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D.M. v. Walker County Department of Human Resources7/8/2005
sked the aunt and uncle to take B.H., and the aunt and uncle agreed to do so. On February 4, 2003, M.H. was released from the hospital into the care of the aunt and uncle. Following a May 19, 2003, hearing, the juvenile court determined on June 10, 2003, that the children were dependent and awarded custody of them to the aunt and uncle.
Norwood testified that throughout the summer of 2003, both the aunt and the uncle had often expressed doubts about whether they could provide long-term care for the children. On September 23, 2003, in response to the aunt and uncle's requests that the children be removed from their home, DHR petitioned the juvenile court for custody of the children. Following a hearing, the juvenile court determined that the children were dependent, awarded legal custody to DHR, ordered that the parents receive one hour of weekly visitation with the children, and set the case for a permanency hearing. The children were placed with a foster mother whose husband was deployed overseas in military service. DHR asked the aunt to assist the foster mother in caring for the children; according to the aunt, she did so by keeping the children for the foster mother three or four times. The children were in that initial foster-care placement for only a couple of weeks.
Following that initial foster-care placement, the children were placed with another family for approximately a week while a DHR social worker attempted to locate a more permanent placement. According to the aunt, she asked that the children be returned to her home at that time, but she stated that DHR refused to do so. On October 25, 2003, the children were placed with their present foster parents, R.V. and A.V.
On October 16, 2003, the aunt and uncle moved to set aside the court's dependency order, alleging that they had not received notice of the permanency hearing and seeking to be heard in the matter. The juvenile court denied the motion on October 23, 2003, noting that the case was before it "to determine future plans of permanency" and concluding that
"after reviewing all the documents, reviews, and hearing the testimony of qualified social work staff at , ha made every effort to work with this family to rehabilitate and work toward reunification, to consider relative resources, and provide all available services to avoid the minor children coming into foster care. Therefore, the Court finds that has exhausted all possible efforts to work with this family for reunification and is excused from working with this family and excused from providing any further services. It is the recommendation of the Court that continue to finalize their plans for permanency."
The mother filed a motion for a new trial; the juvenile court denied that motion.
On November 10, 2003, the aunt and uncle filed a petition seeking to intervene; on that same date, they also filed a petition seeking custody of the children. The juvenile court conducted a hearing on the aunt and uncle's petition for custody of the children. On February 3, 2004, the juvenile court entered an order in which it did not specifically rule on the motion to intervene, but in which it denied the aunt and uncle's petition for custody of the children. In that order, the juvenile court reiterated the findings it made in the October 23, 2003, order and stated that the best interests of the children would be served by the termination of the parents' parental rights so that the children might be adopted. The aunt and uncle moved the juvenile court to alter, amend, or vacate the February 3, 2004, order denying their petition for custody of the children; the juvenile court denied that motion.
On April 14, 2004
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