In Re CAM

282 S.W.3d 398, 2009 WL 1046096
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 20, 2009
DocketSD 29254
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 282 S.W.3d 398 (In Re CAM) 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
In Re CAM, 282 S.W.3d 398, 2009 WL 1046096 (Mo. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

282 S.W.3d 398 (2009)

In the Interest of C.A.M.
T.F., Appellant,
v.
Greene County Juvenile Office, Respondent.

No. SD 29254.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Division Two.

April 20, 2009.

*400 John E. Kelly, Springfield, MO, for Appellant.

William Prince, Springfield, MO, for Respondent.

*401 GARY W. LYNCH, Chief Judge.

T.F. ("Mother") appeals from a judgment terminating her parental rights to C.A.M. ("Child"), entered by the Circuit Court of Greene County. The trial court terminated her rights to Child based upon three grounds: abandonment, pursuant to section 211.447.5(1); abuse or neglect, pursuant to section 211.447.5(2); and failure to rectify, pursuant to section 211.447.5(3).[1] Mother claims first, that the trial court erred in terminating her rights to Child because such a finding was against the weight of the evidence, and second, that termination was not in Child's best interest because all of Mother's shortcomings were beyond her control. This Court affirms the judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

We initially note that the trial transcript indicates that the juvenile officer offered ten exhibits which were all admitted into evidence. These included: exhibit 4, the deposition testimony of Mother's counselor, Marsha Ellis; exhibit 5, Dr. Bradford's psychological evaluation of Mother; exhibit 7, Mother's treatment plan with Children's Division; and exhibit 9, Children's Division's court summary related to the best-interest determination. None of these exhibits were filed in this Court as provided by Rule 81.16.[2] "When an exhibit is omitted from the transcript and is not filed with the appellate court, the intendment and content of the exhibit will be taken as favorable to the trial court's ruling and as unfavorable to appellant." In re Marriage of Gourley, 811 S.W.2d 13, 16 (Mo.App.1991) (citing Doyle v. Doyle, 786 S.W.2d 620, 621 (Mo.App. 1990)).

In reviewing a judgment terminating parental rights, this Court "consider[s] the facts and the reasonable inferences derived therefrom in a light most favorable to the judgment." In re L.N.D., 219 S.W.3d 820, 822 (Mo.App.2007) (citing In re L.R.S., 213 S.W.3d 161, 164 (Mo.App. 2007); In re L.M., 212 S.W.3d 177, 180 (Mo.App.2007)). Viewed in that context, the following evidence was adduced at trial.

Child was born April 12, 2006. Although M.M. ("Father") is named as the father on Child's birth certificate, it was later determined that Father is not Child's biological father; that individual is unknown. The trial court adjudged Father as Child's legal father, and Mother does not challenge this part of the judgment in this appeal.

On May 16, 2006, Family-Centered Services ("FCS"), a segment of the Children's Division of the Department of Social Services, became involved with the family after a newborn crisis assessment was conducted following Child's birth. The investigator who conducted the assessment requested that a FCS worker meet with the family to work on adequate housing, parenting issues, and home management. She also requested referrals for the family to Medicaid, WIC, and a variety of parenting classes. The assigned FCS worker, Glenda Griest, met with Mother during the initial meeting and at that time called a number of the agencies to which the family had been referred to begin setting up contacts.[3]

Griest was in contact with the family for approximately two months, meeting with *402 them four times before referring them to Intensive In-Home Services ("IIS"). Griest made the referral after witnessing numerous problems in the home: Mother and Father were instructed to give Child Karo syrup to treat a bowel problem but did not do so, even though the problem persisted for over a month; Griest watched Mother feed Child a "purplish-colored liquid" that Mother insisted was formula; Mother repeatedly missed scheduled meetings with parenting groups and organizations; and Child's weight dropped from the 25th-percentile to the 5th-percentile over the course of Griest's involvement. Overall, Griest felt that Mother and Father had problems following through on things, and she was worried about their ability to follow instructions if Child had a serious problem. She also found it problematic that neither parent seemed to recognize any problems with either Child or their ability to care for him.

Mother and Father were upset when Griest first discussed IIS and initially refused to participate. At that point, Griest referred the case to the Juvenile Office. During a conference there, both Mother and Father were argumentative and did not see that anything was wrong. They did not want strangers involved and insisted that Child was doing fine. Ultimately, however, they did accept help from IIS.

The family first met with IIS on June 28, 2006. Lara Chism met with both Mother and Father to construct a treatment plan that would ensure Child's safety in the home. The biggest issues presented to IIS were Child's low weight, failure to gain weight, and there being inadequate provisions for the baby in the home. Initially, Chism had the couple keep a feeding log of how often and how much they fed Child; as time progressed, however, Chism began to doubt the accuracy of the log, as Child was still not gaining weight. Chism instructed the parents on when and how much to feed Child, as well as general parenting issues, and helped the couple enroll in WIC and Medicaid to get adequate supplies. She also helped them secure a crib.

Throughout her three weeks with the family, Chism was met with resistance to both her instructions and her actual help. For example, Mother and Father were "openly aggravated" when told they would need to feed Child throughout the night and were slow to respond to Child when he was fussy. They further continued to insist that Child's weight was not a problem. IIS involvement was terminated halfway through the usual six-week program because of this resistance and Child's lack of progress.

A hotline report was made July 20, 2006, and investigated by Stacey Baker of the Children's Division. The report alleged concerns of a failure to thrive due to medical neglect. Baker visited the home to speak with Mother and Father about the reported neglect; both responded that there was not a problem with Child, that they fed him every three hours, and that they had adequate baby supplies. Both parents were visibly upset and agitated about the allegations. Baker also spoke with various support workers in the home at the time of her visit and scheduled a meeting at the Juvenile Office for the following day.

At that meeting, it was determined that Child would be taken into custody and placed into foster care. Baker noted that comprehensive services had been in the home for approximately one month without any progress, and she found that Child was failing to thrive with Mother and Father.

The Circuit Court of Greene County thereafter held a hearing on a petition alleging that Mother and Father neglected *403

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
282 S.W.3d 398, 2009 WL 1046096, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-cam-moctapp-2009.