In re A.H., ___ N.C. ___ (March 22, 2024) (per curiam)
Held:
Affirmed in Part
Remanded
Reversed in Part
There is a dissent
by Earls, J.
- Facts and procedural history: A 9-year-old child was adjudicated neglected and dependent based on an incident occurring after being picked up by her Father from the bus stop after school. Upon engaging in a disagreement with her Father, where father said she was going to get a whooping, the child exited the truck before reaching their destination. The Father followed the child in his truck, but because of the neighborhood and hauling a trailer, could not keep up. Father pursued the child on foot until she reached a cross road and he turned back to return to the two other minor step-siblings remaining in the truck. Another driver saw the child run across a road, nearly being struck by a large truck, while also observing Father turning back and walking away. The driver followed the child who was visibly upset and claimed to be afraid of her Father and called the police. Following a DSS investigation spanning a couple of hours that same afternoon, DSS filed a petition alleging neglect and dependency. Father did not contact DSS between the time of the investigation and before the filing of the petition, though Father testified he later saw the child who he determined was safe upon observing her with a crowd. Within an hour of dropping the other two minors off with a relative, father contacted his wife who informed him that the child was in DSS custody. Father appealed the adjudication and subsequent disposition order placing the child with DSS, contending that the findings were unsupported by the evidence and/or inadequate to support the adjudication. The court of appeals determined several findings were unsupported by the evidence and the remaining findings were insufficient to support a legal conclusion of neglect, ultimately reversing the trial court’s neglect adjudication. Based on a dissent, the case was appealed to the supreme court.
- The supreme court reversed the court of appeals decision regarding the trial court’s adjudication of the child as neglected for reasons stated in the dissenting opinion, 289 N.C. App. 501 (2023), and remanded to the court of appeals to further remand to the trial court for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. The dissent determined that there are sufficient challenged findings to support the conclusion of neglect. Father knew the child ran into a busy road, later left her on the side of the road, and did not attempt to check on her well-being. A child’s treatment that falls below normative societal standards is considered neglectful but “not every act of negligence on the part of the parent results in a neglected juvenile.” 289 N.C. App. at 519. There must be actual or substantial risk of mental, emotional, or physical harm to the juvenile. The question is not whether a single isolated incident can support a conclusion of neglect but rather whether the trial court findings support the conclusion under the totality of the evidence for this particular case. Here, the child was at substantial risk of harm and was left in a environment injurious to her welfare.
- Dissent, Earls. J.: The decision of the court of appeals should be affirmed as the trial court’s findings that were supported by clear and convincing evidence do not support the adjudication of the child as neglected. “While a single act of negligence severe enough to cause significant harm to a child and indicative of the likelihood that future harm would result can constitute neglect, it is not the case that ‘treatment of a child which falls below the normative standards imposed upon parents by our society’ is sufficient to justify a finding that the child is neglected.” Sl. Op. at 11. “[I]solated incidents of neglect, even if the potential for serious injury is present, do not meet the statutory threshold for a finding of neglect.” Sl. Op. at 12. The court of appeals dissenting opinion erroneously referred to the appellate court’s review of the totality of the evidence to determine whether the trial court’s findings support the court’s conclusion of neglect.
Category:
Abuse, Neglect, DependencyStage:
AdjudicationTopic:
Neglect