In Re JS

2008 ND 9, 743 N.W.2d 808, 2008 WL 152178
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 25, 2008
Docket20070123
StatusPublished

This text of 2008 ND 9 (In Re JS) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re JS, 2008 ND 9, 743 N.W.2d 808, 2008 WL 152178 (N.D. 2008).

Opinion

743 N.W.2d 808 (2008)
2008 ND 9

In the Interest of J.S., a child.
In the Interest of J.G., a child.
Carrie Smith, L.S.W., Petitioner and Appellee
v.
J.G., Mother, Respondent and Appellant and
J.S., a child, J.G., a child, D.S., Father of J.S., John Doe, Father of J.G., and Kathy Kassenborg, Lay Guardian ad Litem, Respondents.

No. 20070123.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

January 17, 2008.

*810 Constance L. Cleveland, Assistant State's Attorney, Fargo, ND, for petitioner and appellee; submitted on brief.

Douglas W. Nesheim, Fargo, ND, for respondent and appellant; submitted on brief.

CROTHERS, Justice.

[¶ 1] J.G. ("Mother"[1]) appeals the juvenile court's order terminating parental rights to her two minor children, J.S. ("Sam") and J.G. ("George"). We conclude the juvenile court did not err in finding the children have been deprived, the causes and conditions of deprivation are likely to continue, and, as a result of the continued deprivation, Sam and George have suffered or will probably suffer serious physical, mental or emotional harm if Mother's parental rights are not terminated. Further, the juvenile court did not err in finding reasonable efforts were made to preserve and unify the family prior to termination of Mother's rights. We affirm.

I

[¶ 2] Mother has three children: Sally, born September 2001; Sam, born July 2003; and George, born September 2004. Sally was removed from Mother's home by Cass County Social Services because Sally was not receiving sufficient care. Sally is currently placed with her father and is not part of this termination action.

[¶ 3] Mother began working with social services voluntarily in August 2003. At that time, she, Sam, and Sam's father, D.S., lived together in an apartment. A parent aide was assigned to assist Mother with Sam, who was one month old. The aide helped Mother with her parenting skills, focusing primarily on keeping the family's apartment clean. In September 2003, D.S. struck Sam and was later convicted of child abuse. After the incident, Mother and Sam moved into her parents' home. D.S. no longer has contact with Sam.

[¶ 4] Social services assessed the family's living situation at the grandparents' *811 home in December 2003 and found it lacking. The house was dirty and covered in dog hair from the family's two German shepherds. The baby bottles were "dirty and moldy," and Sam smelled of urine. Sam was placed in foster care while Mother worked with social services to improve the home environment. Mother also began seeing a psychiatrist. On May 6, 2004, Sam was adjudicated a "deprived child" due to poor household conditions, poor hygiene, lack of a regular feeding schedule, Mother's failure to address her mental health issues and her "demonstrat[ion] of poor judgment with regard to [Sam's] health and safety."

[¶ 5] While Sam was in foster care, George was born. The identity of George's father is unknown. Social services continued working with Mother to improve her parenting skills. Mother obtained her own apartment within this time frame, though the conditions of the home continued to be a problem. Nonetheless, Sam was returned to the home from foster care in April 2005. Mother continued working with social services, and a speech therapist worked with Sam. Social services monitored Sam until August 2005.

[¶ 6] On September 23, 2005, both Sam and George were placed in foster care because of the condition of the apartment. They were adjudicated deprived children on January 10, 2006. A treatment plan for the family was developed, including treatment of Mother's mental illness, parenting classes, homemaking assistance and day-care for the children so Mother could work on improving her life skills. The children were returned to Mother's care on January 3, 2006. Mother took Sam to see a psychiatrist in February 2006 because of his hitting and biting behaviors; he was prescribed mood-stabilizing medication.

[¶ 7] In June 2006, licensed social worker Carrie Smith received a report of problems at Mother's home. Smith and two law enforcement officers went to the home on June 14, 2006 to investigate. Mother was told in advance that Smith would be visiting the home. Upon entering the apartment, Smith noticed a strong odor she characterized as "feces and also like a stale smoke, garbage kind of smell." Sam and George were found in their bedroom, where several areas of the wall had been smeared with feces. Sam was eating loose cereal off the floor which was next to feces stains on the carpet. George was found in his crib, which had only a bare mattress and no bedding. He was eating loose cereal off the crib mattress. Both children ware dressed only in diapers that appeared not to have been changed that morning. Sam's diaper was fastened with duct tape. No toys, books or play items were available to the children. All such items were stored in containers out of the children's reach. During the visit, Smith witnessed George putting pennies in his mouth. Other parts of the apartment were in a similar state with cigarette butts and food products on the floor. One of the officers who accompanied Smith described the home:

"I didn't think [the family] should be living there to be blunt. The place was filthy. . . . It was a mess. The carpet probably hadn't been cleaned since they moved in. There was food all over. . . . There was garbage piled up all over the residence. It appeared to be a cleaning solution in a bucket that was on the floor that could be easily accessible to a child. . . . [T]he T.V. that was in the bedroom was on but there was no picture on it. It was a snowy picture and the children appeared to be watching it as if there was a cartoon on. . . . The house was disgusting."

During the visit, Mother told Smith she had been "spring cleaning." The police officers *812 took photos of the home which were entered into evidence. Sam and George were taken into protective custody.

[¶ 8] Sam and George entered foster care on June 14, 2006, and a petition for termination of parental rights was filed on June 30, 2006. On January 8, 2007, a judicial referee terminated Mother's parental rights to both Sam and George. The children's fathers' rights were also terminated. The referee's findings of fact were (1) Mother has mental health issues and has refused the mental health services made available to her through social services; (2) Mother complains of numerous physical ailments, including back problems, psoriasis, connective tissue disorder, irritable bowel syndrome; stress and exercise induced asthma, stress induced hives, reflux disorder, ovarian cyst and seizures, but has not sought consistent medical treatment; (3) Mother "fail[s] to maintain the home at or above minimum community standards[,] has failed to appropriately address the hygiene needs of the children and [has] demonstrated poor judgement with regard to the health and safety of the children"; (4) Mother has been offered extensive services including intervention, referrals and education to help her improve her family's situation, yet was "unable to maintain any consistent minimal level of care for extended periods of time [which] has resulted in an environment that is unsafe for the children"; and (5) Mother is unable to provide appropriate developmental care for the children, and since entering foster care, the children's developmental delays have disappeared.

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Related

In the Interest of T.F. v. Director, Traill County Social Services
2004 ND 126 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2004)
Interest of E.G.
2006 ND 126 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Obrigewitch
356 N.W.2d 105 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1984)
Dvorak v. S.H.
2001 ND 68 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2001)
Olson v. T.K.
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Boehmer v. T.A.
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Knoll ex rel. Cass County Social Services v. D.M.
2007 ND 62 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2007)
Smith v. J.G.
2008 ND 9 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2008 ND 9, 743 N.W.2d 808, 2008 WL 152178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-js-nd-2008.