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DCF defends termination; mother urges remand, panel questions housing and credibility findings
Summary
In Department of Children & Families v. Mother, counsel for the mother argued the trial court relied on mistaken or contradicted facts (housing duration, medication misuse) and improperly substituted its judgment for experts; DCF and child’s counsel urged affirmance, citing pervasive instability and risk to the child's permanency.
Catherine Foster, representing the mother, asked the appeals panel to remand the fitness and best-interest determinations, arguing the trial court gave undue weight to conclusions that contradicted contemporaneous observations from social workers and treating psychiatrists. Foster said the judge credited episodic events (a relapse after a friend’s death, a car chase, prescription irregularities) but ignored evidence that the mother had secured an apartment and engaged in social supports and treatment.
The panel pressed on timing and factual fidelity: the trial judge’s conclusion that the mother had resided in the apartment “approximately five months” at the time of trial conflicted with evidence of an earlier home visit in February. Foster argued this error was not harmless when combined with other contested findings about medication misuse and credibility.
DCF counsel Matthew Price defended the termination order, saying the record showed recurring alcohol misuse, domestic-violence exposure, prescription irregularities, and missed visits that cumulatively supported a finding of unfitness likely to persist; he emphasized the child’s therapeutic needs and the goal of achieving stable permanency.
Child’s counsel supported termination and stressed the child’s expressed desire for a stable placement and evidence of trauma-related symptoms. The panel questioned whether any housing-fact error was prejudicial in light of the court’s broader findings. After argument, counsel rested and the case was submitted.
