SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FAMILY COURT DOMESTIC RELATIONS BRANCH ADOPTIONADOPTION CASE NO. A-))))))))EX PARTE IN THE MATTER OFTHE PETITION OFJUDGE RONNA LEE BECKFOR ADOPTION OF MINOR CHILD(REN)LIMITED CONSOLIDATION WITHNEGLECT CASE NO. N-SOCIAL FILE NO. NEGLECT REVIEW CALENDAR JUDGE))))))))IN THE MATTER OFDOB:RESPONDENT(S)ORDER FOR SERVICE BY POSTINGThis matter is before the court upon consideration of petitioner's motion for service by posting on the Mother/Father,. The petitioner contends that theDiligent Search Unit of the Child and Family Services Agency has been unable to serve the parent[s] despite diligent efforts. The Affidavit or Affidavits of the assigned Diligent Search investigator, filed in the case jacket and incorporated here by reference, list the steps that were taken to locate the parent[s].D.C. Code Ann. § 16-306(a) (2001) requires "due notice" of pending adoption proceedings to be given to each person whose consent is necessary. The Superior Court Adoption Rules require that service of the Notice of Adoption Proceeding and1Order to Show Cause shall be made on each party and on any other person whose consent to the adoption is necessary and who has not executed a written consent to the adoption or a relinquishment of parental rights or had his or her parental rights terminated. Super. Ct. Adoption R. 4(d). Super. Ct. Adoption R. 4(e)(3) authorizes posting under certain circumstances:Upon a determination that [personal service] will not be effective, the Court may order posting or publication of the notice. Where the subject of an adoption petition has been adjudicated to be neglected pursuant to D.C. Code § 16-2301 et seq., or in other cases as ordered by the Court, service may be made by posting of the notice by the Clerk in the Domestic Relations Clerk's Office for not less than 14 days or for a period otherwise ordered by the Court. Super. Ct. Adoption R. 4(e)(3).When determining whether personal service will be effective, the court must assess whether the child-placing agency made diligent efforts. The Court of Appeals has held that a showing of diligent but futile efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of the defendant is a prerequisite to an order substituting constructive service for personal service. Bearstop v. Bearstop, 377 A.2d 405, 408 (D.C. 1977). It is only when the serving party is unable to effect personal service that provisions for other types of notice to a parent concerning proceedings to terminate the parent-child relationship may be given. In re E.S.N., 446 A.2d 16,17 (D.C. 1982).Constructive service is authorized in this case because it has not been possible to effect personal service, despite diligent efforts to find the person to be served. As the Supreme Court recognized in Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306 (1950):2[I]n the case of persons missing or unknown, employment of an indirect and even a probably futile means of notification is all that the situation permits and creates no constitutional bar to a final decree foreclosing their rights. Id. at 317 (citations omitted).Posting in this case is authorized by Super. Ct. Adoption R. 4(e)(3) because the child has been adjudicated neglected. Moreover, the Court of Appeals has approved posting alone as the form of notice in a proceeding terminating the parent-child relationship. In re E.S.N., 446 A.2d at 18. In reaching its decision, the Court of Appeals recognized that "the due process requirement depends upon 'the private interests at stake, the government's interest, and the risk that the procedures used will lead to erroneous decisions.' " Id. (citing Lassiter v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 452 U.S. 649 (1981)). In that regard, the Court of Appeals held that:[A] father who exercises little actual control over a child and shoulders little responsibility with respect to the daily care of that child may be treated differently for due process purposes than a father who has assumed such responsibility. Id. at 18-19 (citing Quilloin v. Walcott, 434 U.S. 246, 256 (1978)).Posting is appropriate in this case, where the parent cannot be located after diligent efforts and apparently has not had a relationship with the child for a significant amount of time.WHEREFORE, it is this, 2004,day ofherebyORDERED that petitioner's motion for service by posting is GRANTED. It is3FURTHER ORDERED that the Domestic Relations Clerk shall post the attached Notice of Adoption Proceeding and Order to Show Cause in the above-referenced adoption case in the Domestic Relations Clerk's office for a period of fourteen (14) days.JUDGE RONNA LEE BECK (Signed in Chambers)Copies to:Counsel for Petitioner(s)Counsel for MotherCounsel for FatherGuardian ad litem Johnna Faber, Esquire Assistant Corporation Counsel Child and Family Services Agency 400 6th Street, SW Washington, DC 20024 James Simmons Diligent Search Unit Child and Family Services Agency 400 6th Street, SW Washington, DC 20024 William S. Johnson, LICSW Adoption Resources Program Child and Family Services Agency 400 6th Street, SW Washington, DC 200244, Social Worker Adoption Resources Program Child and Family Services Agency 400 6th Street, SW Washington, DC 200245
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