In Re Cecil T.

Summary

The West Virginia Supreme Court reversed a Logan County circuit court order denying termination of the parental rights of an incarcerated father in an abuse and neglect proceeding brought by DHHR and joined by the child's foster parents and guardian ad litem. The Court held that incarceration, while never an automatic ground for termination, may be evaluated as the basis for termination when no other factors bear on the parent's ability to remedy abuse or neglect in the near future, and it deemed unsound the dicta in In re Brian James D. suggesting incarceration per se cannot warrant termination. The Court also held that a circuit court may not create an indefinite "limbo period" deferring permanency until a parent's release, because the eighteen-month permanent-placement requirement of Rule 43 of the West Virginia Rules of Procedure for Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings must be strictly followed except in the most extraordinary circumstances. Finding the record sufficient — the father sold firearms in the infant's presence, left him with an unsafe caregiver, and had no strong bond with the child — the Court remanded for entry of an order terminating parental rights and advancing permanent placement. No separate opinions were filed.