COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA Present: Judges O’Brien, Malveaux and Senior Judge Frank UNPUBLISHED CYNTHIA KHADI MEMORANDUM OPINION* v. Record No. 0171-20-3 PER CURIAM SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 WYTHE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF WYTHE COUNTY Josiah T. Showalter, Jr., Judge (R. Christopher Munique; Lacy, Campbell & Munique, P.C., on brief), for appellant. Appellant submitting on brief. (Michael R. Bedsaul; Mary Foil Russell; Michael J. Sobey, Guardian ad litem for the minor child; Sands Anderson, PC, on brief), for appellee. Appellee and Guardian ad litem submitting on brief. Cynthia Khadi (“Cynthia”) appeals a circuit court order approving the foster care goal of adoption for her stepchild. Cynthia argues that the circuit court erred by finding that the evidence was sufficient to change the foster care goal from return home to adoption and that adoption was in the child’s best interest. Upon reviewing the record and briefs of the parties, we conclude that the circuit court did not err. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the circuit court. * Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not designated for publication. BACKGROUND1 “On appeal, ‘we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the prevailing party below, in this case the Department.’” Farrell v. Warren Cnty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 59 Va. App. 375, 386 (2012) (quoting Jenkins v. Winchester Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 12 Va. App. 1178, 1180 (1991)). Akshay Khadi (“Akshay”) and Isabel Gayosso-Leon are the biological parents to the child who is the subject of this appeal.2 Cynthia is Akshay’s wife and the child’s stepmother. Cynthia has known the child since the child was fifteen months old; Cynthia and Akshay had been married approximately four months before the child entered foster care. On February 15, 2018, Cynthia and Akshay were arrested and incarcerated for possessing stolen vehicles, giving false identities to law enforcement, and contributing to the abuse or neglect of a minor.3 As a result of their arrests, the Wythe County Department of Social Services (the Department) placed the five-year-old child in foster care. The Wythe County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (the JDR court) entered an emergency removal order and 1 The record in this case was sealed. Nevertheless, the appeal necessitates unsealing relevant portions of the record to resolve the issues appellant has raised. Evidence and factual findings below that are necessary to address the assignments of error are included in this opinion. Consequently, “[t]o the extent that this opinion mentions facts found in the sealed record, we unseal only those specific facts, finding them relevant to the decision in this case. The remainder of the previously sealed record remains sealed.” Levick v. MacDougall, 294 Va. 283, 288 n.1 (2017). 2 Gayosso-Leon voluntarily terminated her parental rights in the Wythe County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Akshay appealed the circuit court’s ruling terminating his parental rights and approving the foster care goal of adoption. See A. Khadi v. Wythe Cnty. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., ...
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