In re E.W.

1

IN RE: E.W. AND G.W.

Nos. 706-2023, 708-2023

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

November 22, 2023

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF MARYLAND^[*]

Circuit Court for Worcester County Case Nos C-23-JV-23-000028 & C-23-JV-23-000029

Reed, Beachley, Alpert, Paul E. (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.

OPINION

Beachley, J. Appellant, R.W. ("Father"), appeals the Circuit Court for Worcester County's order finding his two children, E.W. and G.W., children in need of assistance. On appeal, Father presents several questions for our review, which we consolidate and rephrase as follows: Did the court err in finding E.W. and G.W. children in need of assistance?^[1] Finding no error or abuse of the court's discretion, we shall affirm the judgment.

BACKGROUND

Father and L.W. ("Mother")^[2] share two minor sons, E.W. and G.W. G.W. has a rare genetic disorder, is nonverbal, and cannot walk unassisted. On May 5, 2023, the court found that both E.W. and G.W. were children in need of assistance ("CINA") under Md. Code Ann., Courts and Judicial Proceedings ("CJP") § 3-819, awarded custody to Mother under the protective supervision of the Department of Social Services ("DSS"), and granted supervised visitation to Father. The relevant facts before the court were as follows.

The family originally came to the attention of DSS in September of 2021, after Mother called 911 and reported that Father had strangled her and lifted her "off the floor by [her] neck" before fleeing the family home with G.W., then two years old. Police located Father and pulled him over after he ignored lawful orders to stop. Police approached the vehicle and noticed that G.W. was unrestrained in the back seat. Father was charged with several offenses, including first and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He pled guilty to the charge of attempting to elude a uniformed police officer by failing to stop and received probation before judgment, with one year of unsupervised probation.

Several months later, in March of 2022, a dispute occurred which resulted in a "loose board that was leaning against the wall" falling and hitting E.W. on his chest. Both Mother and Father sought and received protective orders as a result of the incident. Mother then reported that Father came to the home multiple times in violation of her temporary protective order. During one visit, an argument arose between Mother and Father while Mother's mother, T.M., was present. After the children were taken upstairs in order to be removed from the argument, Father reportedly pushed T.M. against a bathroom door before leaving the home with E.W.

In April of 2022, Mother called police after Father reportedly "dragged [Mother] out of the house into the front yard," and "kicked her approximately four times."

In December of 2022, Mother called police and reported that Father had "overdosed on Adderall." When police arrived at the home, Mother claimed Father was "sitting in front of the bedroom door[,]" preventing her exit. Father let the officers inside and stated that he had a legal prescription for Adderall. Police attempted to deescalate the situation by asking Father to leave the home. Father declined, and Mother and the children left to stay in a hotel for the evening.

In January of 2023, a dispute arose where Father reported that Mother had stolen his phone, computer, and car keys. Mother reported that she was lying in bed with G.W. when Father dragged her out of bed and across the bedroom floor, causing a glass to fall from the nightstand and hit her on the head. Mother and Father again sought protective orders against each other.

On February 13, 2023, Mother returned home from a trip to Mexico and noticed that it looked like G.W.'s diaper had not "been changed all day." Father reportedly became enraged about Mother "being late and lying to him." Father flipped a coffee table over, "which almost hit" E.W., and broke a bowl.

The following day, while the children were at school, Mother and Father got into yet another argument, which resulted in Father reportedly throwing Mother on a bed and sitting on her chest. Mother testified that Father held her face "sideways against the bed" for an "extended period of time[,]" and that she had "never been so scared for not being able to breathe." That same day, E.W. reported the previous day's incident to school personnel. At DSS's request, Mother sought and received an additional protective order against Father.

On March 7, 2023, Mother reported that Father came to the home in violation of the protective order and "flipped over the dining room table and dishes went everywhere." She stated that she took the children to a separate floor in the home, where Father thereafter "shoved everything off their in-home bar causing glass to shatter everywhere." Shards of glass almost hit G.W.^[3]

On March 10, 2023, Mother reported that Father again came to the home in violation of the protective order. Mother called the police, but Father left before they arrived.

