In re Destiney L., et al.
Annotate this CaseIn 2007, a family court justice terminated a mother's rights to her two children. The mother appealed, arguing (1) the trial justice erred in finding that the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) proved by clear and convincing evidence that she failed to cooperate with services, that she was an unfit parent, and that it was in the children's best interests that mother's parental rights be terminated; and (2) the trial justice erred in determining that DCYF made reasonable efforts to encourage and strengthen the parental relationship. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial justice was not clearly wrong when she concluded that the mother's successful completion of a drug-treatment program twenty months after her children were removed from her care was insufficient to rebut a presumption of chronic substance abuse; and (2) because the trial justice terminated the mother's parental rights on the ground of chronic substance abuse, any of DCYF's shortcomings with respect to other problems were only relevant if they contributed to the mother's inability to overcome her difficulties with substance abuse. The Court concluded that because the record gave no indication that the mother was incapable of succeeding with substance-abuse treatment the trial justice did not clearly err.
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