In re B.E., C.E., Q.E., C.E., Jr.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA

2022-NCSC-83

No. 137A21

Filed 15 July 2022

IN THE MATTER OF: B.E., C.E., Q.E., C.E., Jr.

Appeal pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7B-1001(a1)(1) (2019) from an order entered on

16 February 2021 by Judge James Randolph in District Court, Rowan County. This

matter was calendared for argument in the Supreme Court on 1 July 2022 but

determined on the record and briefs without oral argument pursuant to Rule 30(f) of

the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Jane R. Thompson for petitioner-appellee Rowan County Department of Social
Services; and Maggie Dickens Blair for appellee Guardian ad Litem.

Christopher M. Watford for respondent-appellant father.

J. Thomas Diepenbrock for respondent-appellant mother.

MORGAN, Justice.

¶1 Respondent-father appeals from the trial court’s order which terminated

respondent-father’s parental rights to his four children: B.E. (Brian),1 a minor child

born in November 2016; C.E. (Cyrus), a minor child born in September 2015; Q.E.

(Quintessa), a minor child born in December 2014; and C.E. Jr. (Craig), a minor child

born in April 2008. Respondent-mother appeals from the same order of the trial court

1 We use pseudonyms to protect the juveniles’ identities and for ease of reading.
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which terminated respondent-mother’s parental rights to her children Brian, Cyrus,

and Quintessa. Both respondents challenge the grounds for termination found by the

trial court. Respondent-father also challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to

continue the termination of parental rights hearing. We conclude that respondents’

arguments are meritless and affirm the trial court’s order which terminated the

parental rights of both respondent-father and respondent-mother.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

¶2 Petitioner Rowan County Department of Social Services (DSS) became

involved with this family in early 2016 after receiving a report that respondent-father

had dragged respondent-mother from her bed and stomped on respondent-mother’s

head and neck while in the presence of two of their children. DSS initiated at-home

services, but respondents largely resisted these efforts. When Brian was born in

November 2016, he tested positive for the presence of marijuana in his system and

weighed only four pounds. Respondent-mother told hospital staff that she was

unaware of her pregnancy.

¶3 DSS filed a juvenile petition alleging that the four children were neglected and

dependent juveniles on 15 December 2016. The petition laid out respondents’

significant history of domestic violence, substance abuse, and homelessness, as well

as their failure to provide adequate supervision and medical care for their children.

DSS also alleged that respondent-mother “refuses to parent her children, indicating
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that she is ‘done’ ” and that respondent-mother was “overwhelmed with her life and

her poor choices and wants [DSS] to take care of her children.” Lastly, DSS alleged

that respondent-father was “on the run from law enforcement for stealing a golf cart

and fighting deputies” and that DSS’s attempts to contact respondent-father were

unsuccessful. Based on these verified allegations, the trial court granted nonsecure

custody of the children to DSS, which in turn placed the children in foster care.

¶4 On 2 February 2017, respondents consented to an adjudication of neglect and

dependency based on the allegations in the petition, and on 15 March 2017, the trial

court entered a written adjudication and disposition order. The trial court kept the

children in DSS custody and awarded biweekly supervised visitation to respondent-

mother. Respondent-father, who was incarcerated, was ordered by the trial court to

participate in any available services while in jail and upon respondent-father’s

release, to seek services addressing his issues with substance abuse, domestic

violence, mental health, anger management, parenting education, stable housing,

and employment. The trial court ordered respondent-mother to obtain and maintain

adequate housing; obtain and maintain employment; obtain assessments for

substance abuse, mental health, anger management, and domestic violence, and

comply with any resulting recommendations; obtain a psychiatric evaluation and

comply with any recommended medication management; and complete approved

parenting classes and show the skills that she learned during her visitation with the
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children. Both parents were ordered to submit to random drug screens and to sign

any releases which were necessary to allow DSS and the trial court to monitor

respondents’ progress.

¶5 The trial court conducted a review and permanency planning hearing in

September 2017. In its resulting order, the trial court found that respondent-mother

was diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder,

and severe alcohol use disorder. Respondent-mother also tested positive for alcohol

in May 2017, and she refused drug screens in July and September 2017. Respondent-

mother also was found to have made some progress on her case plan by completing a

parenting class, completing a domestic violence assessment, working to obtain

housing, and obtaining employment.

¶6 As to respondent-father, the trial court found that he had seven pending felony

charges, had been terminated from a domestic violence program for excessive

absences, had missed four of six individual counseling sessions, and could not verify

his employment to DSS. More favorably, respondent-father was determined to have

completed twenty substance abuse sessions and submitted two negative drug screens.

