Eason v. Arkansas Department of Human Services

423 S.W.3d 138, 2012 Ark. App. 507, 2012 WL 4127347, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 615
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 19, 2012
DocketNo. CA 12-348
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 423 S.W.3d 138 (Eason 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
Eason v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 423 S.W.3d 138, 2012 Ark. App. 507, 2012 WL 4127347, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 615 (Ark. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

DAVID M. GLOVER, Judge.

11 Jasmine Eason appeals from the February 9, 2012 order adjudicating her son, A.E., dependent-neglected. We affirm this fact-intensive case.

Background regarding A.C.1 and A.C.2

Jasmine has three children: A.C.1, A.C.2, and A.E. A.E. (D.O.B.10-10-2011) is the child at issue in this appeal. In order to put the dependency-neglect proceedings regarding A.E. into context, it is necessary to know that ADHS previously filed a petition for emergency custody and dependency-neglect regarding A.C.1 and A.C.2 on June 18, 2010. The supporting affidavit for the earlier petition alleged that A.C.2 had been treated twice at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee — the first time was at three weeks old for rib fractures, and the second time was at nine months old for “spiral fracture of the left tibia, multiple corner fractures of the distal femur and tibia along with multiple rib fractures.” Jasmine and A.C.2’s father, Antonius Collins, were named as the 12alleged offenders. During the investigation, it was discovered that Jasmine’s mother, Minnie, actually had custody of A.C.1 at the time of A.C.2’s injuries, but Jasmine and Antonius had access to both children. Minnie’s custody of A.C.1 resulted from a juvenile-court order regarding Jasmine that was entered before A.C.2 was born. Both A.C.1 and A.C.2 were adjudicated dependent-neglected on August 19, 2010, without A.C.2’s offender being determined. The dependency-neglect order was not appealed, and following a subsequent permanency-planning hearing, the trial court determined that the goal of the case should be changed to adoption because Jasmine’s house had no utilities, it was still not known who caused A.C.2’s injuries, and the children could not be safely returned to her care. The October 17, 2011 permanency-planning order was not appealed either.

A.E.

Against that backdrop, Jasmine gave birth to A.E. on October 10, 2011. On October 12, 2011, A.E. was taken into emergency custody. The probable-cause hearing was held on October 18, 2011.

At the probable-cause hearing, Ashley Hunter, a family-service worker for Crit-tenden County Children and Family Services, testified that the seventy-two-hour hold was placed on A.E. because of the extensive injuries inflicted on his brother, A.C.2. She explained that there was an open case on Jasmine and on A.E.’s two siblings and that the case had been open since 2010. She said that the offender regarding A.C.2 had not been determined; that there had been an adjudication concerning the two siblings; and that they had not been returned to Jasmine. She testified that she was not alleging that any harm |shad been done to A.E., explaining that Jasmine had had very little contact with A.E. because he had been taken shortly after birth. She acknowledged that the injuries to A.C.2 were caused by an unknown offender but stated that she did not know that Jasmine was not the offender. She said that Jasmine had been cooperative with the agency over the past year and four months and that she had followed the conditions ordered by the court.

Hunter explained that several steps had been taken to try to determine whether Jasmine was the perpetrator concerning A.C.2’s injuries, e.g., a psychological examination, which Jasmine took willingly, did not reveal any “axis one, axis two factors.” She acknowledged that she had nothing to show the court that would establish that Jasmine had harmed A.C.2 or A.E., but explained that they still took the hold on A.E. At the conclusion of the probable-cause hearing, the trial court reviewed the history concerning the two siblings and concluded that probable cause existed to protect A.E.

Then, on January 4, 2012, the dependency-neglect adjudication hearing was held. Bessie Collins, foster-care supervisor, testified that she was familiar with the history concerning A.E.’s two siblings and with A.E. She explained that DHS became involved with A.E. because of a hotline call soon after A.E.’s birth on October 10, 2011; and that A.E.’s two siblings, A.C.1 and A.C.2, had been in DHS custody since June 16, 2010, because A.C.2 had been admitted to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital twice with severe physical injuries before he was one year old. She testified that both A.C.1 and A.C.2 were taken into custody at that time; that there had been an adjudication in that ease; and that the offender was listed as “no known offender.” She said that DHS had worked with 14Jasmine since June 16, 2010; and that she had been allowed supervised, but not unsupervised, visits with A.C.1 and A.C.2 because of A.C.2’s injuries and the fact that the offender had never been identified. She stated that at the time of A.E.’s birth, DHS determined that he could not remain in Jasmine’s custody because his health and safety could not be guaranteed in light of the fact that there was still an unknown offender and because A.C.2’s injuries had been serious. She said that it was DHS’s recommendation that A.E. be found dependent-neglected and added to the current case of A.C.1 and A.C.2.

On cross-examination, Collins acknowledged that Jasmine had denied harming A.C.2 and that she had no information that Jasmine had harmed A.E. She testified that Jasmine had completed all of the conditions ordered by the trial court and was currently undergoing anger-management counseling. She further stated that a psychological examination had not revealed any significant issues concerning Jasmine’s ability to care for the children, and that Jasmine had been gainfully employed throughout the case. Collins acknowledged that Jasmine’s home setting had been adequate; that she had stable employment, income, and housing; and that neither drugs nor alcohol had ever been an issue in the case. She explained that her resistance to having the children returned to Jasmine was because the perpetrator of the abuse toward A.C.2 was still unknown. She testified that her perspective on the DHS recommendation was that as long as Jasmine continued to say she didn’t know who hurt her child, she could not regain custody. She expressed her belief that Jasmine knew who had hurt A.C.2 and that Jasmine would protect a third party over her children.

| BJasmine testified that Antonius Collins was A.E.’s father but that he could not sign the birth certificate because he was incarcerated at the time of A.E.’s birth. She stated that she had done everything she was required to do under the court orders. She acknowledged that the trial court had already made the finding that she had failed to protect A.C.2 and that she felt like she had failed to protect A.C.2 but that she “protected him the best [she] could.” She explained that she

was under age and in her mother’s household until she put us out, but other than that, I couldn’t take A.C.2 where I wanted to take him or do anything like that ‘cause I couldn’t — I could barely take care of him at the time. It wasn’t just my mother at her house, it was my mother, me, my two sisters, and her husband. Her husband is Deundre Bobo. All I know about him is he’s my mother’s husband. Really, like. He has a criminal history. He had drug charges and stuff like that.

She further stated, “I do feel like I had failed my kids because, if for one I couldn’t take care of them I shouldn’t have had them young but I knew I didn’t do anything. I know I didn’t choose nobody over them.... ” She explained that she had prepared a bedroom for A.E.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
423 S.W.3d 138, 2012 Ark. App. 507, 2012 WL 4127347, 2012 Ark. App. LEXIS 615, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eason-v-arkansas-department-of-human-services-arkctapp-2012.