Guardian ad Litem Program o/b/o J.H. v. K.H. & Department of Children and Families
The Third District reversed a trial court's involuntary dismissal of DCF's petition to terminate a mother's parental rights under section 39.806(1)(c). The court held that no case plan or services are required where uncontroverted expert evidence shows the parent's lifelong mental illness makes services futile, and that the trial court erred by failing to evaluate the section 39.810 manifest-best-interest factors in a written order, instead resting on the absence of a permanent placement.
Key facts
- Mother sought custody of child J.H.; DCF petitioned to terminate mother's parental rights based on section 39.806(1)(c) grounds, alleging mother's mental illness made her unable to parent.
- Trial court dismissed DCF's petition, finding no case plan or services had been offered to mother and no permanent placement had been identified for the child.
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Why it matters
The opinion supplies a reusable rule for dependency and TPR practitioners: the absence of a case plan is not a per se bar to termination under section 39.806(1)(c) when services would be futile, and a trial court cannot… — full analysis with a trial
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