The trial court thereupon ordered a primary permanent plan of reunification with a

secondary plan of custody with a relative or court-approved caretaker.

¶7 On 11 October 2017, both respondents were arrested on charges of trafficking

heroin and cocaine, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana, and
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maintaining a dwelling for the purpose of drug sales. Respondent-father was also

charged with the offense of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. Respondent-

mother was released on bond on 16 November 2017. Respondent-father remained

incarcerated as of the occurrence of the next permanency planning hearing on 25

January 2018.

¶8 In its order entered after the 25 January 2018 hearing, the trial court found

that respondent-mother was pregnant and due to deliver the baby in April 2018.

Respondent-mother tested positive for alcohol on 7 December 2017, and tested

negative for alcohol on 14 and 21 December 2017. The trial court also determined

that respondent-mother had completed some recommended programs and was

attending different types of therapy sessions. Respondent-mother was also working

twenty-four hours per week at a job that she obtained through a staffing agency.

Respondent-father was not compliant with his case plan, but he regularly sent his

children cards and letters. The trial court changed the plan to a primary permanent

plan of reunification and a secondary plan of adoption and ordered the case plans to

“be 50/50.”

¶9 The next permanency planning hearing was held in July 2018. In the order

which it issued following the hearing, the trial court found that respondents’ new

child Regina2 was born on 15 April 2018 and that Regina’s meconium tested positive

2 A pseudonym.
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for marijuana. As a result, DSS began in-home family services. Respondent-mother

tested positive for alcohol in June and July 2018, she had only attended six of sixteen

possible dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) sessions, and respondent-mother’s

psychological evaluation determined that she lacked sufficient personal or mental

health functioning to be found capable of meeting the demands of parenting a child.

The trial court also found that respondent-mother was temporarily living with her

uncle and that she did not have a safe and stable permanent home.

¶ 10 The trial court found, with regard to respondent-father, that respondent-father

pled guilty to one count of possession of a firearm while trafficking drugs under 18

U.S.C. § 924(c) on 15 June 2018, which is an offense that carried a term of

imprisonment of five to forty years. Respondent-father’s sentencing was scheduled

for 28 September 2018. DSS was unaware of any services in which respondent-father

was participating while incarcerated, and he continued to send cards and letters to

the children. The trial court changed the primary permanent plan to adoption, with

a secondary plan of reunification.

¶ 11 On 2 January 2019, DSS filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of

both respondent-mother and respondent-father on the ground of neglect and the

ground of willfully leaving the children in an out-of-home placement for more than

twelve months without making reasonable progress to correct the conditions leading

to their removal. See N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(1)–(2) (2021). DSS also alleged
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dependency as another ground for termination of respondent-father’s parental rights.

N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(6) (2021).

¶ 12 After the termination of parental rights petition was filed, the matter was

continued three times over the course of May, June, and July 2019 in order to allow

time for respondent-father’s counsel to arrange the incarcerated respondent-father’s

telephone attendance at the hearing. At the resulting rescheduled hearing on 5

September 2019, respondent-father’s counsel moved to continue the case for a fourth

time, as the attorney recounted his unsuccessful efforts to secure respondent-father’s

telephone presence at the hearing. Counsel represented that he was repeatedly

ignored by officials at respondent-father’s correctional facility. The trial court denied

the fourth motion for a continuance which was made by counsel for respondent-

father, and the trial court began the termination hearing.

¶ 13 The case was heard over a span of seven dates between September 2019 and

September 2020. During this period of time, DSS closed its in-home services case for

the juvenile Regina. On 16 February 2021, the trial court entered its termination of

parental rights order, in which the trial court determined that the parental rights of

both respondent-mother and respondent-father were subject to termination under

N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(1) and (2). The trial court concluded that termination of

respondent-father’s parental rights to all four of the children was in the juveniles’

best interests. As to respondent-mother, the trial court concluded that termination of
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her parental rights was in the best interests of the juveniles Brian, Cyrus, and

Quintessa but not in the best interests of the juvenile Craig. Thus, the trial court

terminated respondent-father’s parental rights to all four of his children and

terminated respondent-mother’s parental rights to her children Brian, Cyrus, and

Quintessa. Both respondents appealed.

