In re A.R.

REID, Associate Judge:

Appellant, A.R. appeals the trial court’s September 6, 2006, order closing her neglect case, sua sponte, after she reached her eighteenth birthday. We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to base its order on a correct legal principle, the need to safeguard the child’s welfare, or the best interest of the child standard. Hence, we are constrained to reverse the trial court’s order, and we remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

On June 1, 2006, the trial court decided, sua sponte, to close A.R.’s…