Supreme Court of Vermont, 2002

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed termination of the mother’s residual parental rights over S.B., holding that the family court properly considered S.B.’s preference against termination but did not give it controlling or inordinate weight.

The Court affirmed dismissal of Powers’s state-law claims arising from OCS’s handling of child-support enforcement. It held that OCS’s statutory responsibilities are uniquely governmental and have no private analog, that no individual duty of care was owed to Powers, and that her allegations did not establish gross…