KC Read-Fisher, who joined HMS Legal LLP as an associate this fall (bar admission pending), recently achieved a significant milestone during her final semester of law school. As a Certified Legal Intern with Penn State Dickinson Law’s Children’s Advocacy Clinic, KC represented a mother in termination of parental rights hearings and on appeal to the Superior Court.
On September 10, 2025, the Superior Court issued a published opinion vacating the Cumberland County Orphans’ Court’s decree terminating parental rights and reversing the related order that changed the child’s permanency goal (the court-ordered plan for a child’s long-term care) from reunification to adoption. (See the Court’s Decision at the link below.) The Court held that the lower court failed to properly evaluate the parent–child bond under 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 2511(b), and remanded the case for further proceedings to ensure the child’s needs and welfare are fully considered.