Judge Lillian Wan
The court questioned whether it would be in the best interests of the child, Jadaquis, to award his out-of-state non-respondent father, London, a final order of custody. It answered in the affirmative. London, a Georgia resident, filed for custody of Jadaquis in 2009. Neglect petitions were filed against mother Sameerah, and Jadaquis and his three siblings were placed in foster care, with Jadaquis in a non-kinship foster home, thus separated from his brothers. An “interstate compact on the placement of children” (ICPC) was submitted on three separate occasions for the approval of London’s home as a suitable placement for Jadaquis, but was denied all three times. The court, however, stated Georgia’s denial of the ICPC did not preclude it from issuing an order granting London custody. It found it “entirely inconsistent” that the child welfare authorities in Georgia could determine that Jadaquis would be unsafe in London and his wife’s home, but have taken no action regarding the couple’s 6 year old residing in the home. The court ruled keeping Jadaquis in his fifth non-kinship home, in lieu of his father’s did not serve his best interests, granting London sole custody of Jadaquis.
