Judge takes Lenawee County termination petition under advisement, sets adoption as permanency goal and schedules December review

A Lenawee County Probate & Juvenile Court judge on record during a permanency planning hearing took under advisement a request from the county child-welfare agency to terminate the parental rights of Jackie Lomas and Dakota Harmon Duckworth and directed that the child’s permanency goal be adoption, the court record shows.

The decision was not issued from the bench; the judge said the record and exhibits supported the department’s recommendation that the child remain in foster care and that adoption be the goal. The judge set the next review of permanency planning for December 16 at 9 a.m. and said a written opinion on the termination petition would be issued before that hearing or addressed on the record at the review.

Why it matters: termination of parental rights is permanent and irreversible. The child has been in foster care since Aug. 20, 2024, the court record shows, and the department urged the court to order termination after about a year of supervised services and monitored parenting time.

Department argument and evidence Sajah Thomas, counsel for the child-welfare agency, told the court the parents had been offered services and accommodations but "simply are not able to adequately care for this child at this time."…