II. Motion to Continue

¶ 14 Respondent-father argues that the trial court violated his due process rights

when it denied his counsel’s motion to continue the termination of parental rights

hearing. Respondent-father notes that “as an inmate with the Federal Bureau of

Prisons, [he] had no individual control over his ability to participate in such an

important matter” and so the trial court’s refusal to grant respondent-father a fourth

continuance denied him the opportunity to participate in the hearing and therefore

rendered the termination proceedings fundamentally unfair.

Ordinarily, a motion to continue is addressed to the
discretion of the trial court, and absent a gross abuse of
that discretion, the trial court’s ruling is not subject to
review. However, if a motion to continue is based on a
constitutional right, then the motion presents a question of
law which is fully reviewable on appeal.

In re J.E., 377 N.C. 285, 2021-NCSC-47, ¶ 12 (extraneity omitted).

¶ 15 Here, the record does not reflect that respondent-father’s counsel moved to

continue the termination hearing in order to protect respondent-father’s

constitutional rights. The trial court allowed respondent-father’s counsel to offer
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sworn testimony about counsel’s unsuccessful efforts to secure respondent-father’s

telephonic participation in the hearing. Counsel then made the following

presentation concerning the attorney’s view of the pertinent case law regarding the

occurrence of the hearing in respondent-father’s absence:

Okay. So Judge Brown, Honorable Brown asked us to just
look and see the case law regarding the presence of a
parent in a termination of parental rights proceeding, as to
whether that was something that would present the
paramount problem, or at the very least, a definite appeal
holding, bring back down issue. I cannot say that it’s
favorable to my client, what I had seen in the case law, and
I don’t know if I want to be heard more on that, but again,
I would anticipate I’ll probably have to attempt to appeal
in this case just because of the situation, but you know,
depending on the outcome, but I did not find my client’s
presence to be an actual bar to proceeding in this case.

Counsel did not argue to the trial court that the continuance which he sought on

behalf of respondent-father was necessary to protect respondent-father’s right to due

process or any other constitutional right. See id., ¶ 14 (“A parent’s absence from

termination proceedings does not itself amount to a violation of due process.”).

Consequently, respondent-father has waived any appellate argument that the trial

court’s denial of his motion to continue violated respondent-father’s constitutional

rights, and we therefore review this issue only for an abuse of the trial court’s

discretion. See id.

In reviewing for an abuse of discretion, we are
guided by the Juvenile Code, which provides that
continuances that extend beyond 90 days after the initial
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petition shall be granted only in extraordinary
circumstances when necessary for the proper
administration of justice. N.C.G.S. § 7B-1109(d) (2019).
Furthermore, continuances are not favored and the party
seeking a continuance has the burden of showing sufficient
grounds for it. The chief consideration is whether granting
or denying a continuance will further substantial justice.

Id. ¶ 15 (extraneity omitted).

¶ 16 At the start of the termination of parental rights hearing, counsel for

respondent-father testified about counsel’s efforts to secure respondent-father’s

remote participation. In the termination order, the trial court made the following

unchallenged findings of fact consistent with the testimony of respondent-father’s

counsel:

7. Prior to any evidence being received by the court,
[respondent-father’s counsel] reported to the court that
there appeared to be no reasonable way for [respondent-
father] to be able to participate in the hearing. [Counsel]
made phone calls to the highest levels in the prison, sent
written correspondence, called complaint lines to the
Federal Prison Bureau, called the warden and the warden’s
executive assistant, left voicemails, and called [respondent-
father]’s prison counselor. [Counsel] communicated early
on with [respondent-father] and his counselor regarding
court dates; however, [counsel]’s calls and emails to
confirm [respondent-father]’s in-person and phone
participation have not been answered or returned.
[Counsel]’s attempts have gone unanswered; however, he
was able to contact [respondent-father] in April 2019 to file
an answer on behalf of [respondent-father] to the TPR
petition.

8. [Counsel] received a letter dated July 18, 2019 . . . from
[respondent-father] stating his wishes to participate in the
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hearing; however, [counsel] reports that the prison officials
have not been responsive to assist with making
[respondent-father] available for hearings.

9. Prior TPR hearing dates were continued, on May 9, 2019,
June 27, 2019, and July 25, 2019, at the request of
[respondent-father’s counsel] on behalf of [respondent-
father] because [counsel] was making efforts to have his
client participate in the hearing from federal prison.

10. [Respondent-father’s counsel] made a motion to
continue for the presence of [respondent-father], as
[respondent-father] requested to participate in the matter.
As it stands, [counsel] has no information regarding if it is
against [the] federal prison’s policy for [respondent-father]
to participate or if it is simply that no person at the prison
will answer the phone or otherwise cooperate with making
him available for the hearing.

