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In the Interest of A. A. & C. O. A.

The trial court erred in allowing a newly appointed caseworker to read a summary which she prepared from the prior caseworker's file.

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In separate appeals, the mother and father of A. A. and C. O. A. appeal the termination of their parental rights to two of their children. Their cases will be consolidated for consideration on appeal. A. A. was born on January 2, 1997 and C. O. A. was born on February 2, 1998.

1. As an initial matter, both parents contend the trial court improperly considered hearsay evidence. The State’s principal witness was Catherine Riggle, a caseworker assigned to the case one week prior to the hearing. According to the State, Lisa Futch, the prior caseworker who had been assigned to the case for 22 months, had recently been terminated. The State did not call Futch to testify nor introduce her case file. Instead, Riggle reviewed Futch’s case file and prepared a 13 or 14 page summary. During the hearing, when Riggle began reading the summary, the parents objected on the grounds that it contained “hearsay, conclusions, and opinions,” and on the ground that it was not a business record. The court overruled the objection. In its final order terminating the parents’ rights, the court relied on a significant amount of information contained in the summary of Futch’s case file.

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