In the Interest of D.W.K.

I would reverse the order of permanent commitment on the ground that HRS’s failure to offer a performance agreement to the natural father before the entry of the order bars the court’s right to permanently commit the child. The majority takes the position that the lower court’s earlier order placing the child in the home of the maternal grandmother, and without department supervision, excuses the statutory requirement of a performance agreement, on the ground that the grandmother’s home cannot, under the circumstances, be considered a foster home. I would initially observe that the lower…