In Re GH

906 N.E.2d 248, 2009 WL 1409704
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 20, 2009
Docket06A01-0811-JV-549
StatusPublished

This text of 906 N.E.2d 248 (In Re GH) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana 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 GH, 906 N.E.2d 248, 2009 WL 1409704 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

906 N.E.2d 248 (2009)

In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of G.H., the Child, and Elizabethe G., the Mother, and Allen H., the Father
Elizabethe G., Appellant-Respondent,
v.
Department of Child Services, Appellee-Petitioner.

No. 06A01-0811-JV-549.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

May 20, 2009.

*249 Deborah K. Smith, Thorntown, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Jon R. Rogers, Indiana Department of Child Services, Lebanon, IN, Attorney for Appellee.

OPINION

CRONE, Judge.

Case Summary

Elizabethe G. ("Mother") appeals the termination of her parental rights as to G.H. We affirm.

*250 Issue

Did the juvenile court commit clear error by terminating Mother's parental rights?

Facts and Procedural History

On October 10, 2005, a Boone County law enforcement officer informed the Boone County Division of the Indiana Department of Child Services ("DCS") that Mother was being arrested at her home and that no one else was present to care for her daughter, fourteen-month-old G.H. DCS intake officer Karina Rider went to the home that day to investigate the complaint. DCS took custody of G.H. and placed her in foster care. On the following day, Rider interviewed Mother in jail. On October 12, 2005, DCS filed a petition alleging that G.H. was a Child in Need of Services ("CHINS"). According to the petition, "[t]he entire home is in a general filthy condition with dirty dishes, bottles, animal feces and soiled clothes in each room in easy reach of the child. The child was filthy." Appellant's App. at 25. DCS alleged that G.H. was a CHINS as defined by Indiana Code Section 31-34-1-1, in that her physical or mental condition was seriously impaired or endangered as a result of the inability, refusal, or neglect of Mother to provide the child with necessary supervision. DCS also stated that G.H. was a CHINS in that Mother's failure to maintain a clean home seriously endangered G.H.'s physical and mental health. See Ind.Code § 31-34-1-2.

Also on October 12, 2005, the juvenile court held an initial hearing on the CHINS petition. Mother appeared pro se and by video from jail. DCS was unable to notify G.H.'s father, Allen H. ("Father"), of the hearing. Mother admitted the allegations in the CHINS petition. The juvenile court adjudged G.H. a CHINS and ordered DCS to continue her foster care placement. One week later, on October 19, 2005, DCS returned G.H. to Mother's custody. On December 7, 2005, the juvenile court held a dispositional hearing, at which Mother and Father appeared pro se. On December 20, 2005, the juvenile court issued a dispositional decree, ordering continued placement with Mother, with several conditions, including the maintenance of a clean, safe home environment, and random drug screens for Mother and Father.

As will be discussed in more detail below, DCS removed G.H. from Mother's custody and returned G.H. to Mother's custody several times over the two years following the entry of the juvenile court's dispositional decree. G.H. was placed both in non-relative and relative foster care situations during this time. On December 11, 2007, DCS filed its petition to terminate Mother's parental rights. In January 2008, DCS filed a petition to terminate Father's parental rights. The juvenile court held a hearing on both petitions, and on September 26, 2008, it issued an order terminating both Mother's and Father's parental rights. Mother now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

Discussion and Decision

Mother claims that the evidence was insufficient to support the termination of her parental rights as to G.H.

[T]his Court has long had a highly deferential standard of review in cases concerning the termination of parental rights. Thus, when reviewing the termination of parental rights, we will not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of the witnesses. Instead, we consider only the evidence and reasonable inferences that are most favorable to the judgment. In deference to the juvenile court's unique position to assess the evidence, we will set aside the court's judgment terminating a parent-child relationship only if it is clearly erroneous. *251 Clear error is that which leaves us with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made.

In re A.B., 888 N.E.2d 231, 235 (Ind.Ct. App.2008) (citations omitted), trans. denied.

Pursuant to Indiana Code Section 31-35-2-4, a petition for termination of parental rights must allege that:

(A) one (1) of the following exists:
(i) the child has been removed from the parent for at least six (6) months under a dispositional decree;
(ii) a court has entered a finding under IC XX-XX-XX-X.6 that reasonable efforts for family preservation or reunification are not required, including a description of the court's finding, the date of the finding, and the manner in which the finding was made; or
(iii) the child has been removed from the parent and has been under the supervision of a county office of family and children for at least fifteen
(15) months of the most recent twenty-two (22) months;
(B) there is a reasonable probability that:
(i) the conditions that resulted in the child's removal or the reasons for placement outside the home of the parents will not be remedied; or
(ii) the continuation of the parent-child relationship poses a threat to the well-being of the child;
(C) termination is in the best interests of the child; and
(D) there is a satisfactory plan for the care and treatment of the child.

(emphases added). It is important to note that DCS must allege and prove only one of the three allegations listed in Section (A) and only one of the two allegations listed in Section (B), as well as the allegations listed in Sections (C) and (D).

DCS must prove its allegations by clear and convincing evidence. In re S.F., 883 N.E.2d 830, 835 (Ind.Ct.App. 2008). Clear and convincing evidence need not show that the continued custody of the parent is wholly inadequate for the child's very survival. Id. Instead, it is sufficient to show by clear and convincing evidence that the child's emotional and physical development is threatened by the parent's custody. Id. Without clear and convincing evidence to support each of the four statutory elements, we cannot affirm the termination of a parent-child relationship. In re A.B., 888 N.E.2d at 239.

First, Mother contends that DCS failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that G.H. had been removed from a parent's care for a sufficient period of time to support termination. In its order, the juvenile court seemed to conclude that the State succeeded in proving that G.H. had been removed from Mother for at least six months under a dispositional decree and that G.H.

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Related

Castro v. State Office of Family & Children
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James v. Pike County
759 N.E.2d 1140 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2001)
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Angela B. v. Lake County Department of Child Services
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In Re Termination of the Parent-Child Relation.
883 N.E.2d 830 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Elizabethe G. v. Department of Child Services
906 N.E.2d 248 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
906 N.E.2d 248, 2009 WL 1409704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-gh-indctapp-2009.