neglect or Abuse and provides various remedies for the protection of children, including, in certain circumstances, the termination of parental rights. Specifically, pursuant to W.Va.Code § 49-6-5(a)(6) [1996], a circuit court may [u]pon a finding that there is no reasonable likelihood that the conditions of neglect or abuse can be substantially corrected in the near future, and when necessary for the welfare of the child, terminate the parental, custodial or guardianship rights and/or responsibilities of the abusing parent and commit the child to the permanent sole custody of the nonabusing parent, if there be one, or, if not, to either the permanent guardianship of the state department or a licensed child welfare agency. Additionally, W.Va.Code § 49-6-5(a)(6) [1996] provides that if the circuit court makes the finding delineated therein, then in fixing its dispositional order, the court shall consider the following factors: (1) The child's need for continuity of care and caretakers; (2) the amount of time required for the child to be integrated into a stable and permanent home environment; and (3) other factors as the court considers necessary and proper. Plainly, W.Va.Code § 49-6-5(a)(6) [1996] is silent on the issue of whether foster care or an adoptive home is the preferred permanent out-of-home placement option [16] for an abused or neglected child. However, W.Va. Code § 49-6-5(a)(6) [1996] must be considered in light of W.Va.Code § 49-1-1(a) [1997], the purpose clause of the child welfare chapter, which provides generally that it is the intention of the Legislature ... when the child has to be removed from his or her family, to secure for the child custody, care and discipline consistent with the child's best interests and other goals herein set out. In order to effectuate the legislative intent expressed in W.Va.Code § 49-1-1(a) [1997], a circuit court must endeavor to secure for a child who has been removed from his or her family a permanent placement with the level of custody, care, commitment, nurturing and discipline that is consistent with the child's best interests. We find that adoption, with its corresponding rights and duties, is the permanent out-of-home placement option which is most consistent with the child's best interests. [17] W.Va.Code § 49-1-1(a) [1997]. Only through adoption can a child who has been removed from his or her parents achieve a legal and economic status on a par with natural children. Wheeling Dollar Sav. & Trust Co. v. Hanes, 160 W.Va. 711, 716, 237 S.E.2d 499, 502 (1977). Accordingly, we hold that where parental rights have been terminated pursuant to W.Va.Code § 49-6-5(a)(6) [1996], and it is necessary to remove the abused and/or neglected child from his or her family, an adoptive home is the preferred permanent out-of-home placement of the child. Therefore, we further hold that in determining the appropriate permanent out-of-home placement of a child under W.Va.Code § 49-6-5(a)(6) [1996], the circuit court shall give priority to securing a suitable adoptive home for the child and shall consider other placement alternatives, including permanent foster care, only where the court finds that adoption would not provide custody, care, commitment, nurturing and discipline consistent with the child's best interests or where a suitable adoptive home can not be found. As indicated above, the circuit court in these consolidated cases made the requisite finding for termination of parental rights, terminated the parental rights of the abusive and/or neglectful parents, and committed the children to the permanent guardianship of the Department with the direction that they be placed in permanent foster care. Neither the circuit court's termination of parental rights nor its commitment of the children to the permanent guardianship of the Department is now before us. Rather, we decide whether the circuit court abused its discretion by ordering that the children be placed in permanent foster care. In that regard, we observe that there is no evidence in the record which indicates that adoption would not be in each child's best interests. Instead, it appears from the record that the trial court's selection of permanent foster care, over adoption, was directly related to the court's overt dissatisfaction with the Department. [18] While we sympathize with the circuit court's frustration over any unwarranted delays caused by the Department, we cannot allow innocent children to be arbitrarily deprived of the chance to be adopted, especially when doing so would be contrary to the explicit intent of the Legislature embodied in W.Va.Code § 49-1-1(a) [1997]. Thus, under our holding today, this Court concludes that the circuit court committed error in ordering foster care as a permanent placement for the five children without first trying to secure for each of them a suitable adoptive home. Furthermore, as part of this Court's review of these cases, we entered an order on May 22, 1998, directing the Department to provide to this Court on or before the 21st day of June, 1998, a complete and detailed report on each child presently within the custody of the Department, or its authorized agent, who has not been placed by the Department in permanent foster care, an adoptive home, or with a natural parent, pursuant to the intent of the Legislature outlined in W.Va.Code, 49-1-1, et seq. In addition, we ordered that the Department shall include within its report to this Court a report on the status of all children legally free for adoption through the West Virginia foster care and adoption system. We further ordered that [t]he Department's report should also include an explanation of the endeavors undertaken by the Department to rectify its noncompliance with the law respecting adoption transfers, as set forth in Rule 15420 of the DHHR Social Service Manual.