DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, PETITIONER,
v.
J.H. AND L.H., PARENTS OF J.H., A CHILD, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal reviewed a trial court order denying DCF's petition to terminate parental rights and ordering the immediate return of a child to parents in Alabama. The appellate court found the trial court's order defective due to lack of findings of fact and conclusions of law, violation of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, internal inconsistencies, and an inadequate record, resulting in quashing the order and remanding for a new adjudicatory hearing.
The appellate court held that the trial court's order was defective and must be quashed for multiple reasons: lack of findings of fact and conclusions of law explaining the determination that allegations of abuse were not established, violation of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children due to failure to obtain advance approval from the receiving state, internal inconsistencies in the dispositional provisions, and an inadequate appellate record due to unintelligible court recordings.
[1] An order directing the return of a child to another state violates the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children when the receiving state has not approved the trans…
[2] A trial court order terminating parental rights must contain findings of fact and conclusions of law to allow for meaningful appellate review.
Previewing 2 of 6 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“In order for there to be meaningful appellate review of a trial court's determination not to terminate parental rights, findings of fact and conclusions of law are essential.”
Establishes the requirement for proper findings and conclusions in parental rights termination cases to enable appellate review
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDCF petitioned to terminate the parental rights of J.H. and L.H. regarding their child J.H. and S.M., alleging serious abuse. The trial court denied t…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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GRIFFIN, J.
Department of Children and Families [“DCF”] seeks review of an order of the trial court that denied DCF’s petition for termination of the parental rights of Respondents, J.H. and L.H., to J.H. and S.M. and orders J.H. immediately returned to the custody of J.H. and L.H., residing in Alabama.
DCF contends that the order is defective in multiple respects. First, the direction to return the child, J.H., to her parents in Alabama was a violation of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, Section 409.401, Florida Statutes (2004) because the receiving state must approve the transfer in advance. See Department of Children and Families v. Benway, 745 So. 2d 437 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999); § 39.521(7), Fla. Stat. (2004). Respondents do not dispute this proposition of law but suggest that DCF could have accommodated this requirement through “visitation,” if it chose to do so. DCF also complains that the order lacks any findings of fact, and apart from the conclusory statement that the “evidence presented does not meet the clear and convincing standard necessary to grant” the petition, there are no conclusions of law. See § 39.809(5), Fla. Stat. (2004). Further, the dispositional provisions of the order appear internally inconsistent. See § 39.811(1), Fla. Stat. (2004).
Finally, both DCF and respondents have complained about the quality of taped recordings of the proceedings below. Respondents assert that the transcript of the hearing at which the trial court ordered the transfer of J.H. to her parents in Alabama is not accurate, and DCF represents that the court reporter has found the tape of the adjudicatory hearing to be unintelligible and useless for preparation of a transcript.
We agree with DCF that the order under review is defective for the reasons outlined above. We are particularly concerned about the lack of factual or legal explanation for the determination that the very serious allegations of abuse contained in the petition weren’t established. In order for there to be meaningful appellate review of a trial court’s determination not to terminate parental rights, findings of fact and conclusions of law are essential. Department of Children and Family Services v. A.D., 904 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005); Department of Children and Family Services v. M.J., 889 So. 2d 986 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004).
Given all the circumstances present, including the lack of findings, the lack of an adequate record, the obvious error in failing to comply with the Interstate Compact and the passage of time, we conclude that the order must be quashed and another adjudicatory hearing should be conducted with proper findings made.
WRIT GRANTED.
ORFINGER and TORPY, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Dep't OF Child. & Families v. Benway, 745 So. 2d 437 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999)
- State of Fla. Dep't OF Child. & Fam. Servs. v. A.D., 904 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)
- Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs. v. M.J., 889 So. 2d 986 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)