L.M.P. v. State Department of Human Resources

Following ore tenus proceedings, the trial court made a finding of dependency and ordered the termination of the parental *217rights of L.M.P. (mother) and W.K. (putative father) in eighteen-month-old W.D.P. Permanent legal custody of the child was vested in the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR). Only the mother appeals. We affirm.

The dispositive issue on appeal is whether there is clear and convincing evidence that supports the trial court’s decision to terminate the mother’s parental rights.

It is well settled that a natural parent has a prima facie constitutional right to the custody…