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REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND

No. 586 September Term, 2009

IN RE: ADOPTION/GUARDIANSHIP OF CHADEN M.

Salmon, Zarnoch, Sharer, J. Frederick (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.

Opinion by Sharer, J.

Filed: December 1, 2009

In the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Division of Juvenile Causes, the Baltimore City Department of Social Services ("the Department") filed a Petition for Guardianship with the Right to Consent to Adoption or Long Term Care Short of Adoption ("the Petition"), seeking to terminate the parental rights of April C. and Saint Sydney M. to Chaden M. April C., represented by an attorney from the Office of the Public Defender, filed an objection to the Petition, but did so beyond the time provided by the juvenile court's Show Cause Order. The Department successfully moved to strike that late objection and the court granted guardianship to the Department. April C. and Chaden M . now contend in this Court that April C. received ineffective assistance of counsel, and is entitled to reversal.
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Deciding an issue of first impression, we shall hold that, where there is a right to assistance of counsel in a termination of parental rights case, that right includes the right to the effective assistance of counsel. We also conclude that April C. received ineffective assistance of counsel because of the late filing, and shall remand this case in order to permit April C. to file a belated objection to the Petition.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Chaden M. was born on January 14, 2006, the son of April C. and Saint Sydney M.2 On January 3, 2007, for reasons not stated in the record, Chaden M. was placed in foster care

In her brief, April C. asks: "[D]id Appellant receive ineffective assistance of counsel where her attorney failed to properly object to the petition for guardianship within the requisite time period?" Chaden M.'s father, Saint Sydney M., has not filed a brief in this Court. He eventually, albeit conditionally, consented to the guardianship, provided that Chaden M. was adopted by Evelyn M.
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with the Department. Thereafter, on February 28, 2007, again for reasons not stated in the record, Chaden M. was found to be a Child In Need of Assistance ("CINA"), and committed to the care and custody of the Department. On December 1, 2008, the Department filed the Petition that is the subject of this appeal, alleging that April C. may have a disability that made her incapable of consenting to the Petition, or participating in the guardianship/termination proceeding. The Petition alleged that the nature of April C's disability was related to mental health issues. That same day, the juvenile court issued a Show Cause Order to April C. ("Show Cause Order"), warning her that:

2. RIGHT TO OBJECT; TIME FOR OBJECTING. If this Order is served on you by February 2, 2009, and if you wish to object to the guardianship, you must file a notice of objection with the Clerk of the Court at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, 300 North Gay Street, Room A3320, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202 within 30 days after this Order is served on you. For your convenience, a form notice of objection is attached to this Order. WHETHER THE PETITION REQUESTS ADOPTION OR GUARDIANSHIP, IF YOU DO NOT MAKE SURE THAT THE COURT RECEIVES YOUR NOTICE OF OBJECTION ON OR BEFORE THE DEADLINE STATED ABOVE, YOU HAVE AGREED TO A TERMINATION OF YOUR PARENTAL RIGHTS.
Pertinent to the issues on appeal, the Show Cause Order also informed April C. that she: (a) had a right to consult an attorney; (b) may have already had an attorney appointed for her based on statements in the Petition; and, (c) may be entitled to have an attorney appointed by the court on certain grounds, including, but not limited to, the following:

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You are a parent of the person to be adopted or for whom a guardian is sought and: A. You are under 18 years of age; or B. Because of the disability, you are incapable of consenting to the adoption or guardianship or of participating effectively in the proceeding; or C. You object to the adoption and cannot afford to hire an attorney because you are indigent. The Show Cause Order then warned: IF YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE ENTITLED TO HAVE THE COURT APPOINT AN ATTORNEY FOR YOU AND YOU WANT AN ATTORNEY, YOU MUST NOTIFY THE COURT BEFORE THE TIME YOUR NOTICE OF OBJECTION MUST BE FILED. IF YOU DO NOT MAKE SURE THAT THE COURT RECEIVES YOUR NOTICE OF OBJECTION ON OR BEFORE THE DEADLINE STATED, YOU HAVE AGREED TO A TERMINATION OF YOUR PARENTAL RIGHTS. On the same day the Petition and Show Cause Orders were filed, the Department also filed a Request for the Appointment of an Attorney to represent April C. Two days later, on December 3, 2008, April C. was personally served with the Show Cause Order and Petition. Additionally, April C.'s attorney, Cheryl Jeanine Smith, of the Office of the Public Defender, entered her appearance the same day. 3

The record, as well as the Department's brief in this Court, indicates that Cheryl Jeanine Smith was April C.'s CINA attorney. The Department indicates that Ms. Smith was served pursuant to Md. Code (1984, 2006 Repl. Vol.),

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