In re N.H.

T.H. (Mother) (defendant) was the mother of an infant child, N.H. When Mother gave birth to N.H., Mother did not have a place to live. Because N.H. had health problems and because Mother had no place to live, her child remained hospitalized for over a month. When N.H. was released, Mother asked the Department of Human Services (the department) if the department would offer emergency care for N.H., which was available for a period of 90 days. During the 90-day period, Mother was found lying on a road drunk and was admitted to a hospital. Mother had been hospitalized several times before due to a history of mental illness. N.H. was not returned to Mother’s custody after the 90-day period ended. Subsequently, the District of Columbia filed a neglect petition asserting that N.H. was neglected due to Mother’s inability to care for N.H. because of her mental illness. Mother moved for dismissal of the neglect petition or, alternatively, that the burden of proof required for a finding of neglect should be changed from a preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing evidence. A judge denied the motion, and Mother appealed. On appeal, Mother argued that the statute permitting a neglect finding to be premised on a preponderance of the evidence violated due process. The child-neglect statute provided for temporarily placing a child with a third party or allowing the child to remain with a parent under supervision for two years. A child’s placement was reviewed annually after notice, hearing, and another assessment of child neglect. However, Mother reasoned that the result of the determination of neglect would likely mean that she would never be given custody of her child again, and thus, a higher standard of proof was warranted.