Jamie Cooks, Sr. v. Albemarle County Department of Social Services, 1270172

Child born July 2014; removed Jan 2016 due to mother's homelessness, substance use, suicidal ideation, and failure to obtain medical care; placed in foster care with his half-brother.
Father (Jamie Cooks, Sr.) last saw the child at six months and lived in Texas; Department located and notified him in Feb 2016 and sought paternity testing and involvement.
Father missed multiple court-ordered and scheduled paternity tests (April, July, Dec 2016, Jan 2017); lab eventually refused further rescheduling. Father first appeared in the matter at the May 2017 JDR termination hearing.
Father acknowledged not reading Department correspondence, admitted no visitation requests or financial support, and only submitted to DNA testing on July 5, 2017 (shortly before the circuit hearing); results were not before the court.
The child was reported to be thriving in foster care, receiving therapy, developmentally on track, and bonded to a half-brother in the same foster home.
JDR court terminated father’s parental rights; circuit court affirmed termination under Va. Code § 16.1-283(C)(1) and approved adoption goal; appeal summarily affirmed by Court of Appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether termination under Code § 16.1-283(C)(1) was proper for failure to maintain contact/plan for child for six months	Father: delay/misinformation about paternity testing excused failures; must complete testing before services/offers	Department/Court: father had notice, opportunities, counsel, and nevertheless failed to request visits, support, or plan for the child	Affirmed: court found father failed without good cause to maintain contact or plan and termination under §16.1-283(C)(1) was proper
Whether termination was in the child's best interests or whether father should be given a chance to establish a relationship	Father: wants child if paternity confirmed; delay in testing should not be held against him	Department/Court: child is bonded to foster family and half-brother; moving to Texas would disrupt stability; father’s past inaction predicts future lack of relationship	Affirmed: court held termination served child’s best interests given lack of relationship and child’s stability in foster care

Martin v. Pittsylvania Cty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 3 Va. App. 15, 348 S.E.2d 13 (1986) (trial court findings on ore tenus evidence entitled to great weight)
Logan v. Fairfax Cty. Dep’t of Human Dev., 13 Va. App. 123, 409 S.E.2d 460 (1991) (child’s best interests are paramount in termination proceedings)
Linkous v. Kingery, 10 Va. App. 45, 390 S.E.2d 188 (1990) (past actions over a meaningful period predict future parent–child relationship)
Frye v. Spotte, 4 Va. App. 530, 359 S.E.2d 315 (1987) (same principle regarding predictive value of past parental conduct)