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In re Adoption of S.P., 616 Pa. 309, 47 A.3d 817

Facts

G.P. (Father) was incarcerated for the shooting death of his stepfather when his daughter S.P. was born. During his incarceration, the child's mother struggled with substance abuse and domestic issues, leading to the child's dependency status. The father had limited contact with the child and failed to provide financial support while in prison. After a series of foster placements, Children and Youth Services (CYS) filed a petition to terminate the father's parental rights, citing his incapacity to provide care due to his incarceration.

G.P. (“Father”), then nineteen, and B.D. (“Mother”), then approximately seventeen, were involved in an intimate relationship prior to Father's incarceration in December 2004 for the shooting death of his stepfather. While Father was incarcerated, S.P. (“Child”) was born in May 2005.

Issue

Did the Superior Court err in reversing the trial court's termination of the father's parental rights based on the father's incarceration and his efforts to maintain a relationship with the child?

Whether the Superior Court of Pennsylvania failed to apply the proper standard of review by reversing the trial court's order which is supported by the record.

Rule

Under 23 Pa.C.S. § 2511(a)(2), parental rights may be terminated if the parent's repeated and continued incapacity has caused the child to be without essential parental care, and the conditions of incapacity cannot or will not be remedied by the parent.

The rights of a parent in regard to a child may be terminated after a petition filed on any of the following grounds: (2) The repeated and continued incapacity, abuse, neglect or refusal of the parent has caused the child to be without essential parental care, control or subsistence necessary for his physical or mental well-being and the conditions and causes of the incapacity, abuse, neglect or refusal cannot or will not be remedied by the parent.

Analysis

The Supreme Court found that the trial court correctly applied the law by determining that the father's incarceration constituted a repeated and continued incapacity that prevented him from providing essential parental care. The Court emphasized that the father's lack of a relationship with the child and his inability to remedy his situation due to ongoing incarceration justified the termination of his parental rights.

The trial court emphasized that Father had been incarcerated since prior to Child's birth and that he did not have a relationship with Child due to his incarceration. The court stressed that Father had never been able to provide for Child and had not sent Child any of his prison earnings.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court reversed the Superior Court's decision and reinstated the trial court's order terminating the father's parental rights, concluding that it was in the best interests of the child.

Accordingly, we turn to the primary legal issue present in the case: the relevance of incarceration in termination of parental rights decisions under § 2511(a)(2).

Who won?

County Children and Youth Services (CYS) prevailed in the case because the Supreme Court upheld the trial court's findings that the father's incapacity due to incarceration warranted the termination of his parental rights.

CYS asserts that the Superior Court made its own factual findings from the cold transcript, rather than relying upon the facts found by the trial court.

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