In the Interest of A.H., Minor Child ( 2022 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 22-1496
Filed November 17, 2022
IN THE INTEREST OF A.H.,
Minor Child,
A.H., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clinton County, Kimberly K.
Shepherd, District Associate Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. AFFIRMED.
Patricia Rolfstad, Davenport, for appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Dion D. Trowers, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee State.
Barbara Maness, Davenport, attorney and guardian ad litem for minor child.
Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.
2
BOWER, Chief Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights, asserting
termination is not in the child’s best interests. On our de novo review, see In re
A.M., 843 N.W.2d 100, 110 (Iowa 2014), we affirm.
The juvenile court terminated the mother’s parental rights to her six-year-
old child, A.H., on five separate grounds, including the mother’s substance abuse,
lack of contact with the child, and inability to resume care. The mother does not
contest the grounds for termination have been established.1 She claims
termination is not in the child’s best interests because of a continuing bond
between the mother and child. She argues termination was only requested after
the failure of a custody modification in concurrent district court proceedings.2
Our best-interests analysis is guided by statute, giving “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.” Iowa Code § 232.116(2) (2022). If the grounds
for termination are established, “we cannot deprive a child of permanency . . . by
hoping someday a parent will learn to be a parent and be able to provide a stable
home for the child.” A.M., 843 N.W.2d at 112.
From the time of removal in December 2020, the mother spiraled
downward, with a worsening mental-health condition exacerbated by self-
1 Because the mother does not contest grounds for termination have been proved
by clear and convincing evidence, we do not discuss this step of our analysis. See
In re P.L., 778 N.W.2d 33, 40 (Iowa 2010).
2 A proposed joint stipulation for modification was filed in the concurrent
proceedings, but during a hearing on the matter, the mother made statements
withdrawing her consent, and the custody modification was denied.
3
medication with opiates and then methamphetamine. Her problems affected her
visits with the child, and in May 2021, the child’s therapist recommended stopping
visits as they were harming the child. The mother has only seen the child briefly a
couple times since visits stopped. The mother recently engaged in outpatient
substance-abuse and mental-health programs and restarted medication for her
mental health. The custodial father testified he would allow contact if the mother
were clean and sober, but he was concerned she would not maintain sobriety
based on her history.
The mother’s unresolved mental-health issues and relapsing substance-
abuse strongly affect her ability to parent the child in a healthy and consistent
manner. The mother loves the child deeply but is in no position to provide the safe,
stable home the child deserves. Termination of the mother’s parental rights will
best provide for the physical, mental, and emotional condition and needs of the
child and further the child’s long-term nurturing and growth. We thus affirm.
AFFIRMED.