Opinion ID: 2057155
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Magistrate Judge's Findings

Text: The trial court decided to waive appellant's consent to the adoption because it found that her conduct demonstrate[d] that she ha[d] no interest in parenting [De.H.] and ha[d] not taken the necessary steps to develop or maintain a parental relationship with [De.H.] Indeed, CFSA's initial goal for De.H. was to place her temporarily with her aunt, P.H., while appellant took advantage of parenting classes, psychological services, and help obtaining public benefits. Appellant failed to undertake the parenting classes, however, and she did not secure a psychological evaluation until almost three years after CFSA removed De.H. from her care. Further, appellant failed to take full advantage of her supervised visits with De.H. Ultimately, De.H.'s permanency goal was changed to adoption once it was determined that she could neither be reunified with appellant nor placed with a suitable relative. When CFSA initially placed De.H. with N.N.N. in March 2003, De.H. was dirty and had ten cavities. She also lacked personal possessions and had a limited vocabulary. N.N.N., an honorably discharged member of the United States armed forces, who was employed as a dental hygienist at the time of De.H.'s placement, acted immediately to address De.H.'s most pressing physical and developmental needs. N.N.N. had De.H.'s cavities treated, enrolled De.H. in preschool, provided De.H. with speech and individual therapy, and personally worked with De.H. to improve her speech and vocabulary on a daily basis. De.H.'s social workers corroborated N.N.N.'s efforts, testifying that N.N.N. provided De.H. with a stable home and a needed emotional connection. Further, Kinder Care, De.H.'s pre-school and after-school-care provider, described De.H. as academically, emotionally, and socially well-adjusted, and noted that N.N.N. and De.H. were bonding well. N.N.N. also ensured that De.H. maintained contact with her siblings. Although supervised visits between De.H. and appellant resumed three months after De.H.'s placement with N.N.N., there was little interaction between the two during these visits. N.N.N. initiated phone calls between De.H. and appellant, but appellant often cut the calls short. These conversations seldom lasted more than five minutes. The magistrate judge also found that appellant voluntarily failed to contribute to [De.H.'s] support during the six months preceding N.N.N.'s filing of the petition for adoption.