Background
The Department of Human Services filed an abuse-and-neglect petition in July 2024 concerning three children, alleging deplorable living conditions, poor hygiene, bruising, substance abuse, and that the parents fled into the woods with the children during the investigation. The petition was later amended to include a newborn who tested positive for buprenorphine and allegations of medical and educational neglect.
The mother stipulated to several forms of neglect and was adjudicated in February 2025. The father was adjudicated in November 2025 based on, among other things, physical abuse, unsuitable housing, flight with the children, and failure to protect them. After dispositional hearings, the circuit court granted both parents post-adjudicatory improvement periods, stating it wanted to see whether their relationship with the children could be restored. The children’s guardian and DHS sought extraordinary relief.
The Court’s Holding
The Supreme Court of Appeals granted a writ of mandamus as moulded. It did not decide whether the parents ultimately should receive improvement periods. Instead, it directed the circuit court to enter an expeditious order with sufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law to permit meaningful appellate review of its May 4, 2026 order.
The circuit court had not found that either parent proved by clear and convincing evidence that he or she was likely to fully participate in an improvement period, nor had it identified the improvement-period terms. It also made no findings supporting an extension beyond the statutory foster-care time limits or addressing whether improvement periods would avoid jeopardizing the children’s best interests.
Key Takeaways
- An order granting a post-adjudicatory improvement period must explain the factual and legal basis for the ruling.
- The court must address the parent’s likelihood of full participation, the improvement-period terms, applicable foster-care time limits, and the children’s best interests.
- When inadequate findings prevent review of a requested writ of prohibition, the Supreme Court may issue mandamus directing a more detailed order.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces that improvement periods in abuse-and-neglect cases require more than a generalized hope for reunification. Trial courts must make record-based findings required by statute and precedent, particularly where children have spent extensive time in foster care and evidence raises safety concerns.
For practitioners, the ruling preserves review of the merits after the circuit court supplies the required analysis; it does not itself resolve whether either parent is entitled to an improvement period.