Many, if
not most juvenile cases, involve substance abuse as at least one problem that impairs
a parent, guardian, caretaker or custodian’s ability to provide effective care
for dependent children. When formulating pleadings that allege neglect due to
substance abuse in the home, it is essential that the pleadings set forth
allegations that there is substantial evidence a child either suffers physical,
mental, or emotional impairment, or that the child is at a substantial risk of
suffering such impairment, as the result of substance abuse in the child’s
home. See In re K.J.B., 248 N.C. App.__,
797 S.E.2d 516
(2016); In re E.P., 183
N.C. App. 301, 645 S.E.2d 772, aff’d per
curiam, 362 N.C. 82, 653 S.E.2d 143 (2007).
The import
of this established legal doctrine was touched upon most recently in the North
Carolina Court of Appeals opinion in In re : J.C.M.J.C., J.J.C.C., C.O.C,
__N.C. App.__,__S.E.2d__(October 15, 2019). In that case, the Court of Appeals
reversed a trail court’s adjudication of neglect where allegations were that a
child’s clothes “smelled of marijuana” without other evidence that the child
welfare suffered as a result of substance abuse in the home.
Juvenile
pleadings, and the accompanying substantial evidence of both impairment and
adverse impact, can come in many forms. For example, a newborn child testing positive
for controlled substances at birth demonstrating listlessness, tremors,
unabated crying, physical defect, or impaired development can meet the
evidentiary standard. See In re Leftwich, 135 N.C. App. 67, 518 S.E.2d 799 (1999).
Likewise, demonstrating that a child was in the sole care of an impaired
individual whether in the home or in an automobile. See In re L.W., 175 N.C. App. 387, 623 S.E.2d 626, appeal dismissed and
disc review denied, 360 N.C. 534, 633 S.E.2d 818 (2006); In re E.C., 174 N.C. App. 517, 621 S.E.2d 647 (2005). Finally, in cases where there is household
financial instability, allegations and accompanying proof that the household
income is being siphoned away to support a drug habit might also be sufficient
to meet the standard.
The
critical point is that allegations and evidence of substance abuse, standing
alone, will not be sufficient to establish neglect unless a nexus is made
between the complained of activity and the welfare of a child in the home.
