In L.B., ___ N.C. App. ___ (March 4, 2026)
Held:
Vacated and Remanded
- Facts: Father appeals the termination of his parental rights on the grounds of neglect, willfully leaving the child in foster care for 12 months without making reasonable progress, and dependency. In an underlying juvenile proceeding, the child was adjudicated neglected and dependent. At the time of the disposition in that case, Father was incarcerated in the county jail and was ordered to comply with the 15-part case plan. Four years later, at a permanency planning hearing, the trial court found Father had been sentenced on federal charges to 33 years of incarceration; had not entered into a case plan with DSS or responded to DSS attempts to contact him; or provided any support or care for the child or visited with the child since before the child’s adjudication. The court ordered a primary plan of adoption with secondary plans of reunification and guardianship. DSS filed a TPR petition, which was granted. Father argues the trial court erred in concluding grounds existed to TPR under G.S. 7B-1111(a)(1) and (a)(2) because the trial court improperly based its conclusion almost entirely on Father’s incarceration.
- Appellate courts review a TPR order to determine “whether the findings of fact are supported by clear[] and convincing evidence and whether those findings of fact support its conclusions of law.” Sl. Op. at 5 (citation omitted).
- Challenged findings are unsupported by the evidence and are disregarded.
- G.S. 7B-1111(a)(1) allows the trial court to TPR where the parent has neglected the juvenile within the meaning of G.S. 7B-101. G.S. 7B-1111(a)(2) allows the trial court to TPR where the parent “has willfully left the juvenile in foster care or placement outside the home for more than 12 months without showing to the satisfaction of the court that reasonable progress under the circumstances has been made in correcting those conditions which led to the removal of the juvenile.” Incarceration is “neither a sword nor a shield in a termination of parental rights.” Sl. Op. at 10 (citation omitted). Appellate precedent prohibits terminating parental rights based on a respondent parent’s incarceration alone.
- The trial court’s findings are insufficient to support a conclusion Father neglected the juvenile or willfully left the juvenile in a placement for more than 12 months without making reasonable progress to correct the circumstances that led to the child’s removal. The findings concerning Father’s ability to support or provide for the child are expressly based on Father’s incarceration and acknowledge Father’s limited access to services for most of the life of the case due to incarceration at the county jail. The findings also show that at the time of the TPR hearing Father made increased progress on his case plan since his transfer to federal prison and reflect Father’s continued involvement with the child, including maintaining contact with DSS; completing parenting and anger management classes; and sending birthday cards and letters to the child at least monthly for the two years preceding the TPR hearing.
Category:
Termination of Parental RightsStage:
AdjudicationTopic:
Neglect