LIMA — For months, Celina and Mercer County were the epicenter of a social media campaign calling for the return of a foster child that had been under the care of a local family that had aspirations of making her a permanent part of their family.
While the campaign is not as visible as in the past, the legal battle continues in the Ohio Supreme Court.
For nearly two years, Brian and Kelly Anderson had cared for M.S., a foster child they took in when she was 13 days old. The child had been placed with the Andersons by Allen County Children Services while efforts were made to place the child with a blood relative. However, the Andersons, with support from the birth mother, filed an adoption request in May with Mercer County Probate Court, despite the Andersons placing M.S. with the Indiana-based relative in March.
This led to a dispute over whether Mercer County Probate Court or Allen County Juvenile Court held jurisdiction over the child, leading to a writ of prohibition being filed with the Ohio Supreme Court in June by the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office. Similar prohibition motions were filed by the Andersons against Allen County Juvenile Court Judge Glenn Derryberry.
While the Supreme Court ruled in June in favor of Allen County Children Services, attorneys from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office filed a request for the court to reconsider. On Tuesday, the court ruled that all proceedings in the Andersons’ case against Derryberry would be stayed pending a decision on the motion to reconsider.
“We’re just continuing to wait to see what the Supreme Court has to say,” Brian Anderson said.
In the meantime, according to Allen County Children Services, M.S. has adjusted well to her new environment in Indiana.
“She is thriving,” Children Services Executive Director Cynthia Scanland said. “She is doing very well.”
