In Re AAA

265 S.W.3d 507, 2008 WL 2548802
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 19, 2008
Docket01-07-00160-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 265 S.W.3d 507 (In Re AAA) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re AAA, 265 S.W.3d 507, 2008 WL 2548802 (Tex. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

265 S.W.3d 507 (2008)

In the Interest of A.A.A.

No. 01-07-00160-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st Dist.).

June 26, 2008.
Rehearing Overruled August 19, 2008.

*509 William B. Connolly, William B. Connolly & Associates, Houston, TX, for Appellant.

Sandra D. Hachem, Senior Assistant County Attorney, Houston, TX, for Appellee.

Panel consists of Justices TAFT, HANKS, and HIGLEY.

OPINION

GEORGE C. HANKS, JR., Justice.

We withdraw our opinion and judgment issued January 24, 2008 and issue this one in its stead. We grant the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services's ("DFPS") motion for rehearing.

In this accelerated appeal, Shde Aza Hurst challenges the trial court's decree terminating her parental rights to her minor child, A.A.A., and naming DFPS as A.A.A.'s sole managing conservator. In five issues, Hurst argues that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the trial court's findings under Section 161.001. TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 161.001 (Vernon Supp.2007). In her sixth issue, Hurst asserts that, if we reverse the trial court's termination of her parental rights, we should also reverse the trial court's appointment of DFPS as sole managing conservator. We affirm.

*510 Paul Alexander, whose parental rights were also terminated in the decree, filed a notice of appeal, but did not file a brief or a motion to extend time to file a brief, and he has not reasonably explained his failure to file a brief. Accordingly, we dismiss Alexander's appeal for want of prosecution. See TEX.R.APP. P. 38.8(a)(1).

Background

A.A.A. was born April 13, 2005. During the summer of 2005, her mother, Shde Hurst, was living in Louisiana with her boyfriend, Paul Alexander. Alexander claims that he is A.A.A.'s father, although DNA test results were not available at trial. In September 2005, Hurst ended her relationship with Alexander, after living with him for six months, and she and A.A.A. moved to a Houston shelter. After arriving at the shelter, Hurst worked at McDonald's for about one month and also began attending night school.

On January 24, 2006, Hurst left eight-month-old A.A.A. at the shelter and went to Wal-Mart. While at Wal-Mart, Hurst was arrested for shoplifting and spent two days in a Harris County jail. Hurst claims that she was shoplifting cough medicine because A.A.A. was sick. On January 25, when Hurst did not return to the shelter, DFPS received a referral of neglectful supervision of A.A.A. The next of kin was supposed to have picked up A.A.A. on January 24, but never arrived. When DFPS called the contacts on Hurst's emergency list, the first contact indicated that she could not care for the child, and the second contact had a disconnected number. A.A.A. was then taken into DFPS care. On January 26, DFPS filed a petition for protection of a child, conservatorship, and termination of the parent-child relationship, and the trial court issued a temporary order naming DFPS as A.A.A.'s temporary sole managing conservator. DFPS initially placed A.A.A. in foster care, but in May 2006, A.A.A. was moved to Hurst's relative. This relative has expressed an interest in adopting A.A.A.

Hurst was released from county jail on January 25 at 5:55 p.m. She testified that, by the time she was released, DFPS had already had possession of A.A.A. for one day. She also stated that DFPS told her that A.A.A. would not be returned until she completed the required process. After being released, Hurst moved to another shelter in Pasadena, Texas, for a few weeks and then moved in with a friend in Houston until sometime in June. Hurst claimed that she worked at McDonald's during this period, although A.A.A.'s guardian ad litem testified that Hurst told her she had been working at the McDonald's for about three weeks as of June 1.

In June, Hurst moved back to Louisiana where she moved back and forth between Alexander and her sick mother, whom she assisted. Hurst stated that, once back in Louisiana, she babysat two children, ages seven and nine, for around seven months and was making about $300 every two weeks. A.A.A. remained in Texas with Hurst's relative. At the time of trial, Hurst testified that she was currently living with Alexander at an apartment in Lake Charles, where she planned on staying and where she has arranged for daycare for A.A.A. She also stated that she was working at a gas station making $7.25 an hour.

A family service plan was implemented, outlining the services Hurst was to complete in order to be reunited with A.A.A. Hurst signed this plan on March 9, and, on March 23, the trial court ordered Hurst to comply with the plan. Brandi Sewell-Hall, the appointed caseworker on A.A.A.'s case from January 2006 until December 2006, testified that, during her time on the case, *511 DFPS tried to help Hurst to complete her services but Hurst failed to complete any of the services except for a psychological evaluation. Hall also stated that, during the year she was the assigned caseworker, Hurst only visited A.A.A. two times, even though she could have visited twice a month while A.A.A. was in foster care, and more often once Hurst's relative had custody of A.A.A. Hurst testified that she left a message on Hall's answering machine indicating that she was moving to Louisiana. Hall, however, stated that she does not remember such a message.

Elizabeth Bolling, the assigned caseworker from January 19, 2007 until the time of trial, testified that Hurst had only seen A.A.A. once during that time. Bolling stated that it is in A.A.A.'s best interest to remain with Hurst's relative. A.A.A.'s guardian ad litem testified that A.A.A. had bonded with Hurst's relative and was thriving in her current environment.

Hurst testified that her failure to comply with the family service plan was due to transportation problems and the unavailability of parenting classes, although she testified at trial that she made a choice not to catch the bus to attend the parenting classes. She also testified that she completed the parenting classes days before trial and just needed to pick up the certificate.

Hurst testified that she visited A.A.A. six times before she moved back to Louisiana. She also stated that she called A.A.A. every day after she moved to Louisiana. Hurst claimed that she did not visit A.A.A. more frequently because she believed she could only visit A.A.A. at the DFPS office. Bolling confirmed that Hurst had stated that she believed all visits with A.A.A. were to be at the DFPS office. While Hurst admitted that she did not provide financial support for A.A.A. after she was taken into DFPS care, Hurst testified that she brought clothing and shoes to the DFPS office approximately six times.

DFPS petitioned to have Hurst's parental rights terminated on January 26, 2006. Permanency hearings occurred on July 27 and November 14, 2006, and on February 6, 2007. A bench trial occurred on DFPS's parental-termination suit on February 6, 2007, and, on February 27, the trial court signed a judgment terminating Hurst's and Alexander's parent-child relationship with A.A.A. and appointing DFPS as A.A.A.'s sole managing conservator.

Sufficiency

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
265 S.W.3d 507, 2008 WL 2548802, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-aaa-texapp-2008.