On March 17, 2023, a dispute occurred between Mother and Father during an exchange of the children. Father filed for a protective order and, for reasons unclear from the record before us, was given custody of the children and possession of the home until March 24, 2023. Child Protective Services ("CPS") investigator Leslie Valerio testified that during that time, E.W. reported that his Father was sleeping and could not be awakened, and that he and G.W. had not eaten and were hungry. On March 24, 2023, Ms. Valerio conducted a welfare check on E.W. and G.W. after receiving a referral with "concerns for [E.W.'s] and [G.W.'s] safety." The house was described as "trashed" and smelling "of garbage and urine[,]" with a "moldy baby bottle on the counter" and "dirty diapers on the floor[.]"

That day, at the suggestion of CPS, Father agreed to a safety plan where the children would live with Father's parents in Wicomico County. The children remained at Father's parents' home until March 31, 2023, when the court presiding over Father's protective order case restored custody of the children to Mother, and granted Father supervised visitation.

On April 12, 2023, Mother and Father appeared before the court for matters relating to custody of the children. A representative from DSS was present at the hearing. The court issued an order granting primary custody of E.W. and G.W. to Mother, with visitation to Father, on the condition that he comply with the recommendations of DSS.^[4] Following the hearing, a DSS representative approached Mother and Father with an updated safety plan providing, in part, supervised visitation for Father. Mother agreed to the safety plan, but Father refused, responding that "he was not going to be supervised for his visitation with his children."

Accordingly, on April 13, 2023, DSS authorized emergency shelter care for both children and filed a petition for continued shelter care, initiating the matter presently before us. On April 17, 2023, the court held a shelter care hearing and granted shelter care for E.W. and G.W., with temporary custody to Mother and supervised visitation to Father.

On May 5, 2023, the court held a CINA adjudication and disposition hearing. The court heard from Ms. Valerio, Mother, Father, and Mother's sister. Father disputed that the children were CINA and requested that the court instead amend the previously issued custody order "to whatever the [c]ourt deems is in the best interest of the kids." Mother also disputed the children were CINA, but acknowledged that she and Father had both "made mistakes[,]" and expressed interest in relocating with E.W. and G.W. to Georgia to be closer to family. Mother's sister testified that she lived with Mother and Father for over a year and that their relationship was "very abusive." Mother's sister also recounted an incident at their home where E.W. sought her help due to a physical altercation between Mother and Father where he saw Father "pushing on [Mother's] neck."

DSS maintained that both Mother and Father had been neglectful of the children and recommended that the court find the children CINA. In response to a question about the allegations against Mother, Ms. Valerio testified that the

concerns are that they can't leave each other alone, including [Mother]. They go -- continue to go back and forth in the text messages. She is guilty of that also. So my concern is that [Mother] can't properly protect the children from [Father] due to her own [domestic violence] cycle with him[.]

Counsel for E.W. and G.W. also maintained that Mother did not have the "ability to protect these children because of her own domestic situation, and, therefore, the children are neglected."

The court found that Mother was "in need of trauma-based therapy, [and] that in the absence of trauma-based therapy, I don't think she can protect the children." In particular, the court expressed concern that Mother did not prioritize her children's best interests when she withdrew her most recent temporary protective order from February 14, 2023, over concerns of its potential impact on Father's license to practice law.^[5] After the court determined that the children were CINA as a result of parental neglect, it granted custody to Mother under the protective supervision of DSS with supervised visitation to Father. Father timely filed this appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

"There are 'three distinct but interrelated standards of review' applied to a juvenile court's findings in CINA proceedings." In re J.R., 246 Md.App. 707 730 (2020) (quoting In re Adoption/Guardianship of H.W., 460 Md. 201, 214 (2018)). First, we review the court's factual findings for clear error. Id. (citing In re Adoption/Guardianship of Amber...