In re J.C., 283 N.C. App. 486 (2022)
Held:
Affirmed in Part
Remanded
- Facts: After a physical altercation between the parents, DSS filed a petition alleging neglect for a juvenile. The parent’s older children were already in DSS custody, which the court relied upon in part in adjudicating the juvenile neglected. After the adjudication, the court entered a dispositional order that continued the child in DSS custody, placed the child with a relative out-of-state, and ordered supervised virtual visitation only. Respondents appeal. This summary focuses on the adjudication.
- The findings of fact are not challenged and are binding on appeal. The court’s conclusion is supported by the findings. Neglect allows the court to consider whether the juvenile lives in a home where another juvenile has been neglected or abused by an adult who regularly lives in the home. That fact alone is not sufficient to support an adjudication of neglect but requires other factors that suggest the abuse or neglect will be repeated. Those factors include domestic violence, substance use, refusal to engage in services or work with DSS, and failing to accept responsibility for prior adjudications. Here, the older children were in DSS custody, and the court found the parents engaged in a physical altercation, refused to allow DSS to access the juvenile as required by the case plan, did not complete DV classes as ordered in the other neglect action.
Category:
Abuse, Neglect, DependencyStage:
AdjudicationTopic:
Neglect