Juvenile - Visitation Violence

Facts of the Case

Our client was a 5-year-old girl who had been in foster care her entire life. Her parents were drug addicts that had attempted & failed multiple times to become sober. Over the years, the visits with her father had become a source of trauma for our young client. As the years passed without sobriety being achieved by her father, her visits with him began to cause her anxiety. The feeling she might be pulled out of the foster home- the only home she’d ever known- became deeply troubling to her. After every visit with her dad, our client would tear at her own fingernails, slam her head into the wall & show many upsetting & disturbing behaviors caused by the uncertainty & anxiety that this complex situation prevented her young mind from understanding.

The Problem

How do we protect this young girl from self-harming brought on by the anxiety of seeing her father, while still respecting his rights?

Our Approach and Solution

We presented video evidence of one of her breakdowns following a visit with her dad. We also called her counselor to testify of the psychological harm she was suffering and the options we had to protect her.

1. We presented all necessary evidence to the court, including the foster parents’ testimony.
2. We presented our plan for the child’s safety, which involved a bonding assessment with the father to establish what strengths & weaknesses their relationship contained.
3. We proposed a temporary stop to visits, only to be resumed when appropriate therapeutic safeguards could be put in place

Meet the Attorney

The Outcome of the Lawsuit

Visits between our client and her father were stopped, as did her self-harming behaviors. When visits resumed, more safeguards were in place to ensure her safety.