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An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.

NO. COA10-641 NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS Filed: 21 December 2010 IN THE MATTER OF: S.R.K., Minor Child Buncombe County No. 08 JT 321

Appeal by respondent-father from judgment entered 25 February 2010 by Judge Gary S. Cash in Buncombe County District Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 22 November 2010. John C. Adams, for petitioner-appellee Department of Social Services. M. Carridy Bender, for Guardian ad Litem. Staples Hughes, Appellate Defender, by Wendy C. Sotolongo, Parent Representation Coordinator, and Peter Wood, for respondent-appellant father. MARTIN, Chief Judge. Respondent-father appeals from the trial court's order Buncombe County

terminating his parental rights to the minor child, S.R.K., on the grounds of neglect and failure to legitimate the child.1 He

challenges both grounds as being unsupported by the evidence and contends the trial court abused its discretion in determining that

The trial court's judgment also terminated the parental rights of the child's mother; however, she did not appeal and is therefore not a party to this appeal.

1

-2termination of his parental rights is in the best interests of the minor child. We affirm.

Respondent-father is the biological father of S.R.K., who was born in September 2004. respondent-father was A few days prior to the child's birth, incarcerated pursuant to a judgment

sentencing him to a term of eight years, nine months. expected release date is 11 November 2011.

His current

The Buncombe County Department of Social Services ("DSS") became involved in this case in 2005 upon allegations of substance abuse by the child's mother. DSS investigated various reports of

domestic violence in the home, substance abuse issues, and improper care of the child and her siblings on several occasions. On 29

November 2007, the minor child was placed in a kinship placement with maternal relatives. On 23 September 2008, DSS filed a juvenile petition alleging the minor child was neglected due to living in an environment injurious to her welfare. The allegations in the petition detail

the mother's substance abuse problems and incidents of domestic violence between the mother and her boyfriend. The minor child was adjudicated neglected at a hearing held on 4 December 2008, where respondent-father and the child's mother each stipulated to the adjudication. At a hearing held on 16 February 2009, the trial court granted custody of the minor child to DSS. The minor child was thereafter At a hearing held on 11 a permanent plan of

placed in a foster home with her siblings. March 2009, the trial court authorized

-3guardianship with a concurrent plan of adoption, but changed the permanent plan to adoption after a hearing held on 1 July 2009. On 28 August 2009, DSS filed a and petition alleged to the terminate following

respondent-father's

parental

rights

grounds: (1) neglect pursuant to N.C.G.S.

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