In the Interest of B.T. and L.T., Minor Children ( 2023 )


Menu:
  •                     IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
    No. 22-2060
    Filed March 8, 2023
    IN THE INTEREST OF B.T. and L.T.,
    Minor Children,
    J.T., Father,
    Appellant.
    ________________________________________________________________
    Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buchanan County, Linnea M.N.
    Nicol, District Associate Judge.
    A father appeals the termination of his parental rights to his two children.
    AFFIRMED.
    R.J. Longmuir, Independence, for appellant father.
    Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Mackenzie Moran, Assistant Attorney
    General, for appellee State.
    Kimberly Lange of the Waterloo Juvenile Public Defender’s Office,
    Waterloo, attorney and guardian ad litem for minor children.
    Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Chicchelly, JJ.
    2
    VAITHESWARAN, Presiding Judge.
    A father appeals the termination of his parental rights to his two children,
    born in 2019 and 2020. He contends the district court inappropriately concluded
    the children could not be returned to parental custody as required by Iowa Code
    section 232.116(1)(h)(4) (2022). He also contends the district court inappropriately
    concluded he had “a severe, chronic substance related disorder, present[ed] a
    danger to himself or others, and [his] prognosis indicate[d] that the child[ren]
    [would] not be able to be returned to [his] custody in a reasonable period of time.”
    The father’s second argument implicates a statutory ground for termination
    that was not pled by the State or cited by the district court. See 
    Iowa Code § 232.116
    (1)(l). Accordingly, we will not address it. Cf. In re J.L., 
    868 N.W.2d 462
    ,
    465 (Iowa Ct. App. 2015) (stating parent appropriately filed a posttrial motion
    raising the cour’s improper reliance on an unpled termination ground). We will
    focus    on    the    evidence    supporting    termination    under    Iowa     Code
    section 232.116(1)(h), which contains several undisputed elements in addition to
    the cannot-be-returned requirement.
    The father began using methamphetamine in 2018 and continued to use
    the drug after the birth of his first child. Just before the birth of the second child,
    the children’s mother left the father, taking the children with her. The mother filed
    a custody petition.     The district court granted her physical care, subject to
    supervised visits with the father, which were to gradually transition to unsupervised
    overnight visits.
    3
    In time, the department of health and human services received a complaint
    that the father was still using methamphetamine. Following an investigation, the
    department issued a founded child abuse report for “dangerous substances.”
    The State applied to have the children temporarily removed from the father’s
    custody.     The district court granted the application.      The children were later
    adjudicated in need of assistance. They remained in the physical care and custody
    of their mother throughout the proceedings.
    The father only minimally participated in reunification services. He was to
    engage in random drug testing, but after a positive test for methamphetamine in
    late 2021, he did not appear for at least six scheduled tests. Following the
    termination hearing, the district court ordered the department to immediately
    schedule a final drug test, and the court left the record open for admission of the
    result. The father appeared at the testing site almost thirty minutes after it closed.
    When the caseworker attempted to reschedule the test, the father did not respond.
    The father also “was very inconsistent” in his participation in a “Solution
    Based Casework” curriculum and in parenting skills training. The most recent
    department employee assigned to the case recommended termination of the
    father’s parental rights, citing his “use of illegal substances” and concern that he
    would not be “able to take care of [the children] appropriately.”
    On our de novo review of the record, we agree with the district court that
    the children could not be returned to the father’s custody. The court appropriately
    terminated      the   father’s   parental       rights   pursuant   to   Iowa   Code
    section 232.116(1)(h).
    AFFIRMED.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 22-2060

Filed Date: 3/8/2023

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 3/8/2023