In re R.P., 2015 Ohio 4295

Child R.P., born 2009, was the subject of a Montgomery County Children Services (MCCS) dependency case after MCCS found unsanitary home conditions (filth, roaches, bedbugs/lice, hazardous ceiling, trash) in 2011; dependency adjudicated July 2011.
R.P. entered foster care after MCCS obtained interim temporary custody in May 2012; temporary custody continued through two extensions and MCCS moved for permanent custody on April 29, 2014.
At an August 8, 2014 hearing the magistrate heard testimony from parents, MCCS caseworkers, the parents’ probation officer, a court-appointed psychologist, and the guardian ad litem; magistrate awarded MCCS permanent custody on October 9, 2014.
Trial court overruled parents’ objections on June 16, 2015, finding R.P. had been in MCCS custody for more than 12 of a consecutive 22 months and that permanent custody was in R.P.’s best interest.
Key factual concerns supporting permanent custody: parents’ repeated failure to maintain clean, stable housing and stable, verifiable income; incomplete case-plan compliance (housing, income, mental-health follow-up, releases); recent improvements characterized by MCCS as “too little, too late.”

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Mother/Father)	Defendant's Argument (MCCS)	Held
Whether the trial court’s finding that awarding MCCS permanent custody was in the child’s best interest is against the weight of the evidence	Parents: They are bonded with the child, visited appropriately, made substantial progress (renovated home, obtained some income/engagement, completed some evaluations) and can provide a legally secure placement; progress should preclude permanent custody as “too little, too late.”	MCCS: Parents failed to complete critical case-plan objectives (six months of stable, clean housing; verifiable income; sustained mental-health engagement); prior history of filthy/unsafe homes; child has been in agency custody long and needs a legally secure placement; improvements insufficient and untimely.	Court affirmed magistrate and trial court: best-interest findings supported by clear and convincing evidence; award of permanent custody to MCCS affirmed.

None (the opinion’s precedents cited are unpublished/slip or local appellate docket references without official reporter citations).