In Re: G.P., 17-0600

G.P. was born in August 2015 with neonatal withdrawal from exposure to benzodiazepine, amphetamine, and gabapentin (Neurontin); DHHR filed an abuse and neglect petition.
Petitioner (mother L.P.) initially received a safety plan and then an improvement period after stipulating to drug abuse at adjudication in January 2016.
Petitioner violated the safety plan, allowed the child’s father (a known drug abuser) contact in violation of conditions, and was observed appearing impaired during DHHR visits despite producing negative drug screens.
Evidence at disposition included a police finding of a Neurontin bottle not prescribed to petitioner, testimony of drug paraphernalia found by petitioner’s brother, and observations of petitioner’s incoherent behavior.
The circuit court found petitioner continued to abuse drugs, doubted the reliability of her negative screens (noting Neurontin was not routinely screened by the local testing panel), found no reasonable likelihood of improvement, and terminated her parental rights on June 1, 2017.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the circuit court erred by taking judicial notice that Neurontin (gabapentin) is not routinely screened for in the DHHR’s drug panel	L.P.: Judicial notice of that screening practice was improper because it is not a generally known adjudicative fact in the court’s jurisdiction	DHHR/Court: The composition of the local drug‑screen panel is within the court’s knowledge and can be readily determined; judicial notice was proper under Rule 201	Court: Judicial notice appropriate; the panel tested by Barbour County Community Corrections did not routinely include Neurontin; no error in the circuit court’s factual findings or ultimate decision

In Interest of Tiffany Marie S., 196 W.Va. 223, 470 S.E.2d 177 (1996) (standard of review for circuit‑court factual findings in bench trials)
In re Cecil T., 228 W.Va. 89, 717 S.E.2d 873 (2011) (restating standard for reviewing circuit court findings in abuse/neglect proceedings)