Maryland Family Law Maryland family law opinions and commentary

CINA — Change in permanency plan — Custody/guardianship to adoption This appeal arises from an order issued by the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, sitting as a juvenile court, which changed the permanency plan for J.J. (born November 2012), ...

CINA — Dismissal by Social Services — Need for a hearing Whenever the placement of a minor is at issue, the guiding light of our analysis is the best interests of the child. In this appeal, we are asked to ...

CINA — Trial home visit — Documentation In September 2018, the Circuit Court for Calvert County, sitting as the juvenile court, found that R.V., Jr. (“Child”) was a child in need of assistance and placed him in the care and ...

CINA — Termination of parental rights — Aggressive and criminal conduct On August 1, 2019, the Circuit Court for Harford County granted guardianship of one-year-old O. to the Harford County Department of Social Services, with the right to consent to ...

CINA — Neglect — Sufficiency of the evidence In an order dated May 16, 2019, and docketed on May 20, 2019, the Circuit Court for Frederick County, sitting as a juvenile court, found that 11-year-old A. was a child in ...

CINA — Ineffective assistance of counsel — Failure to raise due process concerns Following the adjudicatory and dispositional hearings, the Circuit Court for Cecil County, sitting as a juvenile court, found J.R.1 to be a Child in Need of Assistance ...

CINA — Termination of parental rights — Reasonable efforts at reunification This appeal arises after the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, in a February 8, 2019 Opinion and Order, terminated the parental rights of appellant, R.C. (“Mother”), in her three ...

CINA — Award to maternal grandparents — Factual findings Sitting as a juvenile court, the Circuit Court for Baltimore County ordered custody and guardianship of K.W., Jr. (“K.W.”)—who had previously been found to be a Child in Need of Assistance ...

CINA — Mother’s 5th Amendment privilege — Negative inference This appeal arises from an order of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, sitting as a juvenile court, finding respondent child T.G. to be a Child in Need of Assistance (“CINA”)1 ...

CINA — No-contact order — Best interests of children The Baltimore County Department of Social Services (the “Department”) filed, in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, petitions on behalf of five children, alleging that they were children in need of ...