In re Hannah S.
Annotate this CaseAfter Father’s one-year-old child was hospitalized for ingesting a strip of Suboxone while in Father’s care, Father was removed from the home pursuant to a Department of Health and Human Services safety plan. Father was subsequently arrested and incarcerated. The district court ultimately terminated Father’s parental rights pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. 22, 4055(1)(A)(1)(a) and (B)(2). Father appealed, arguing that the district court impermissibly terminated his parental rights based on his incarceration and that the Department failed to make a meaningful effort at reunifying him with his child. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court properly found that the length of Father’s incarceration rendered him incapable of taking responsibility for the child within a time reasonably calculated to meet the child’s needs; and (2) the district court was not required to address the extent of the Department’s reunification efforts in its finding that Father is unfit.
Court Description: Corrected May 26, 2016 (Errata sheet)
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