In re T.N.G., 244 N.C. App. 398 (2015)

NC had jurisdiction

• Timeline:
• From birth in 2005 until November 2013, the child resided in North Carolina.
• Father brought child to South Carolina in November 2013 and left her there with his half-brother, who then gave the child to his stepmother, who in May 2015 gave the child to her mother-in-law.
• September 2014, the child’s paternal grandparents were contacted by the last person child was left with, and the paternal grandparents picked up the child and brought her back to live with them in North Carolina.
• October 2014, the paternal grandparents made a report to the county DSS, who filed a petition alleging neglect and dependency.
• The mother and paternal grandparents lived in North Carolina from child’s birth through the date the petition was filed; and with the exception of a ten month period, the child and her father resided in North Carolina.
• At a hearing in October 2014 to address the respondent father’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the UCCJEA, the court found it had temporary emergency jurisdiction under the UCCJEA. Six months after the petition was filed, the child was adjudicated neglected and dependent. Respondent father appeals.
• North Carolina had initial child custody jurisdiction under the UCCJEA, G.S. 50A-201(a)(2). NC was not the home state under G.S. 50A-102(7) when the petition was filed because the child had only been back in NC for a few weeks (versus six months). Although SC had been the child’s home state within six months before the petition was filed, no parent or person acting as a parent resided in SC when the petition was filed as required by G.S. 50-201(a)(1). Neither state was the home state at the time the petition was filed. NC had “significant connection jurisdiction” because:
• the child, both her parents, and the paternal grandparents who were acting as her parent all have a significant connection to NC  and
• there is substantial evidence of the child’s care, protection, training, and personal relationships available in NC.