A mother recently appealed a child custody decision in an Ohio court. A county juvenile court recently granted permanent custody to the county Children Services agency after determining that it was not in the best interests of the child to grant child custody to his mother.

The child has been in the custody of the agency and his first foster family since he was 5 months old, nearly three years ago. The boy's father has not been in the picture for a while; his mother is the only parent fighting for custody.

The mother appealed the original decision because her lawyer felt that the juvenile court did not properly consider the boy's relationship with his older brother. The two boys should be able to foster that relationship rather than be separated. However the child's foster mother said the little boy never mentioned his older brother.

The dispute revolved around whether granting custody to the mother would be in the best interests of the little boy. Allegations of an inability to complete alcohol and drug treatment and inconsistent attendance of supervised visitation periods reflect instability in the mother. In regards to her scheduled visits with her son, she only made it to approximately 40 percent of the visits. On some occasions, the boy returned from unsupervised visitations with unexplained injuries.

The mother's many health issues such as arthritis, migraines, depression, bipolar disorder and Type I diabetes may have also swayed the court to rule against her request for custody. With her many medical issues and inability to complete the required programs, the appeals court made their unanimous decision; keeping the child in custody of the agency was in the boy's best interests.

Source: Wilmington News Journal online, "Agency's custody of child upheld," Garry Huffenberger, 26 June 2011