In re B.G.
Annotate this CaseB.G. was born in September 2006. Mother and father separated in 2007. B.G. has a younger half-sister, C.B., born in August 2009. Mother’s relationships with B.G.’s father and her two subsequent partners, including C.B.’s father, were abusive. In 2010, mother was prescribed pain medication, and this led to a heroin addiction. Mother often left B.G. with his paternal grandfather and step-grandmother. In 2011, when mother planned to move to New York, grandparents began caring for B.G. full time. B.G.’s step-grandmother has been responsible for all interactions with school, doctors, dentists, and counselors. Mother did not participate in any of these aspects of B.G.’s life. B.G. witnessed the domestic violence in mother’s relationships even after 2011 when his time with mother was quite limited. In January 2014, the court removed C.B. from mother’s home. The court issued a Temporary Custody Order transferring custody of the half-sister to grandparents with protective supervision by the Department for Children and Families (DCF). There was no order issued pertaining to B.G., but the court noted that there was an agreement reached by DCF, mother, and step-grandmother that if mother tried to remove B.G. from step-grandmother’s care, DCF would be notified and would seek a conditional custody order. Mother did not progress past supervised visits with C.B. In January 2015, the State filed a petition alleging B.G. was CHINS for lack of proper parental care. Mother appealed the family court’s order concluding that B.G. was a child in need of care or supervision (CHINS), arguing that the court erred in finding that B.G. was abandoned or without proper parental care because mother made arrangements for B.G.’s care. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the CHINS adjudication on the basis that B.G. was abandoned.
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