Covington v. Marion County Office of Family & Children

840 N.E.2d 865, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 51, 2006 WL 133674
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 19, 2006
Docket49A02-0504-JV-345
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 840 N.E.2d 865 (Covington v. Marion County Office of Family & Children) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Covington v. Marion County Office of Family & Children, 840 N.E.2d 865, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 51, 2006 WL 133674 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

OPINION

VAIDIK, Judge.

Case Summary

Jerrell Covington appeals the termination of his parental relationship with his biological son, S.M. He argues that the State failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that (1) there is a reasonable probability that the conditions that led to S.M.'s removal would not be remedied or that (2) the continuation of the parent-child relationship poses a threat to S.M.'s well-being. In < response, the Marion County Office of Indiana Department of Child Services alleges that because Cov-ington has taken no action to establish his paternity in this case, he lacks standing to challenge the trial court's determination. Finding no clear error in the trial court's determination that the conditions leading to S.M.'s removal are unlikely to be [867]*867remedied, we affirm the termination of Covington's rights. We do find, however, that a putative father has standing to challenge an adverse decision in an involuntary termination proceeding regardless of whether he has taken steps to establish his paternity.

Facts and Procedural History

Following his birth in August 2003, S.M. tested positive for cocaine. At the time, his father was unknown and, therefore, otherwise unavailable to provide care for him. On August 18, 2008, four-day-old S.M. was removed from his mother's care 1 by what is now the Marion County Office of Indiana Department of Child Services ("DCS").2 A Child in Need of Services ("CHINS") petition was filed at that time, and at the CHINS hearing, the mother named Jerrell Covington as one possible father of S.M. Tr. p. 25. SM. was taken into DCS custody and has remained in foster care throughout these proceedings.

The court and DCS were unable to locate Covington, who apparently had moved to Illinois and who has lived there throughout these proceedings. At some point after the August 2008 CHINS hearing-the record is not clear as to how or when-Covington became aware that he may be the biological father of S.M. On January 7, 2004, following notice to Cov-ington by publication, the juvenile court entered a disposition as to Covington-who did not appear at the hearing-ordering that S.M. be removed from his care and remain in his pre-adoptive foster home. Ex. 2. The court further directed DCS to offer no services to Covington until he appeared before the court and DCS to "demonstrate a desire and ability to care for" S.M. Id.

Covington's first and only reported appearance before the court was at an initial hearing for the termination of his parental rights on October 6, 2004. However, the record indicates that Covington did have some phone contact with DCS before this date, Tr. p. 24, and that on April 14, 2004, he called to inform the court that he would be unable to attend a hearing on the matter scheduled for that date due to transportation issues. Ex. 4. Covington also phoned his attorney at the start of a fact-finding hearing on February 24, 2005, to inform the court that he was unable to obtain transportation to the hearing, Tr. p. 12; however, he also failed to attend the rescheduled final hearing on March 9, 2005, though he was represented therein by counsel. Id. at 20. Covington has never met or seen S.M., though he did ask his DCS case manager, Michael Holland, to arrange visitation, which Holland told Covington could be accomplished only after Covington took steps to establish his paternity of the child. Id. at 40

Nothing in the record indicates that Covington was ever directly ordered by the juvenile court to participate in any particular services in order to demonstrate his desire or ability to parent S.M. At the March 9, 2005, termination hearing, however, Case Manager Holland testified that DCS informed Covington that he would need to establish paternity and complete a parenting assessment and a drug and alcohol assessment if he wished to retain his parental rights to the child and to establish visitation rights. Id. at 36-40. Holland testified that Covington told him he did [868]*868not want to participate in any services, however, until he established his paternity of S.M. Id. at 39-40.

Nonetheless, Holland also stated that he had looked into services for Covington in Illinois, specifically seeking to set up a parenting assessment through the Illinois DCS, which could not be arranged because the Illinois DCS reported that it does not offer such a service. Id. at 38. Holland informed Covington, then, that he could undergo a parenting assessment in Indiana if he would report to DCS for one. Id. at 41-42. Additionally, Covington indicated to Holland that he had recently completed a drug abuse treatment program in Illinois. Id. at 37. Holland then notified Covington that he would need to provide DCS with proof of his treatment in that program, but Covington never submitted any verification of his treatment. Id. at 38. Further, despite being informed by Holland of the procedure he must follow in order to establish paternity in this case, Covington has never followed through with his expressed intent to do so. Id. at 28, 40; Appellant's Br. p. 3. Following the juvenile court's termination hearing, an order was issued on March 16, 2005, terminating the parent-child relationship between Covington and S.M. This appeal now ensues.

Discussion and Decision

Covington contends that the trial court erred in terminating his parental rights to S.M. Among the requirements that must be met before a juvenile court may terminate parental rights, Indiana Code § 31-35-2-4(b)(2) states, in pertinent part, that the court must determine that:

(B) there is a reasonable probability that:
(1) the conditions that resulted in the child's removal or the reasons for placement outside the home of the parents will not be remedied;
or
(i) the continuation of the parent-child relationship poses a threat to the well-being of the child ....

This statute is written in the disjunctive and so requires a finding as to only one of the two factors listed. The DCS must prove this element by clear and convincing evidence. Ind.Code § 81-37-14-2; In re Termination of Parent-Child Relationship of L.S., 717 N.E.2d 204, 208 (Ind.Ct.App.1999), reh'g denied, trans. denied.

We will not set aside a trial court's judgment terminating a parent-child relationship unless we determine that it is clearly erroncous. M.H.C. v. Hill, 750 N.E.2d 872, 875 (Ind.Ct.App.2001). Findings of fact are clearly erroneous when the record lacks any evidence or reasonable inferences to support them. Id. In determining whether the evidence is sufficient to support the judgment terminating parental rights, this Court neither reweighs the evidence nor judges the credibility of witnesses. Id.

Covington contends that the juvenile court erred in determining that (1) the conditions that led to S.M.'s removal will not be remedied and that (2) continuation of the parent-child relationship poses a threat to S.M.'s well-being.

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840 N.E.2d 865, 2006 Ind. App. LEXIS 51, 2006 WL 133674, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/covington-v-marion-county-office-of-family-children-indctapp-2006.