APPEAL
FROM THE PERRY COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 53JV-17-11]
HONORABLE PATRICIA JAMES, JUDGE
Dusti
Standridge, for appellee Jacklyn Gabbard.
Chrestman Group, PLLC, by: Keith L. Chrestman, for minor
children.
KAREN
R. BAKER, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE
This
appeal stems from the Perry County Circuit Court's
September 14, 2018 order granting permanent custody of the
appellants, minor children M.G.1, C.G., K.G., and M.G.2, to
Melissa and Lawrence Gabbard, paternal aunt and uncle of the
minor children. We hold that the appeal is timely and remand
this matter to the court of appeals for further action.
On
September 20, 2017, appellee, Arkansas Department of Human
Services (DHS) took emergency custody of the minor children.
On September 22, 2017, DHS filed an ex parte petition for
emergency custody and dependency-neglect and an order was
issued placing the minor children in the custody of DHS. On
September 25, 2017, the circuit court entered a
probable-cause order, and on November 8, 2017, the circuit
court entered an adjudication/disposition order that
continued the minor children's custody placement with
DHS. The minor children were adjudicated dependent-neglected
as a result of parental unfitness and neglect by their
mother, appellee Jacklyn Gabbard. The order also found that,
knowing of Jacklyn's drug history, their father, Micah
Gabbard, contributed to the dependency-neglect by agreeing to
leave appellants in Jacklyn's care following their
divorce. On March 7, 2018, the circuit court entered a review
order stating that the case goal was reunification with a
concurrent goal of relative placement/guardianship and also
stating that the minor children were in the foster home of
Melissa and Lawrence and that their needs were being met. On
April 16, 2018, the minor children filed a motion to suspend
visitation and for no contact against Jacklyn. Jacklyn filed
a response on April 20, 2018, and on April 23, 2018, the
circuit court entered an order suspending visitation and
ordering no contact between Jacklyn and the minor children.
On
August 27, 2018, the circuit court conducted a
permanency-planning hearing. On September 14, 2018, the
circuit court entered an order awarding permanent custody to
Melissa and Lawrence and closed the dependency-neglect case
that DHS had brought against Jacklyn and Micah. On September
24, 2018, pursuant to Rule 60 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil
Procedure, the minor children filed a motion for relief from
judgment, and on October 8, 2018, Jacklyn responded. On
October 23, 2018, the circuit court denied the motion. On
October 12, 2018, the minor children filed a notice of appeal
of the circuit court's September 14, 2018 order granting
permanent custody to Melissa and Lawrence. On November 2,
2018, the minor children filed an amended notice of appeal
appealing the permanent-custody award and the denial of the
Rule 60 motion.
The
minor children appealed to the court of appeals, which
dismissed the matter for lack of jurisdiction. Minor
Children v. Arkansas Dep't of Human Servs., 2019
Ark.App. 242, at 1, 576 S.W.3d 67, 68. On June 20, 2019, we
granted the minor children's petition for review. When we
grant a petition for review, we consider the appeal as though
it had been originally filed in this court. Bohannon v.
Robinson, 2014 Ark. 458, at 4, 447 S.W.3d 585, 587. The
minor children present three issues on appeal: (1) the
circuit court's failure to make a not-best-interest
finding makes its permanency-plan selection erroneous; (2)
the circuit court's custody decision is not supported by
sufficient evidence because no written home study was
presented to the circuit court; and (3) the circuit court
erred when it failed to give the statutory required notice
that the case would be closed.
Before
reaching the merits, we must first address jurisdiction
because jurisdiction is a threshold issue, as well as the
basis of the order being appealed. Thomas v. State,
2014 Ark. 123, at 2, 431 S.W.3d 923, 925. This appeal stems
from a dependency-neglect case in which the circuit court
entered an order awarding permanent custody. Arkansas Supreme
Court Rule 6-9 (2018), "Rule for appeals in
dependency-neglect cases," provides that the following
orders may be appealed from dependency-neglect proceedings:
(a) Appealable Orders.
(1) The following orders may be appealed from
dependency-neglect proceedings:
(A) adjudication order;
(B) disposition, review, no reunification, and permanency
planning order if the court directs entry of a final judgment
as to one or more of the issues or parties based upon the
express determination by the court supported by factual
findings that there is no just reason ...