In the Interest of A.B., Minor Child ( 2018 )


Menu:
  •                     IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
    No. 18-0794
    Filed October 10, 2018
    IN THE INTEREST OF A.B.,
    Minor Child,
    M.C., Mother,
    Appellant.
    ________________________________________________________________
    Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Susan Cox, District
    Associate Judge.
    A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. AFFIRMED.
    Steven L. Cooper of Cooper, Goedicke, Reimer & Reese, PC, West Des
    Moines, for appellant mother.
    Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Meredith L. Lamberti, Assistant
    Attorney General, for appellee State.
    ConGarry D. Williams of Juvenile Public Defender’s Office, Des Moines,
    guardian ad litem for minor child.
    Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Vogel and Tabor, JJ.
    2
    DANILSON, Chief Judge.
    A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her fifteen-month-
    old child, A.B.1 The mother contends that grounds for termination have not been
    proved by clear and convincing evidence, she should have been granted an
    extension of time to seek reunification, termination is not in the child’s best
    interests, and the mother-child bond should preclude termination in any event.
    We review termination-of-parental-rights proceedings de novo. In re A.M.,
    
    843 N.W.2d 100
    , 110 (Iowa 2014). “We are not bound by the juvenile court’s
    findings of fact, but we do give them weight, especially in assessing the credibility
    of witnesses.” 
    Id.
     (citation omitted).
    The mother has long-standing, unresolved issues of mental health
    (depression and anxiety) and substance abuse (methamphetamine).              Despite
    months of involvement with the juvenile court, she had only recently engaged with
    a mental-health provider. The mother asserts she had a “long period of sobriety
    at the time of the termination hearing.” The record, however, establishes the
    mother consistently tested positive for methamphetamine and other substances
    from the time A.B. was removed from the mother’s care in May 2017 until the
    mother was ordered to serve 100 days in jail, beginning in September 2017.2 She
    was pregnant when she was jailed. The mother was released from custody on
    January 4, 2018, and gave birth to a child on January 25. The termination hearing
    concerning A.B. was held on January 31 and February 21, 2018. In that January
    1
    The putative father’s rights were also terminated, and no appeal was filed.
    2
    During substance-abuse evaluations, the mother variously acknowledged consistent
    drug use for two or four years prior to this involvement with the department of human
    services (DHS).
    3
    and February time period, the mother had been living at either the House of Mercy
    or the Hope Ministries.    While she may have been free of substances from
    September 2017 to February 2018, the mother had been released from custody
    for only about a month. This does not establish a commitment or the ability to live
    a substance-free life outside of a restricted setting. Moreover, the mother has a
    newborn baby, and the mother has not demonstrated an ability to attend to A.B.’s
    many medical needs.
    The child is under the age of three, was adjudicated a child in need of
    assistance on June 27, 2017, has been removed from the mother’s custody for at
    least the last six consecutive months, and cannot be returned to the mother’s care
    at present. Consequently, there is clear and convincing evidence to support the
    termination of the mother’s parental rights under Iowa Code section
    232.116(1)(h) (2018).
    We must next determine whether the best-interest framework laid out in
    section 232.116(2) supports termination of parental rights. In re A.S., 
    906 N.W.2d 467
    , 473 (Iowa 2018). Section 232.116(2) provides in relevant part,
    In considering whether to terminate the rights of a parent under this
    section, the court shall give primary consideration to the child’s
    safety, to the best placement for furthering the long-term nurturing
    and growth of the child, and to the physical, mental, and emotional
    condition and needs of the child. This consideration may include any
    of the following:
    (a) Whether the parent’s ability to provide the needs of the
    child is affected by the parent’s mental capacity or mental condition
    ....
    (b) For a child who has been placed in foster family care by a
    court or has been voluntarily placed in foster family care by a parent
    or by another person, whether the child has become integrated into
    the foster family to the extent that the child’s familial identity is with
    the foster family, and whether the foster family is able and willing to
    permanently integrate the child into the foster family. . . .
    4
    Balanced against the mother’s unresolved concerns, we note that at about
    three-months of age, A.B. was diagnosed with severe mitral valve regurgitation,
    severe left atrial dilation, and moderate left ventricle dilation.   The child was
    prescribed medication and referred to a pediatric cardiologist. The mother did not
    take A.B. to this follow-up cardiology appointment. Nine days later, A.B. was
    admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. On March 15, 2017, she had to have
    surgery to repair her right and left coronary arteries, and a bovine patch was put in
    place. On April 4, A.B. had another heart surgery and was provided further
    intensive services. When A.B. was discharged on May 19, it was not to the
    mother’s care but to a suitable other placement.
    A.B. takes a number of life-saving medications that must be administered
    in a timely manner. The mother’s history does not demonstrate she is able to care
    for this child who has significant cardiovascular medical needs. The child’s current
    placement family sets alarms throughout the night to wake up and administer
    A.B.’s medication. This family has undergone special classes and training for
    physical therapy and other exercises. They have provided care and stability for
    the child and have expressed a willingness and desire to provide a permanent
    home. As found by the district court:
    A.B.’s current placement is willing and able to adopt her. They
    have provided for her medical needs, when the mother has not. They
    have provided her with a safe, and stable home. They are willing to
    make her a permanent part of their family. In all ways it is in A.B.’s
    best interest to terminate the mother’s parental rights.
    Moreover, we conclude there is nothing in the mother’s history or in her
    involvement with DHS that would allow us to determine the need for removal will
    5
    no longer exist in six months—which is a required finding to grant an additional six
    months. See 
    Iowa Code § 232.104
    (2)(b). The mother has two older children with
    whom she has no contact because of her ongoing substance abuse. Although the
    mother had enrolled in a residential treatment program at the time of the
    termination hearing, she has a history of beginning treatment programs and then
    leaving early or being unsuccessfully discharged. We agree with the juvenile court
    that “the mother’s last minute rush to start services, nine days before the
    termination trial is insufficient to avoid termination.”3
    The mother contends that the mother-child bond should preclude
    termination here. It is true “[a] strong bond between parent and child is a special
    circumstance which militates against termination when the statutory grounds have
    been satisfied.” In re Z.H., 
    740 N.W.2d 648
    , 652 (Iowa Ct. App. 2007) (citing 
    Iowa Code § 232.116
    (3)(c)). Yet, even were we to assume such a bond, it would be but
    one factor to consider, and the factors are “permissive, not mandatory.” A.M., 843
    N.W.2d at 113.       The court may use its discretion, “based on the unique
    circumstances of each case and the best interests of the child, whether to apply
    the factors in this section to save the parent-child relationship.” In re D.S., 
    806 N.W.2d 458
    , 474–75 (Iowa Ct. App. 2011). We agree with the juvenile court that
    the mother-child bond
    has been affected by the mother’s choices which include being non-
    attentive during visits, missing visits, ending visits early and violating
    her probation resulting in significant period of incarceration. The
    3
    “It is well-settled law that we cannot deprive a child of permanency after the State has
    proved a ground for termination under section 232.116(1) by hoping someday a parent
    will learn to be a parent and be able to provide a stable home for the child.” A.S., 906
    N.W.2d at 474.
    6
    prior DHS worker noted A.B. does not always recognize the mother.
    A.B. will not be disadvantaged by termination.
    Because there are grounds for termination and termination is in the child’s
    best interests, we affirm the termination of the mother’s parental rights.
    AFFIRMED.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 18-0794

Filed Date: 10/10/2018

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 4/17/2021