Tasha Moneke Harvey v. Lynchburg D.S.S. ( 1999 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Chief Judge Fitzpatrick, Judges Coleman and Bumgardner
Argued at Salem, Virginia
TASHA MONEKE HARVEY, SOMETIMES KNOWN AS
TASHA MONIQUE HARVEY
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 2691-98-3 JUDGE RUDOLPH BUMGARDNER, III
OCTOBER 5, 1999
LYNCHBURG DIVISION OF SOCIAL SERVICES
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF LYNCHBURG
Mosby G. Perrow, III, Judge
Grady W. Donaldson, Jr. (Schenkel &
Donaldson, P.C., on brief), for appellant.
(Joyce M. Coleman, Senior Assistant City
Attorney; Leslie E. Allen, III, Guardian ad
litem for the minor child; Harris, Allen &
Yoder, on brief), for appellee. Appellee
submitting on brief.
Tasha Monique Harvey appeals the termination of her
residual parental rights to her daughter. She argues the
evidence was insufficient to meet the clear and convincing
standard required for termination of parental rights under Code
§ 16.1-283(B). Concluding that the evidence was sufficient, we
affirm the ruling.
We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the
prevailing party below and grant to it all reasonable inferences
fairly deducible therefrom. See Logan v. Fairfax County Dep't
* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, recodifying Code
§ 17-116.010, this opinion is not designated for publication.
of Human Dev., 13 Va. App. 123, 128, 409 S.E.2d 460, 462 (1991).
So viewed, the evidence established that in August 1993 the
juvenile and domestic relations district court found that
Harvey's daughter was an abused and neglected child and removed
her from Harvey's care. The police had been called to a fight
between Harvey, who was only fifteen at the time, and her
mother. As the two fought, Harvey held the four-week-old baby
so her head bounced and wobbled dangerously. Harvey refused to
put her child down when told to do so by the police and
ultimately threw the child towards the police, who had to mace
Harvey to get her under control.
Harvey herself had been placed in foster care in 1990. For
eight years she has received extensive counseling and support
services from the Department of Social Services on a variety of
topics including education, employment, finances, and anger
management. She received more than 600 hours of counseling and
services through the Independent Living Program, which included
parenting classes, medical and financial assistance, and
psychiatric services.
A. James Anderson, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist,
conducted a psychological evaluation of Harvey on April 23,
1996. He concluded that Harvey had limited intellectual
resources, a mixed personality disorder, and a poor
understanding of what is required for appropriate parenting. He
concluded his report by stating, "with a reasonable degree of
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scientific certainty . . . any minor child in Ms. Harvey's care
would be at substantial risk in terms of its health and well
being. Furthermore, Ms. Harvey's condition does not appear
likely to improve much with or without treatment."
Despite the broad range of social services provided, Harvey
did not consistently follow through with plans. She did not
reach her primary goal to complete the GED program and did not
achieve employment. While she had good intentions and was
cooperative, when faced with choices, she resorted to unsuitable
behavior. She missed two appointments in 1997 with her social
worker to discuss permanent placement for her daughter. Despite
financial counseling and assistance, Harvey spent money
impulsively. On a number of occasions social services had to
provide her diapers, food, or formula for her two younger
children.
No evidence indicated that Harvey progressed on issues of
violence. Harvey participated in two knifing incidents and
assaulted a Bon Air staff member. Police made eight calls to
Harvey's residence in the year preceding the termination
hearing. In one incident her boyfriend cut her with a knife.
In another incident Harvey broke some furnishings during a fight
with her mother. As recently as March 1998, a medical neglect
complaint resulted in a finding that she failed to seek proper
medical treatment for one of her children who resided with her.
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Harvey denied having a problem controlling her temper, but
admitted the fight with her mother. She testified that she
planned to get her GED in the fall of 1998 and would have a
parent aide to assist her with the two younger children she had
living with her. Harvey denied needing any further social
services and claimed she was no longer involved with the
boyfriend who knifed her in 1997.
Code § 16.1-283 provides the statutory framework within
which a court may terminate a parent's residual rights.
Termination is appropriate when it is in the child's best
interest, the abuse or neglect is serious, and the mother is
unable or unwilling to remedy the condition that led to the
child's placement in foster care. See Code § 16.1-283(B). It
is in the child's best interest to avoid "interminable delay" in
deciding when, or if, a parent will substantially correct or
eliminate those conditions. See Lecky v. Reed, 20 Va. App. 306,
312, 456 S.E.2d 538, 540 (1995) (citation omitted). Where the
trial court hears evidence ore tenus, its decision is entitled
to great weight and will not be disturbed on appeal unless
plainly wrong or without evidence to support it. See Lowe v.
Dep't of Public Welfare, 231 Va. 277, 279, 343 S.E.2d 70, 73
(1986).
Harvey claims that because she made some progress the
evidence was insufficient to support the finding that she had
not responded to, or followed through with, appropriate remedial
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efforts. Clearly, the abuse that caused Harvey's daughter to be
placed in foster care was serious and life threatening. The
issue was whether Harvey substantially corrected or eliminated
the conditions that resulted in the abuse enabling her daughter
to return to her care within a reasonable amount of time. See
Code § 16.1-283(B).
Dr. Anderson's psychological evaluation of Harvey indicated
that a child in her care would be at substantial risk and that
Harvey had a poor prognosis for improvement, even with
treatment. For more than five years multiple agencies provided
Harvey with comprehensive rehabilitation services. During that
time, Harvey was involved in numerous altercations, some
involving knives, and was the subject of a founded,
medical-neglect complaint involving one of her other children.
Harvey had not substantially corrected or eliminated the
circumstances that caused her daughter's placement in foster
care in 1993. Nothing indicated that the situation would
improve within a reasonable amount of time.
Based on all the evidence, the trial court could reasonably
find by clear and convincing evidence that the conditions that
led to Harvey's abuse of her daughter were not going to change
in the near future despite extensive assistance and services
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provided to her. Accordingly, we affirm the decision to
terminate residual parental rights.
Affirmed.
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