Parental Rights Terminated for Two Incarcerated Parents
Parental Rights Terminated for Two Incarcerated Parents
On May 16, 2014, the Rhode Island Supreme Court upheld a family court's order terminating the parental rights of two incarcerated parents, cutting them off from all future contact with their three-year-old son.
Robert Molenda has a long criminal history and has been in and out of prison at least three times. Caitlin Patenaude was pregnant with their child and gave birth while she and Robert were both incarcerated. The child was immediately placed in foster care with his aunt.
Molenda initially denied paternity of the child, and Patenaude tested positive for opiates and cocaine several times during her pregnancy and methadone at the time of delivery. The baby also tested positive for methadone at the time of his birth.
Soon thereafter, the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) filed a petition in family court to terminate the rights of both parents. After DNA tests proved Molenda to be the father of the child, he contested the termination petition. The family court, however, terminated the rights of both parents and the Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the termination of Patenaude's parental rights.
In arguing for the restoration of his parental rights, Molenda contended that his release from prison was imminent and that he would find a job and take care of his son. The DCYF argued that the child had already bonded to his new family and that his foster mother — the aunt — loved him like her own son and could not bear it if he were taken away from her.
The Supreme Court found that Molenda's release from prison was not necessarily imminent and thus the child was not able "to return safely to his father's home within a reasonable period of time," and that it was in the child's best interest to remain with his foster family, and thus terminated Molenda's parental rights.
In making its ruling, the court noted that Molenda had a history of violent behavior including domestic abuse, and that he would be unable to care for the child's needs.
At the time this case was argued before the Supreme Court, Molenda had voluntarily deported himself to Poland. The aunt says she plans on adopting the boy. See: In re Lyric P., 90 A.3d 132 (R.I. 2014).
Related legal case
In re Lyric P.
| Year | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 90 A.3d 132 (R.I. 2014) |
| Level | State Supreme Court |