Based on these findings, the trial court decided that respondent-father’s “motion to

continue should be denied since this hearing has been delayed more than one time to

allow arrangements to be made for [respondent-father] to participate in the hearing,

and delaying the hearing again would not result in a different outcome.”

¶ 17 We discern no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s decision to deny

respondent-father’s fourth motion to continue. At the time that the trial court denied

the continuance motion at issue, it had been more than eight months since the filing

of the termination of parental rights petition—well beyond the ninety-day timeframe

prescribed by N.C.G.S. § 7B-1109. The case had already been continued three times

on behalf of respondent-father, and despite the extensive efforts by respondent-

father’s counsel to contact respondent-father’s prison facility to secure respondent-
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father’s remote attendance, which had all been accommodated by the trial court,

counsel for respondent-father was not making any progress in achieving the parent’s

telephonic participation in the termination hearing and there was no indication that

further delay would improve the chances of respondent-father’s remote participation

in the hearing. Under these circumstances, respondent-father did not meet his

burden of showing that a fourth continuance of the termination hearing would further

substantial justice, and thus the trial court properly denied respondent-father’s

motion to continue. See In re J.E., ¶ 15 (emphasizing that the Juvenile Code

discourages continuances, particularly those “that extend beyond 90 days after the

initial petition” (citing N.C.G.S. § 7B-1109(d) (2019))).

III. Grounds for Termination

¶ 18 Both respondents argue that the trial court erred in concluding that grounds

existed to terminate their respective parental rights. We review a trial court’s

adjudication that grounds exist to terminate parental rights “to determine whether

the findings are supported by clear, cogent and convincing evidence and the findings

support the conclusions of law.” In re E.H.P., 372 N.C. 388, 392 (2019) (quoting In re

Montgomery, 311 N.C. 101, 111 (1984)). “A trial court’s finding of fact that is

supported by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence is deemed conclusive even if the

record contains evidence that would support a contrary finding.” In re R.G.L., 379

N.C. 452, 2021-NCSC-155, ¶ 12 (quoting In re B.O.A., 372 N.C. 372, 379 (2019)).
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“Findings of fact not challenged by respondent are deemed supported by competent

evidence and are binding on appeal.” In re T.N.H., 372 N.C. 403, 407 (2019) (citing

Koufman v. Koufman, 330 N.C. 93, 97 (1991)). “Moreover, we review only those

findings necessary to support the trial court’s determination that grounds existed to

terminate respondent’s parental rights.” Id. “The trial court’s conclusions of law are

reviewable de novo on appeal.” In re C.B.C., 373 N.C. 16, 19 (2019).

A. Respondent-Father

¶ 19 Respondent-father’s parental rights were terminated upon the existence of two

grounds: neglect under N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(1) and failure to make reasonable

progress under N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(2).

¶ 20 As we first consider the ground of neglect here, the General Statutes of North

Carolina authorize the termination of the parental rights of a parent if the parent

neglects his or her child such that the child meets the statutory definition of a

“neglected juvenile.” N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(1) (2021). A juvenile is deemed to be

“neglected” when the child’s parent, inter alia, “[d]oes not provide proper care,

supervision, or discipline” or “[c]reates or allows to be created a living environment

that is injurious to the juvenile’s welfare.” N.C.G.S. § 7B-101(15) (2021).3

Termination of parental rights based upon this statutory
ground requires a showing of neglect at the time of the

3 This statutory definition was amended by Session Law 2021-132, which went into
effect on “October 1, 2021, and applies to actions filed or pending on or after that date.” Act
of Sept. 1, 2021, S.L. 2021-132, § 1(a), 2021 N.C. Sess. Laws 165, 170.
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termination hearing or, if the child has been separated
from the parent for a long period of time, there must be a
showing of a likelihood of future neglect by the parent.
When determining whether such future neglect is likely,
the district court must consider evidence of changed
circumstances occurring between the period of past neglect
and the time of the termination hearing.

In re R.L.D., 375 N.C. 838, 841 (2020) (extraneity omitted). “The determinative

factors must be the best interests of the child and the fitness of the parent to care for

the child at the time of the termination proceeding.” In re Ballard, 311 N.C. 708, 715

(1984) (emphasis omitted).

¶ 21 Respondent-father does not dispute that his children were previously

adjudicated to be neglected juveniles, but he argues that the trial court erred in

determining that there was a “very high” risk of repetition of neglect if the children

were returned to his care. Respondent-father contends that the trial court failed to

consider his ability to participate in services during his incarceration when reaching

its conclusion that neglect would likely be repeated if the children were returned to

him.

