MOM PREFERRED LIVING IN A TRAILER
After the Delaware County Supreme Court found neglect and directed placement of her 16-year-old child with the local Department of Social Services, the mom appealed.
Apparently, the mother and child lived in a “multibedroom trailer,” with her boyfriend and his family members, along with some three rabbits and “multiple dogs and cats.” When a caseworker visited the family, a “strong smell of urine and feces” was noted. In addition, the boyfriend’s father was allegedly “verbally abusive” to the mother and child, with the latter being exposed to individuals who had been found to have committed a “sex offense,” or had “sexually abused a child.” The youngster is also reported to have posted “sexually explicit pictures on social media and had sexual conversations with an adult,” “hid a knife under her mattress, brought a knife to school and was cutting herself with glass pieces.” While the kid was in counseling, the mother wasn’t supportive of that effort, calling it a "waste of gas." And despite being offered relocation to another residence, the mother declined such services, purportedly because she was unable to take her pets.
Given that backdrop, the Appellate Division, Third Department, concluded that the Family Court’s neglect and placement determinations had a “sound and substantial basis.” It agreed that that record supported the conclusion that the child’s “physical and mental condition were impaired while she was in [her mother’s] care,” and that the mother “failed to exercise a minimum degree of care in providing the child with proper supervision.”
No point trailing that any further.
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DECISION