In re R.I.S. & A.I.S. Appeal of C.S., Father. In the Interest of R.I.S. & A.I.S. Appeal of C.S., Father

Summary

The Court reversed the Superior Court’s order terminating Father’s parental rights because the Superior Court improperly treated the fact and length of his incarceration as evidence conclusively establishing parental incapacity and substituted its judgment for the trial court’s supported findings. The Court also reversed the goal-change ruling but remanded for a separate merits analysis because goal-change and termination proceedings require distinct inquiries. Justice Saylor, Justice Baer, and Justice Todd concurred in the result while expressing differing concerns about the incarceration rule, the best-interests analysis, or the standard of review; Justice Orie Melvin, dissenting, would have permitted incarceration and its length to support termination when considered with the statutory factors and the children’s need for permanency.