The Supreme Court (TS) has given the reason to the Administration and has endorsed the decision to withdraw custody of parents in Castilla-La Mancha before the baby was born given the "lack of parenting skills" of both, "the clear crisis of couple", the consumption of substances, the "immaturity" of the mother, the "passivity" of the father and "the multiple reports opposed" to remove the child from a foster home to return him to his parents.

The Civil Chamber details the case that dates back to December 2019, when the Provincial Commission for Guardianship and Guardianship of Minors of the Provincial Delegation of the Ministry of Social Welfare of Toledo withdrew custody of the child who had not yet been born from the parents considering that they already had three other minor children with protection measures -and without foresight of return- and to appreciate "negligence in the care and initial follow-ups of pregnancy", personal "difficulties" and "lack of parenting skills".

In a sentence, to which Europa Press has had access, it is stated that the list of factors valued by the Administration of Castilla-La Mancha also included "conflict and family violence", "alcohol consumption by the father", "history of toxic consumption in the mother and mental illness of associated psychotic type", as well as "absence of family and social support networks".

The couple lodged a statement of opposition against the administrative decision of that commission and requested that they be given custody of the unborn child.

The Court of First Instance Number 2 of Toledo, in which the matter relapsed, gave the reason to the parents and revoked and annulled the resolution by concluding that the circumstances that had led to the withdrawal of custody of the other three children had been overcome because the parents were already "rehabilitated from their addictions", thus guaranteeing that they now enjoyed custody of the child that was about to be born.

The Administration of Castilla-La Mancha, dissatisfied with the decision, filed an appeal that was dismissed by the Provincial Court of Toledo, so it took the case to the Supreme Court.

The best interests of the child

The minor in question was born during the judicial journey and since April 23, 2020 is under the guardianship of the Junta de Castilla-La Mancha. First he was in an emergency care and from June 2021 with the foster family with whom he still lives.

When analyzing the case, the magistrates have influenced the current situation: not only in the "total integration" of the child with his foster family, but also "the conflicts and bad relationship" between the biological parents as a result of the mother becoming pregnant with another person outside the relationship.

In the resolution, of which the magistrate José Luis Seoane has been rapporteur, the Supreme Court has stressed that the current scenario is not the same as when the Provincial Court of Toledo ratified the sentence of the court of instance.

The court stresses that the biological parents withdrew from the intervention program in family violence and that there are new reports stating that the mother's parental capacity is "questionable and limited", that she has income from "underground economy and dubious legality"; that the father has "almost exclusive dedication" to work and that the relationship is not going well. The opinions also insist that the mother decide whether to continue with the father of the child or go with the one who will be the father of the child she is now expecting.

"Neither parent can meet the needs that a child requires," says one of the reports in which it is pointed out that the best interests of the child is that the foster family adopts him.

In another report, for their part, experts point out that removing the child from his family environment, from everything he knows and from his references, so that he lives with his biological parents "would mean a succession of traumas for the child and a significant setback in his ability to bond and in his security. "

Thus, the Supreme Court has estimated the appeal presented by the lawyer of Castilla-La Mancha and revoked the sentence issued by the TSJ in favor of the parents.

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  • Supreme Court
  • Castile-La Mancha
  • Toledo