2D01-753 / J.T. v. Department of Children & Family Services

State: Florida

Court: Florida Southern District Court

Docket No: 2D01-753

Case Date: 06/28/2002

Plaintiff: 2D01-753 / J.T.

Defendant: Department of Children & Family Services

Preview:NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA SECOND DISTRICT In the Interest of T.B., a child, ) __________________________________ ) ) J.T., ) ) Appellant, ) ) v. ) ) DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND ) FAMILY SERVICES, ) ) Appellee. ) ) Opinion filed June 28, 2002. Appeal from the Circuit Court for Lee County; John S. Carlin, Judge. J.L. "Ray" LeGrande of LeGrande & LeGrande, P.A., Fort Myers, for Appellant. William Byrne Isaacs, Port Charlotte, for Appellee. KELLY, Judge. The appellant, J.T., challenges the final order terminating his parental rights to his son, T.B. We reverse.

Case No. 2D01-753

T.B. was born on February 14, 1997. In May 1998, T.B.'s mother identified J.T. as one of several potential fathers. The Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) waited until the middle of 1999 to perform the statutorily mandated "diligent search" to locate T.B.'s father.1 In 1999, J.T. was serving a five-year prison sentence with a tentative release date of mid-2001. He had been incarcerated since 1996. When the Department located J.T., it told him about T.B., asked his intentions as to the child, and asked him to sign a surrender. J.T. refused, told the Department that he wished to seek custody of T.B., and suggested a relative for placement of the child. After a paternity test, J.T. was adjudicated to be T.B.'s father on March 27, 2000. By then, the Department had already prepared a case plan for J.T. with a goal of adoption. The case plan required no tasks of J.T. The Department also started a home study of J.T.'s cousin for foster care; however, the Department never completed the study. Meanwhile, the court terminated the mother's parental rights and placed T.B. first with his grandmother and then in a foster home with his half-sisters. The foster parents did not intend to adopt T.B. In its petition to terminate J.T.'s parental rights, the Department alleged three grounds for termination: failure to comply with a case plan, conduct threatening the life or well-being of a child, and incarceration. In its order terminating J.T.'s parental rights, the trial court found that the Department had proved each ground for termination. The trial court also found that termination was in T.B.'s best interest.

1

See

Download 2D01-753.pdf