Apelu v. Arkansas Department of Human Services

422 S.W.3d 210, 2012 Ark. App. 480, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 610
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 12, 2012
DocketNo. CA 12-282
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 422 S.W.3d 210 (Apelu v. Arkansas Department of Human Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Apelu v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 422 S.W.3d 210, 2012 Ark. App. 480, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 610 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

DAVID M. GLOVER, Judge.

_jFiapopo Apelu appeals the termination of parental rights to her daughter, R.W. (DOB 6-18-10). On appeal, she argues that there was insufficient evidence that it was in R.W.’s best interest for her parental rights to be terminated — specifically, that the trial court erred in finding that there was a potential for harm if R.W. was returned to her custody — and that there was also insufficient evidence to support any of the grounds upon which the trial court terminated her parental rights. We affirm the termination of Apelu’s parental rights.

Background

In the early morning hours of September 12, 2010, according to a DHS affidavit of facts for a petition for ex parte emergency custody, R.W. was taken to Arkansas Children’s 12Hospital by Rory Williams, her father (Apelu’s boyfriend). Her injury was later determined to be a spiral fracture of her left arm, which was consistent with suspected abuse. Apelu did not accompany Williams and R.W. to the hospital, and Williams left R.W. at the hospital. By 6:30 that night, no one had contacted the hospital to inquire about R.W.’s condition, and all of the telephone numbers given by Williams were nonworking numbers. When Williams finally contacted the DHS worker, his explanation for why he and Apelu had not been to the hospital was because they were both working; however, it was later learned that neither Williams nor Apelu were employed at the time.

Williams initially reported to the hospital that R.W. had fallen off the bed at his mother’s house; however, upon investigation, Williams’s mother denied this, stating that she had not seen R.W., her granddaughter, in a month. Williams then reported to his mother that he had dropped R.W. while he was showering with her. When the DHS assessor spoke with Apelu, Apelu backed Williams’s initial story of how the injury occurred, telling the assessor that R.W.’s arm was not broken when the child went to Williams’s mother’s house. The assessor was unable to get a “true” statement as to how R.W. received a fractured arm, as the family’s explanation of R.W.’s injuries was not credible, and the medical information was that the injuries were consistent with abuse. Ape-lu said that she did not initially go to the hospital because she stayed at home with her two-year-old son, who was asleep at the time. Her explanation for not arriving at the hospital until almost 9 p.m. was that she had to go to the store.

[ JJourt Proceedings

DHS took a seventy-two-hour hold on R.W. and her older half-brother, F.I.1 An order granting emergency custody to DHS was entered on September 15, 2010, and a probable-cause order was entered on September 26, 2010. Apelu and Williams were ordered to submit to psychological evaluations as well as random drug-and-alcohol screens. An amended probable-cause order was filed on October 12, 2010, adding the provision that there was to be no placement with a relative without an order of the court.

Apelu underwent her psychological evaluation in October 2010 with Dr. Paul Dey-oub, who diagnosed her with adjustment disorder with depressed mood and personality disorder. Williams was in prison at this time for a parole violation. In his summary and recommendations, Dr. Dey-oub noted that Williams lied to hospital staff about how R.W.’s injury occurred, first implicating his own mother and convincing Apelu to go along with his initial story; that Apelu then went along with Williams’s second story that he dropped R.W. while in the shower with her; that she rejected any notion that Williams abused R.W.; and that she was ready to resume her relationship with him when he was released from prison. It was Dr. Dey-oub’s opinion that the children |4should not be returned to Apelu until the court was convinced that she had benefited from individual therapy, had gained insight, and was able to protect her children in the future.

The trial court adjudicated the juveniles dependent/neglected in.an order entered December 14, 2010. Furthermore, because R.W.’s injuries were significant— fractures to her arm and clavicle, bruising and marks on her face, and lacerations in her mouth — the trial court found by clear and convincing evidence that R.W. had been subjected to aggravated circumstances. The trial court further found:

Both parents have credibility issues. Initially, Mr. Williams tried to blame his mother for [R.W.’s] injuries. When his account was found to be a lie, he changed his story. Mr. Williams’s accounts are inconsistent with how the injuries occurred. Ms. Apelu went along with the father’s first account, knowing it was a lie. [R.W.] was just over two months old when she sustained these injuries. Either or both of the parents should be able to explain what happened to her; however, neither is stepping up to the plate. Contrary to the parents’ assertions, these injuries were not the result of an accident. Rather, they were the result of some person or persons physically abusing the child. The court cannot be sure that both parents were not responsible for [R.W.’s] injuries. It is troubling to the court that Ms. Apelu is putting Mr. Williams ahead of her children’s safety by covering for him.
Before the court would be able to return the children to either parent, there will have to be a better explanation for [R.W.’s] injuries. Without a better explanation, the court will be hard pressed to return the children. The court will need a credible explanation at some point for these injuries. Failure to provide such credible explanation could be a barrier to reunification. For it is only when the cause of the injuries becomes known, can the court fashion a remedy to prevent their reoccurrence.2

| .This order was not appealed. In a February 2011 review order, the trial court found that while Apelu and Williams were making efforts to comply, reunification continued to be “a long shot.” In a permanency-planning order filed on September 21, 2011, the trial court changed the goal of the case from reunification to adoption. In the permanency-planning order, the trial court reiterated its findings from the adjudication order, and further found:

The mother has made an effort to comply with the court orders, but the court is uncertain that the mother has made any progress. The mother has visited, completed the psychological evaluation, tested negative on random drug screens, attended therapy and parenting classes. The mother has not accepted that the injuries that [were] suffered by her children were intentional. If Mr. Williams was the offender and not the mother, then it is concerning that the mother only separated from the father less than one month ago. She testified today that she still loves Mr. Williams and has concealed from DHS and her therapist that she is seven months pregnant with his child. It concerns the court that the mother is still in love with Mr. Williams and it is only a matter of time before the two are back together and she allows him to move back into the home. The court will not monitor this case forever. Permanency must be achieved for these children.
The mother continues to have credibility issues, and the court is not certain if Mr. Williams was the offender. Both mother and father were responsible for these children and neither has given a plausible explanation for the injuries.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
422 S.W.3d 210, 2012 Ark. App. 480, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 610, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/apelu-v-arkansas-department-of-human-services-arkctapp-2012.