Ray Ellis, Appellant v. Arkansas Department of Human Services and C.e., a Minor Child, Appellees

Summary

The court reversed the permanency-planning decision because the circuit court failed to hold a mandatory six-month review hearing and failed to apply the statutory preference for placement with a fit relative after receiving a satisfactory home study. The court held that the relative-placement preference is not limited to a child's initial placement and required further consideration of the relative placement and the child's best interests on remand. Justice Danielson, dissenting, would have upheld the adoption goal because the permanency-planning statute and the child's best interests supported maintaining the existing foster placement.