¶ 22 Respondent-father challenges two findings of fact which are relevant to the

trial court’s neglect determination:

36. On March 21, 2017, [respondent-father] tested positive
for Cocaine and Marijuana. He completed his
recommended 20 hours of substance abuse sessions;
however, he missed more than half of the batterer’s
intervention sessions and was terminated from the
program in September 2017. He was arrested in August
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2017 for failure to pay child support on another child not
involved with DSS, but he paid the amount with the help
of [respondent-mother] and was released. [DSS] is not
aware of any services or programs that [respondent-father]
has participated in or completed during his incarceration.
He has not visited with or spoken to his children since
September 28, 2017.

37. In [respondent-father]’s answer to the allegations in the
TPR petition he admits to being a no call no show for his
individual counseling session on May 4, 2017, June 8, 2017,
August 16, 2017, and September 6, 2017. [Respondent-
father] also admitted that he has not participated in any
substance abuse, mental health, parenting education, or
domestic violence services while incarcerated.

¶ 23 With regard to Finding of Fact 36, respondent-father argues that he did not

miss “more than half” of his batterer’s intervention sessions in September 2017, citing

earlier orders entered in the case. However, Roxie Cashwell, who was the DSS social

worker assigned to work with the family at that time, specifically testified that, as to

respondent-father’s participation in the batterer’s intervention program, respondent-

father “missed more than half of the required sessions and so he was terminated from

the program.” The social worker’s unequivocal testimony provided clear, cogent, and

convincing evidence to support the challenged Finding of Fact 36.

¶ 24 Respondent-father also submits that while the portion of Finding of Fact 36

was “technically correct” in stating that DSS was unaware of any services that

respondent-father completed in prison, nonetheless it “does not address whether

[DSS] actually met its burden to prove such services were actually available.”
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Respondent-father’s argument concerning this point is part of his broader contention

that the trial court erred in concluding that grounds for termination of parental rights

exist, to the extent that the conclusion that such grounds are existent is supported by

this passage of the trial court’s Finding of Fact 36. Although we address this

argument in further detail below, we recognize that here respondent-father does not

assert that this portion of Finding of Fact 36 was unsupported by the evidence, and

hence we leave the finding undisturbed.

¶ 25 As to Finding of Fact 37, respondent-father asserts that the finding

misrepresents his answer to the termination of parental rights petition. Respondent-

father claims that he denied, rather than admitted, DSS’s allegation that he “has not

participated in any substance abuse, mental health, parenting education, or domestic

violence services known to [DSS] while incarcerated.” On this point, respondent-

father’s argument is supported by the record and the trial court’s finding is not

supported. Respondent-father’s response to the termination petition specifically

stated that he denied the relevant allegation,4 “in that he has participated in

substance abuse and parenting education classes while incarcerated.” We therefore

disregard Finding of Fact 37 because it is not supported by clear, cogent, and

convincing evidence. See In re J.M.J.-J., 374 N.C. 553, 559 (2020) (disregarding

4 DSS lodged the allegation under both the neglect ground and the failure to make
reasonable progress ground, and respondent-father denied both allegations in identical
fashion.
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adjudicatory findings of fact not supported by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence).

¶ 26 With respect to the ground of neglect itself, respondent-father argues that the

trial court’s findings fail to show his circumstances at the time of the termination of

parental rights hearing, such that the trial court could not adequately assess whether

there was a likelihood of repetition of neglect if the children were returned to his care.

Respondent-father contends that the trial court centered its decision to terminate his

parental rights entirely on his imprisonment. Respondent-father believes that “[t]he

court’s decision seems frozen in time as of October 2017 and implies there was

nothing that the Respondent-Father could do to change the court’s predisposition to

terminate parental rights through incarceration.”

A parent’s incarceration may be relevant to the
determination of whether parental rights should be
terminated, but our precedents are quite clear—and
remain in full force—that incarceration, standing alone, is
neither a sword nor a shield in a termination of parental
rights decision. Thus, respondent’s incarceration, by itself,
cannot serve as clear, cogent, and convincing evidence of
neglect. Instead, the extent to which a parent’s
incarceration . . . support[s] a finding of neglect depends
upon an analysis of the relevant facts and circumstances,
including the length of the parent’s incarceration.

In re K.N., 373 N.C. 274, 282–83 (2020) (extraneity omitted).

