In the Interest of As

Opinion of the Court by

McKENNA, J.

I. Introduction

In this appeal, the Family Court of the First Circuit (“family court”) awarded custody of AS, a minor foster child, to AS’s non-relative foster parents, contrary to the De*370partment of Human Services’ (“DHS”) recommendation that AS be permanently placed with her maternal aunt. At issue in this appeal is whether the family court reviews DHS’s permanent placement recommendations for children in foster care under an abuse of discretion or best interests of the child standard. The ICA chose the latter standard, holding, “[T]he family court, based on…