Another PCA on how to close a case

This one is very technical, too. The court terminated supervision and left the child with an uncharged father. Mr. Colbert argues that the court should have weighed the child’s best interest in determining whether to close the case. (The trial judge apparently said on the record that it would be in the child’s best interest to keep the case open, probably so that the child could receive services from the Department.) Says the Department: “Dependency is not meant to continue forever when the child is with a parent who can take care of the child.”

The Third’s questions suggest that it believes the mother can reopen the case whenever she wishes and therefore there’s no harm to her rights here. Mr. Colbert points out that the standards in family court and the lack of services from the Department make the situations not entirely equitable.

The Third PCA’s.