¶ 27 Here, the trial court’s findings of fact demonstrate that it properly considered

respondent-father’s incarceration as a relevant factor, while also making other

findings which showed a likelihood of future neglect of the children by him. The trial
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court found facts which chronicled respondent-father’s behavior during the entire

history of the case, encompassing both the period of time when he was incarcerated

as well as the span of time when he was released. These findings show that

respondent-father was in jail for drug offenses when the initial juvenile petition was

filed in December 2016 and that after his release, respondent-father tested positive

for cocaine and marijuana and was arrested for failure to pay child support. Although

respondent-father successfully completed twenty hours of substance abuse sessions,

he failed to complete his batterer’s intervention program. After the children had

already been in the custody of DSS for many months, respondent-father was arrested

in October 2017 for trafficking heroin and cocaine; these crimes constitute offenses

for which he was eventually sentenced to several years in federal prison. Respondent-

father had not seen, nor spoken with, his children since September 2017—just prior

to this arrest—with approximately three years having passed between the last time

that respondent-father had such contact with the juveniles and the last date of the

termination of parental rights hearing.

¶ 28 Additionally, respondent-father does not challenge any of the trial court’s

findings of fact which address a primary reason for DSS’s involvement with

respondents; namely, the extensive history of domestic violence between respondent-

father and respondent-mother. After respondent-father was released from

incarceration in March 2017, respondent-father engaged in domestic violence against
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respondent-mother merely one month later in April 2017. The trial court specifically

found that “there is a great likelihood that [respondents] will reunite when

[respondent-father] is released from prison. Their history of domestic violence and

drug dealing renders them unsafe to parent as a couple.”

¶ 29 The evidence presented at the termination of parental rights hearing and the

trial court’s resulting findings of fact which were based upon the evidence amply

support the trial court’s determination that there was a “very high” likelihood of

repetition of neglect if the children were returned to respondent-father’s care.

Respondent-father does not challenge the trial court’s finding that “[the children]

have been in the nonsecure custody of [DSS] for forty-six (46) months, and

[respondent-father] is no closer to reunification today than when the original juvenile

petition was filed on December 15, 2016.” During the brief time that respondent-

father was released from incarceration while this juvenile case was pending, he made

minimal progress on his case plan and engaged in further domestic violence and drug

trafficking, which in turn led to a new, longer period of incarceration. The trial court

further determined that whenever respondent-father’s incarceration ends, he is likely

to return to his toxic relationship with respondent-mother, despite their unaddressed

problematic cycle of domestic violence that the trial court found “renders them unsafe

to parent as a couple.” Based on these findings, the trial court properly concluded that

respondent-father’s parental rights could be terminated based upon the ground of
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neglect. Since this Court has concluded that one termination ground is supported by

the evidence and the trial court’s resulting determinations, we decline to address

respondent-father’s arguments which dispute the existence of the other termination

ground found by the trial court under N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(2). See In re A.R.A., 373

N.C. 190, 194 (2019) (“[A] finding of only one ground is necessary to support a

termination of parental rights . . . .”).

B. Respondent-Mother

¶ 30 Respondent-mother’s parental rights to the juveniles Brian, Cyrus, and

Quintessa were also terminated based on the ground of neglect. Like respondent-

father, respondent-mother does not contest the fact that her children were previously

adjudicated to be neglected, but she instead argues that the trial court erred by

determining that there was a very high likelihood of repetition of neglect if the

children were returned to her care. See In re R.L.D., 375 N.C. at 841.

¶ 31 Respondent-mother challenges the following findings of fact which are relevant

to the determination of the existence of the ground of neglect with regard to her:

22. Although [respondent-mother] has attended multiple
DBT group sessions, [DSS] has had, and continues to have,
grave concerns about her mental health. [Respondent-
mother] displays anger quickly and in front of service
professionals, social workers, foster parents, and the
children. She presents as very hyper at times and lacks
focus. She has been observed by social workers and the
undersigned on multiple occasions talking to herself in
court.
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....

26. Throughout the life of the case, [respondent-mother]
has had sporadic employment. . . .

....

40. [DSS] and [the guardian ad litem] contend that
sufficient evidence of neglect and continuing neglect has
been presented, and the undersigned agrees. [Respondent-
mother] has not shown that she can parent, care for, or
provide for all four children, and she has not demonstrated
that she can control her anger and negative behaviors. . . .

41. . . . Despite attending multiple individual therapy
sessions [respondent-mother] has continued to exhibit poor
anger management and coping skills. The histories of
[respondents] provide further evidence that the probability
of the repetition of neglect of the juveniles is very high.
[Respondent-mother] is not in a position to care for the
juveniles due to her lack of responsible decision making,
history of being dishonest with [DSS], mental health
issues, and questionable stability.

