Background
The West Virginia Department of Human Services filed an abuse-and-neglect petition in March 2025 alleging that V.H. and the children’s father maintained an unsafe, unsanitary home filled with trash and clutter, with odors of cat urine and kerosene. The petition also alleged accessible ammunition and knives, poor hygiene for some children, and educational neglect and truancy involving three children.
The circuit court ordered V.H. to participate in parenting and adult-life-skills services, drug and alcohol screening, and supervised visitation. She tested positive for marijuana at the preliminary hearing and again after adjudication. Although the court continued services for two additional weeks after V.H. failed to appear at the start of the adjudicatory hearing, she did not participate in any services or respond to providers’ contact attempts. At disposition, she sought more time; the court terminated her parental rights.
The Court’s Holding
The Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed. V.H. was not entitled to an improvement period because she did not file the written motion required by West Virginia Code § 49-4-610. In any event, the record showed that she had been given time and repeated opportunities to engage in services but failed to participate in any of them.
The Court also held that termination, rather than a less restrictive disposition or guardianship, was supported by the evidence. V.H. made no effort to remedy the conditions, did not acknowledge problems to address, and therefore demonstrated no reasonable likelihood that she could substantially correct the abuse-and-neglect conditions in the near future. Termination was necessary for the children’s welfare, and adoption remained the preferred permanent placement.
Key Takeaways
- A parent must file a written motion to obtain an improvement period under West Virginia’s abuse-and-neglect statute.
- Failure to participate in offered services and to acknowledge underlying problems supports a finding that conditions cannot be substantially corrected.
- When that finding and the children’s welfare support termination, a court need not use a less restrictive alternative such as guardianship.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces that additional time is not warranted simply because a parent requests it at disposition. Courts may proceed to termination where the parent has received service referrals and clear notice but does not engage.
It also underscores West Virginia’s preference for adoption over legal guardianship when termination is justified and adoption is the permanency plan.