Background
The West Virginia Department of Human Services filed an abuse and neglect petition in September 2024 concerning newborn K.S., who exhibited withdrawal symptoms at birth. The petition alleged that the mother had used methamphetamine during pregnancy and that the father, B.S., had a history of domestic violence against the mother, including a guilty plea to domestic battery in August 2024. Among the specific incidents alleged was a September 2024 episode in which the father poured vodka on the mother. The DHS also noted that the father had previously suffered an involuntary termination of his parental rights to two other children, stemming in part from severe domestic violence.
The circuit court adjudicated the father as an abusive and neglectful parent in December 2024, finding admissions to alcohol abuse, exposure of the child to domestic violence, and the prior termination of rights involving two children due to extreme neglect, malnourishment, domestic violence, and serious physical harm to one child. The court held the father’s motion for a post-adjudicatory improvement period in abeyance pending compliance with ordered services, which included parenting classes, domestic violence counseling, a parental fitness evaluation, and random drug screens.
At a dispositional hearing in June 2025, evidence showed that the father had tested positive for methamphetamine multiple times in January 2025, was arrested for domestic battery against a pregnant girlfriend in February 2025, and remained incarcerated until June 9, 2025—just six days before the hearing. The day after his release, he again tested positive for methamphetamine. His parental fitness evaluation assigned him a “very poor” prognosis due to his refusal to accept responsibility and lack of insight into his behavior. The circuit court found his testimony not credible and “extremely evasive,” denied the improvement period motion, and terminated his parental rights by order dated July 9, 2025.
The Court’s Holding
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia unanimously affirmed the circuit court’s termination order, finding no abuse of discretion in denying the father’s motion for a post-adjudicatory improvement period. The court applied the standard under West Virginia Code § 49-4-610(2)(B), which requires a parent to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he is likely to fully participate in an improvement period. Given the father’s continued domestic violence, repeated positive drug screens, incarceration, and persistent failure to acknowledge his wrongdoing, the court concluded the circuit court’s finding that no improvement was likely was well-supported by the evidence.
The court reiterated the established principle that an improvement period cannot succeed unless the parent first acknowledges the underlying problem. Quoting prior precedent, the court emphasized that failure to acknowledge the existence of the problem “results in making the problem untreatable and in making an improvement period an exercise in futility at the child’s expense.” Because the father remained evasive about his drug use and denied culpability for repeated acts of domestic violence even after completing a domestic violence counseling class, the circuit court properly concluded that granting an improvement period would serve no remedial purpose.
Key Takeaways
- Under W. Va. Code § 49-4-610(2)(B), a parent must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence a likelihood of full participation before a post-adjudicatory improvement period may be granted; the circuit court retains discretion to deny the motion when improvement is not likely.
- A parent’s persistent refusal to acknowledge abusive or neglectful conduct renders the underlying problem untreatable and can independently justify denial of an improvement period and termination of parental rights.
- Continued domestic violence and positive drug tests occurring after the completion of court-ordered services—including a domestic violence class—strongly support a finding that there is no reasonable likelihood conditions of abuse and neglect will be substantially corrected.
- A prior involuntary termination of parental rights to other children, particularly where rooted in the same pattern of conduct, is a significant factor in assessing whether current parental rights should be terminated.
Why It Matters
This decision reinforces the limits of court-ordered improvement periods in West Virginia abuse and neglect proceedings. Where a parent demonstrates an entrenched pattern of domestic violence and substance abuse across multiple families and child welfare cases, and continues that conduct even after receiving services, courts are not required to extend additional opportunities for rehabilitation before moving to termination. The ruling underscores that the child’s need for permanency and safety takes precedence over a parent’s nominal compliance with some services.
For practitioners, the case illustrates how credibility findings at the dispositional stage carry significant weight on appeal under the abuse-of-discretion standard. A parent’s evasive testimony, denial of culpability, and a poor prognosis on a parental fitness evaluation can collectively sustain termination even where the parent points to some participation in ordered services.