¶ 32 Respondent-mother challenges the description of her employment history in

Finding of Fact 26 as “sporadic.” She relies on DSS Social Worker Cashwell’s

testimony that “[respondent-mother] has always been able to get a job” to refute the

trial court’s finding. However, the term “sporadic” was expressly utilized by the social

worker when she testified about respondent-mother’s employment history as follows:

“[Respondent-mother] will work somewhere for a couple weeks, and then she will not

work for a couple weeks and then go somewhere else and work for a month or two,

and then not, so it’s very sporadic.” (Emphasis added.) DSS Social Worker Constance

Ebomah, who inherited the case from Social Worker Cashwell, also testified that
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Social Worker Ebomah was generally unable to verify respondent-mother’s

employment and agreed with the DSS attorney “that even though there may have

been some mention of employment here and there, and perhaps even some proof of

employment in March 2019, there were times [respondent-mother] clearly was not

employed.” The testimonial accounts of the two social workers involved in this case

provided clear, cogent, and convincing evidence to support the trial court’s Finding of

Fact 26.

¶ 33 Respondent-mother argues that Findings of Fact 22, 40, and 41 are not

supported by the record because they do not accurately reflect her circumstances as

of the time of the termination of parental rights hearing with respect to her mental

health, anger issues, and ability to parent her children. Respondent-mother

represents that she made significant progress on these issues during the years that

the case proceeded, such that there was no longer a risk of repetition of neglect if the

children were returned to her. Respondent-mother posits that, at the time of the

termination of parental rights hearing, she had (1) substantially complied with her

case plan, as reflected by the trial court’s findings that she had maintained housing

and employment since January 2019; (2) been consistent with her mental health

treatment; (3) not had a positive screen for controlled substances since February

2019; and (4) “substantially complied with the court’s orders.”

¶ 34 In support of her contention that the trial court’s findings ignore the progress
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that she had made up to the occurrence of the termination of parental rights hearing,

respondent-mother cites the testimony of Social Worker Cashwell, who was the case

social worker from June 2017 until she became a social worker supervisor in May

2018, and the testimony of Social Worker Ebomah, who succeeded Cashwell as the

case social worker in May 2018 and served in this capacity until May 2019. Social

Worker Cashwell testified on 5 September 2019 at the termination of parental rights

hearing that respondent-mother “is a little calmer and you’re able to talk to her. . . .

I’m not getting the rambling through the conversation that I used to get when she

would go off on random tangents. She still has her bouts, but overall the interactions

that I have had with her, I have seen a change, a positive change.” During the

termination hearing on 24 October 2019, Social Worker Ebomah rendered the

following testimony about Social Worker Ebomah’s interactions with respondent-

mother as the two of them discussed aspects of respondent-mother’s behavior in

pursuing the case plan:

[W]hen I looked back at how she would handle and deal
with everyone else before I became her worker, I didn’t
experience a lot of the explosive when — she wasn’t like that
with me. And like I said, she would get upset sometimes,
and we’d have situations to where I told her that, you know,
my exact words to her was, [respondent-mother], you have
to stop acting like you’re crazy when you are talking and
dealing with people. You have to calm down and listen.
Because you’re not going to like everything people say to
you. And you know, the only thing she said to that was “yes,
ma’am”. I used to get that a lot with her; yes, ma’am; no,
ma’am; yes, ma’am; no, ma’am. That’s how she was with
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me most of the time.

(Emphasis added.) When she resumed her testimony at the termination hearing’s 12

December 2019 session, Social Worker Ebomah agreed, consistent with her earlier

account, that respondent-mother would receive constructive feedback and that her

therapy was “having an impact in her personality and keeping her a lot more calmer.”

¶ 35 Despite these positive observations by Social Worker Cashwell and Social

Worker Ebomah regarding respondent-mother’s improved demeanor, both social

workers also expressed concern about respondent-mother’s issues and doubted

respondent-mother’s ability to parent all of her children together. Social Worker

Cashwell ended her testimony by stating that respondent-mother “has made some

great improvements, though I do think that she has still some work to do if she is

going to manage five children 100 percent.” Social Worker Ebomah testified that

when she observed visits between respondent-mother and all of respondent-mother’s

children, Social Worker Ebomah was “concerned about that because although she was

appropriate with them, it was just so overwhelming. She just didn’t know what to do

because she didn’t know — she didn’t know them, so she didn’t know what to do with

them.” Social Worker Ebomah went on to testify that “the entire time that I had the

case, it just didn’t seem to be a priority of [respondent-mother] to make sure that her

mental health was in order so she could parent her children.”

