Hammers v. R.R.

26 S.W.3d 364, 2000 Mo. App. LEXIS 1127, 2000 WL 960041
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 12, 2000
DocketNo. 23229
StatusPublished

This text of 26 S.W.3d 364 (Hammers v. R.R.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hammers v. R.R., 26 S.W.3d 364, 2000 Mo. App. LEXIS 1127, 2000 WL 960041 (Mo. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

CROW, Judge.

A deputy juvenile officer filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of R.R. (“Mother”) and R.R. (“Father”)1 to A.D.R. [365]*365(“Child”). The juvenile court,2 after hearing evidence per § 211.459, RSMo 1994, entered judgment as prayed. Mother, alone, appeals.

The statute setting forth the grounds for terminating parental rights is § 211.447, RSMo Cum.Supp.1998. It took effect July 1,1998, and was in force at the time of the hearing and judgment. It reads, in pertinent part:

“2 - a petition to terminate the parental rights of the child’s ... parents shall be filed by the juvenile officer ... when:
(1) Information available to the juvenile officer ... establishes that the child has been in foster care for at least fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months; or
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4. The juvenile officer ... may file a petition to terminate the parental rights of the child’s parent when it appears that one or more of the following grounds for termination exist:
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(2) The child has been abused or neglected. In determining whether to terminate parental rights pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall consider and make findings on the following conditions or acts of the parent:
(a) A mental condition which is shown by competent evidence either to be permanent or such that there is no reasonable likelihood that the condition can be reversed and which renders the parent unable to knowingly provide the child the necessary care, custody and control;
(b) Chemical dependency which prevents the parent from consistently providing the necessary care, custody and control of the child and which cannot be treated so as to enable the parent to consistently provide such care, custody and control;
(c) A severe act or recurrent acts of physical, emotional or sexual abuse toward the child or any child in the family by the parent, including an act of incest, or by another under circumstances that indicate that the parent knew or should have known that such acts were being committed toward the child or any child in the family; or
(d) Repeated or continuous failure by the parent, although physically or financially able, to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or education as defined by law, or other care and control necessary for the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health and development;
(3)The child has been under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court for a period of one year, and the court finds that the conditions which led to the assumption of jurisdiction still persist, or conditions of a potentially harmful nature continue to exist, that there is little likelihood that those conditions will be remedied at an early date so that the child can be returned to the parent in the near future, or the continuation of the parent-child relationship greatly diminishes the child’s prospects for early integration into a stable and permanent home. In determining whether to terminate parental rights under this subdivision, the court shall consider and make findings on the following:
(a) The terms of a social service plan entered into by the parent and the division and the extent to which the parties have made progress in complying with those terms;
(b) The success or failure of the efforts of the juvenile officer, the division or other agency to aid the parent on a continuing basis in adjusting his circum[366]*366stances or conduct to provide a proper home for the child;
(c) A mental condition which is shown by competent evidence either to be permanent or such that there is no reasonable likelihood that the condition can be reversed and which renders the parent unable to knowingly provide the child the necessary care, custody and control;
(d) Chemical dependency which prevents the parent from consistently providing the necessary care, custody and control over the child and which cannot be treated so as to enable the parent to consistently provide such care, custody and control; or
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5. The juvenile court may terminate the rights of a parent to a child upon a petition filed by the juvenile officer ... if the court finds that the termination is in the best interest of the child and when it appears by clear, cogent and convincing evidence that grounds exist for termination pursuant to subsection 2 ... or 4 of this section.
6. When considering whether to terminate the parent-child relationship pursuant to subsection 2 ... of this section or subdivision ... (2), (3) ... of subsection 4 of this section, the court shall evaluate and make findings on the following factors, when appropriate and applicable to the case:
(1) The emotional ties to the birth parent;
(2) The extent to which the parent has maintained regular visitation or other contact with the child;
(3) The extent of payment by the parent for the cost of care and maintenance of the child when financially able to do so including the time that the child is in the custody of the division or other child-placing agency;
(4) Whether additional services would be likely to bring about lasting parental adjustment enabling a return of the child to the parent within an ascertainable period of time;
(5) The parent’s disinterest in or lack of commitment to the child;
(6) The conviction of the parent of a felony offense that the court finds is of such a nature that the child will be deprived of a stable home for a period of years; provided, however, that incarceration in and of itself shall not be grounds for termination of parental rights;
(7) Deliberate acts of the parent or acts of another of which the parent knew or should have known that subjects the child to a substantial risk of physical or mental harm.”

Child was born September 25,1994.

The evidence3 and reasonable inferences, viewed in a light favorable to the judgment, In the Interest of A.M. C., 983 S.W.2d 635, 636-37[3] (Mo.App. S.D.1999); In the Interest of M.N. M., 906 S.W.2d 876, 878[2] (Mo.App. S.D.1995), established the following facts.

On August 14, 1995, an investigator employed by the Division of Family Services (“DFS”) received an “abuse report” regarding Child. The investigator questioned Mother. The investigator related:

“[Mother] told me that on the evening before, that her and [Father] had gotten into a physical altercation. And that ultimately [Father] had taken [Child] outside to the truck and was going to leave with him and said, ‘Try to take him from me.’ And she tried to stop him from going. And at some point [Child] was dropped.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
26 S.W.3d 364, 2000 Mo. App. LEXIS 1127, 2000 WL 960041, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hammers-v-rr-moctapp-2000.