In re A.S.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMay 10, 2024
Docket126639
StatusUnpublished

This text of In re A.S. (In re A.S.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re A.S., (kanctapp 2024).

Opinion

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

Nos. 126,639 126,640

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

In the Interests of A.S. and D.W., Minor Children.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appeal from Harvey District Court; MARILYN M. WILDER, judge. Submitted without oral argument. Opinion filed May 10, 2024. Affirmed.

Ben Baumgartner, of Baumgartner Law Office, of Newton, for appellant natural mother.

Laura E. Poschen, special prosecutor, Sandra L. Lessor, deputy county attorney, for appellee.

Before ARNOLD-BURGER, C.J., CLINE and COBLE, JJ.

PER CURIAM: Mother appeals from the district court's order terminating her parental rights to her children, A.S. and D.W. On appeal, she focuses on the court's finding that she was unfit and argues this conclusion was not supported by clear and convincing evidence. Specifically, she contends the court misapplied the statutory factors and focused on negative evidence, ignoring positive indications that weighed against termination of her parental rights. After careful review, we find no error and affirm the district court's judgment as its findings were reasonable and supported by the evidence.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On February 5, 2021, the State petitioned to have A.S. and D.W. declared children in need of care (CINC). A separate case was filed for each child; but the cases were heard

1 together throughout the district court proceedings and are consolidated on appeal. The fathers of both children surrendered their parental rights and are not a topic of this appeal. The State also filed a petition regarding an older sibling, P.P., but that case was handled separately and is not part of this appeal.

The petitions were precipitated by the following events. First, the week before the State's filing, Mother was a victim of domestic violence perpetrated by D.W.'s father in front of the children, which left Mother in the hospital. While at the hospital, Mother met with a Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) child protection specialist.

That DCF employee was later contacted by hospital staff about Mother displaying strange behavior and speaking incoherently. Shortly after Mother was discharged from the hospital, police officers found her wandering in a nearby neighborhood and escorted her home. The next day, when Mother walked into a stranger's home in the middle of the night, law enforcement decided to take her to a local hospital, and she was subsequently transferred to Larned State Hospital (Larned) for treatment. Although a drug screening taken at the time revealed no substances in Mother's system aside from marijuana, the admission paperwork noted Mother was suffering from significant paranoid delusions and hallucinations. Based on the hospital's reports, DCF was unsure when Mother would be released, or if she would be capable of taking care of the children when released. The combination of these concerns and the events of the prior week triggered the State's decision to file its petitions. At that time, A.S. was two years old and D. W. was seven months old.

Four days after the State filed its petitions, the district court held a temporary custody hearing. The court found probable cause to support the State's allegations and ordered A.S. and D.W. to be placed in the temporary custody of DCF.

2 DCF then crafted a six-month permanency plan, which noted Mother's history of substance abuse, including a prior methamphetamine addiction and current marijuana use; mental health issues; and concerns about people with whom Mother associated who potentially placed A.S. and D.W. at risk. The plan included numerous tasks for Mother to complete to achieve the ultimate goal of reintegration, including: addressing her mental health stability to allow her release from Larned and maintaining that stability upon her release; maintaining her sobriety and submitting to random drug screenings; completing a mental health evaluation; participating in certain parenting courses; maintaining appropriate and stable housing and providing proof of utility and rent payments; obtaining stable employment and providing proof of pay stubs; and completing other psychological testing as required by DCF to determine her competency and mental health.

Less than a week after the children were placed in DCF custody, Mother was arrested for disorderly conduct and readmitted to Larned. An initial case plan meeting was held around that same time, but Mother had been unable to make any progress toward the case plan tasks. By the time Mother was released from Larned a month later, she was evicted from her home. After Mother's release, a St. Francis Ministries (SFM) court report noted the primary concerns for reintegration remained Mother's need "to obtain stable housing and income, achieve and maintain sobriety, and address her mental health needs and legal concerns."

Two months after the petitions were filed, the district court adjudicated A.S. and D.W. as CINC, finding clear and convincing evidence showed the children were "without adequate parental care, control or subsistence and the condition is not due solely to the lack of financial means of [their] parents or other custodian" and "without the care or control necessary for [their] physical, mental or emotional health." Mother did not contest this finding.

3 Over the following year, SFM, a Citizen Review Board (Board), and eventually a court appointed special advocate (CASA) filed frequent reports documenting Mother's progress, or lack thereof, on her reintegration plan. Early on, the Board noted Mother was making some progress but concluded the children should remain in DCF custody until Mother could demonstrate more consistency managing her mental health and maintaining stable housing and employment. Throughout this time, Mother was only able to have weekly, supervised visits with the children. Within a few months, Mother began to struggle with visitations—the SFM caseworker noted Mother was unable to properly supervise A.S. and D.W. on her own and raised concerns about her general cognitive capability to care for the children.

Despite the concerns, a late 2021 report explained that even with Mother's "delayed processing speeds," she was attending therapy, had provided several negative drug screenings, and had recently obtained housing the caseworker deemed appropriate. The same month, a Board report found Mother was providing for the children's needs during the weekly supervised meetings, she and the children had a strong bond, and she was working on a safety plan to implement while watching the children. But later reports disclosed Mother lost her housing. Around this time, the CASA advocate began noting concerns regarding Mother's lack of overall progress and voiced apprehension about the goal of reintegration.

Over the following months, Mother moved into several different residences and held a variety of jobs. She was arrested on an outstanding warrant in another matter and failed a drug screening after using a hemp-derived cannabis product. A CASA report raised safety concerns, including that Mother was living with her brother. A permanency plan approved around that time explained Mother would need to actively engage in the case plan tasks before visitation could be expanded or unsupervised. But then, 18 months after the case was initiated, the district court held a permanency hearing and concluded reintegration was no longer a viable goal due to Mother's inadequate progress.

4 The State then moved for termination of Mother's parental rights.

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Related

In re Interest of R.S., P.S., and A.S. line
336 P.3d 903 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2014)
In Re Interests of M.S.
447 P.3d 994 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2019)
In re Adoption of Baby Girl G.
466 P.3d 1207 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2020)
In the Interest of B.D.-Y.
187 P.3d 594 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2008)

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