¶ 36 The juveniles’ guardian ad litem (GAL) also had concerns about respondent-
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mother’s mental health conditions and respondent-mother’s ability to parent all of

the children. The GAL described the behavior of respondent-mother as “very erratic

at times” and testified at the termination of parental rights hearing about several

visits between respondent-mother and the juveniles during which respondent-mother

was asked to leave due to her behavior. The GAL also recounted the problems that

he witnessed during respondent-mother’s visits with all four of her children, as

follows:

We observed visits where it was just her and one child,
maybe two children, and she was able to tend to their
needs, but when it came to all four, she would just get so
frustrated, that the kids would be playing by themselves
and she still couldn’t manage it, you know. And the social
worker was always in there, basically for the safety of the
children, because there was [sic] times that she would have
to intervene so one of the children wasn’t hurt.

The GAL further testified that respondent-mother “is not realistic in her expectation

of the kids or even realistic in the situation of the kids.”

¶ 37 In addition, the trial court made several unchallenged findings of fact which

described respondent-mother’s repeated angry outbursts throughout the duration of

the case including on the following occasions: (1) a March 2017 visit between

respondent-mother and the children in which she “became erratic, refused to calm

down, and continued to use profanity”; (2) a visit which respondent-mother had with

the children in January 2018 during which respondent-mother “became agitated at

the facilitator for redirecting her[,] . . . law enforcement was involved, and the visit
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stopped”; and (3) a December 2019 visit of respondent-mother with the children which

occurred while the termination of parental rights hearing was in progress, during

which respondent-mother “was yelling, screaming, and accusing her cousin and all of

the placement providers of mistreating her children.”

¶ 38 The foregoing recapitulation of matters on the record in the present case shows

that there was clear, cogent, and convincing evidence to support the trial court’s

Findings of Fact 22, 40, and 41, including the tribunal’s determination that there was

a “very high” likelihood of repetition of neglect if the children were returned to

respondent-mother’s care. While respondent-mother achieved progress on her case

plan during the nearly four years that her children were in DSS custody, nonetheless

respondent-mother did not make sufficient progress in order to demonstrate that

there would not be a repetition of neglect. Respondent-mother remained prone to

display angry outbursts, even as late in this series of occurrences as a visit with her

children which transpired during the termination hearing proceedings. Neither the

DSS social workers nor the GAL believed that respondent-mother had developed the

necessary skills to care for all of her children simultaneously by the time of the

termination of parental rights hearing.

¶ 39 Moreover, just as respondent-father, respondent-mother does not challenge the

trial court’s finding of fact that respondents will likely reunite after respondent-

father has served his prison sentence, despite respondents’ unaddressed domestic
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violence cycle that the trial court found “renders them unsafe to parent as a couple.”

In light of these facts, the trial court properly concluded that there was a likelihood

of repetition of neglect if the children were returned to respondent-mother’s care, thus

rendering her parental rights to be eligible for termination based on neglect. Since

we have determined that this ground for termination is supported by the evidence

and the trial court’s resulting determinations, we refrain from evaluating respondent-

mother’s arguments which contest the existence of the remaining termination ground

found by the trial court under N.C.G.S. § 7B-1111(a)(2). See In re A.R.A., 373 N.C. at

194.

IV. Conclusion

¶ 40 The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying respondent-father’s

motion to continue the termination of parental rights hearing after the trial court had

already permitted respondent-father to obtain three previous continuances in an

unsuccessful attempt to secure respondent-father’s participation at the hearing and

there was no presentation offered that the allowance of any further continuances

would enhance respondent-father’s ability to remotely attend the termination

hearing. In addition, the trial court made sufficient findings of fact which were

premised upon clear, cogent, and convincing evidence to support its ultimate

conclusion that the parental rights of both respondent-mother and respondent-father

were subject to termination based upon the existence of the ground of neglect. Neither
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parent has brought forward in this appeal any challenge to the trial court’s

determination of the best interests of the juveniles. Consequently, the trial court’s

conclusion that it was in the best interests of the children Brian, Cyrus, Quintessa,

and Craig that respondents’ parental rights be terminated as ordered remains intact

upon this Court’s determination that the trial court did not commit error in this case.

Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s order regarding the termination of the parental

rights of respondent-mother and respondent-father.

AFFIRMED.