Court Opinion

ID: 9704455
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 00:36:26.927476+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:02.580185
License: Public Domain

WINANS, Justice
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. The conduct of the mother does not warrant the degree of state intervention pursued in this case. While I recognize that the conditions described reflect a less than ideal environment for this child, the environment provided was not so deficient that it amounted to neglect.
It is the duty of the court to determine the delicate balance between the fundamental right of parents to their children and the legitimate state interest in protecting children within its borders. The best interests of the child must be kept paramount. In re K.D.E., 1973, 87 S.D. 501, 210 N.W.2d 907. We are not to decide whether someone other than the parent is better able to care for the child, nor are we to insure that the child has a perfect home. Many homes fall short of perfection. I do not think that the legislature intended that parents be deprived of even temporary custody of their children *652merely because they are not able to furnish an environment we would wish all children to have. The court’s duty is to decide if the environment provided is so imperfect that it amounts to neglect of the child. In re Rinker, 1955, 180 Pa.Super. 143, 117 A.2d 780; Blow v. Lottman, 1953, 75 S.D. 127, 59 N.W.2d 825.
The trial court found that D.K. was without the care necessary to his health and welfare; that his mother failed to provide for his special medical needs; and that his mother did not feed him the diet prescribed by the doctor. This, according to the majority, constituted a lack of proper parental care and a failure to provide proper or necessary subsistence, medical care or any other care necessary to the child’s health and well-being. Essentially this is a restatement of the broad statutory standards for neglect found in SDCL 26-8-6. Admittedly the statutory standards in this type of case must be broad, but those legislative guidelines must not be so broad that they permit ad hoc judicial determinations as to what conduct falls within the statute’s purview. To justify judicial intervention into the time-honored parent-child relationship we should require that some minimum threshold level of deficient conduct be established. The conduct reflected by the record, while less than perfect in several regards, does not rise to that minimum level of deficiency.
The evidence showed that on occasion the house was dirty, D.K. was in wet diapers, and there was a smell of urine in the air. The baby was fed several times by propping the bottle. The child has a history of typical childhood diseases — diaper rash, colds, bronchitis, croup. The doctor’s testimony was that the congenital lung defect might lower resistance to such viral infections. He expressed the same opinion as to wet diapers. He concluded that the child needed special attention because of this and recommended that the child be kept out of crowds, that his diet be observed, and that he be kept clean.
The record contains no evidence that the mother subjected the child to crowds. The child was placed on a special diet in December, 1974. Assuming that the mother was informed of the diet at this time, a fact that is hardly clear from the record, the evidence shows only one occasion that the child was actually ill because the diet was not followed, that being when the child was fed orange juice. This is certainly not overwhelming support for the finding that the mother failed to follow the prescribed diet.
The record showed that food was a problem for this family; that is certainly not unusual for families forced to subsist on government aid. Although I am deeply troubled by the one instance when the child was without food for 24 hours, the record demonstrates that on other occasions the mother was able to secure food for her family from other sources, including the welfare department. Indeed the doctor’s records reflect at several points his observation that the child was well-nourished.
The trial court found that the mother failed to provide for the special medical needs of her child. The record shows that she brought the child to the hospital five of the six times he was there. Surely that indicates some concern for the child’s health. In fact the doctor testified that he thought the mother might be oversensitive to the child’s health problems.
Even assuming the standards found in SDCL 26-8-6 are not impermissibly broad, I do not feel the preponderance of the evidence supports a finding of neglect. Many of the deficiencies noted exist in many homes across the state. We should exercise great caution before we impose the practical standards of the wealthy and educated on the poor and less educated segments of our society.
The trial court did not consider less intrusive measures as a possible solution. Nor is there any indication that the court considered possible harm to the child brought about by separation from his mother. I would find that these are factors that must be considered before the state can justify interference with family life.
Examination of cases in this area of the law shows that while the conditions relied *653on by the trial court in this case have been considered by other courts, none has relied solely on similar facts to justify a finding of neglect. Typically factors like a dirty house and wet diapers are accompanied by other circumstances which cause the court to consider whether the situation is one that warrants judicial interference. See In re K.D.E., supra (physical abuse and isolation from other family members); Matter of D.T., 1975, S.D., 237 N.W.2d 166 (hunger, beating, and dirty clothing among other things); In re P.L.H., 1972, 86 S.D. 564, 199 N.W.2d 587 (abandonment and alcoholism); In re Raya, 1967, 255 Cal.App.2d 260, 63 Cal.Rptr. 252 (parental immorality); In Interest of Kinkner, 1974, 191 Neb. 367, 216 N.W.2d 165 (dirty home, smell of urine, dirty dishes, immoral climate, and danger of physical abuse by nonparent); In re Rinker, supra (immorality, condition of home, leaving children alone, and alcoholic excesses). These cases demonstrate that a minimum threshold of deficient conduct must be crossed before intervention by the long arm of the state is justified. I do not believe there is justification for the degree of interference present in this case and would therefore reverse.