F.M. v. State Department of Children & Families

F.M. (“the father”), appeals from a final judgment terminating parental rights as to his three children, C.M., K.M., and Q.M. The three children came to the attention of the Department of Children and Families (“DCF”) after it was reported that the children’s stepmother had been beating the father and her three stepchildren. At the time, the biological mother lived in Louisiana. The father was given custody of the children, but when the father and the children later moved back in with the abusive stepmother, DCF intervened, and the stepmother moved out. A petition for dependency was filed in…