In Re Kmc

223 S.W.3d 916
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 31, 2007
Docket28013
StatusPublished

This text of 223 S.W.3d 916 (In Re Kmc) 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 Kmc, 223 S.W.3d 916 (Mo. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

223 S.W.3d 916 (2007)

In re the Interest of K.M.C., III.

No. 28013.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Division Two.

May 31, 2007.

*918 Teresa Rieger Housholder, Marshfield, for Appellant.

William C. Prince, Springfield, for Respondent.

Larry Brent Moore, Springfield, for Juvenile/Minor.

JEFFREY W. BATES, Chief Judge.

G.C.S. (Mother) appeals from a judgment terminating her parental rights to her son, K.M.C., III (K.M.C.).[1] The trial court terminated Mother's parental rights pursuant to § 211.447.4(2) for abuse or neglect and pursuant to § 211.447.4(3) for failure to rectify harmful conditions.[2] On appeal, Mother presents three points: (1) there was insufficient evidence to support termination on the statutory abuse or neglect ground; (2) there was insufficient evidence to support termination on the statutory failure to rectify ground; and (3) the court failed to make sufficient findings to support its decision that termination of Mother's parental rights was in K.M.C.'s best interest. We affirm.

*919 I. Factual and Procedural Background

When we review a trial court's judgment terminating parental rights, we consider the facts and the reasonable inferences derived therefrom in a light most favorable to the judgment. 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 light, the following evidence was adduced at the termination hearing.

K.M.C. was born March 4, 1997 in Springfield, Missouri. At that time, Mother and K.M.C., II (Father), were married and residing together. By mid-June 2001, the couple had separated. Father continued to reside in the family home. Mother moved out, but she returned daily to babysit K.M.C. and the other children in the home.

On June 19, 2001, Mother was watching the children as she usually did. Father was not at home. Mother left a 16-year-old niece in charge of watching the children while Mother took a shower and applied her makeup. During that time, K.M.C. apparently climbed out of a bedroom window and left the house. When Father returned home, he discovered that K.M.C. was missing. Mother called the police and reported that K.M.C. was missing. He was found by police about five blocks away.

The Division was notified of the incident, and case investigator Emilie McPhail (McPhail) met with Mother and Father at their home. McPhail found probable cause to believe that Mother had failed to properly supervise K.M.C. While there, McPhail established a safety plan requiring the parents to be in continuous visual contact with K.M.C. and ensure that he remained at "arm's length" at all times. Before McPhail left the home, however, she observed K.M.C. leave the room without supervision. Since Mother and Father were not taking the matter seriously, McPhail contacted the Juvenile Office and had K.M.C. taken into protective custody. Eventually, K.M.C. was returned to Father's custody.

On May 14, 2003, the Division received another hotline report concerning K.M.C. Then age six, he had started a fire in the upstairs bedroom that killed his two-year-old brother, B.C.K.M.C. had been in Father's custody since his parents' divorce. Due to strained relations with Father and his new spouse, Mother had not seen K.M.C. for several months. The Division's investigation resulted in a finding of probable cause to believe that Father had failed to properly supervise K.M.C.

After the fire, Mother and Father attended a conference at the Greene County Juvenile Office. They each acknowledged K.M.C.'s need for mental health treatment and voluntarily placed him into the Division's legal and physical custody. K.M.C. was subsequently admitted to Lakeland Regional Hospital for treatment.

On May 23, 2003, a petition alleging neglect by both Father and Mother was filed by the Greene County Deputy Juvenile Officer. The petition alleged that Mother had "a history of being unable and/or unwilling to provide adequate supervision" for K.M.C. and that K.M.C. was "unable to remain within the parental home due to his need for mental health treatment."

On December 8, 2003, a jurisdictional and dispositional hearing was held. The trial court found that the allegations relating to Mother were true. In addition, the court found Mother "is currently without independent housing, or stable income. She has been referred to Burrell for mental health services." The court further found K.M.C. in "need of additional mental health treatment before reunification can *920 occur" and ordered the child to remain in the continuing temporary legal and physical custody of the Division.

Dr. Evelyn Darrow (Dr. Darrow), a licensed psychologist, first evaluated K.M.C.'s cognitive and emotional condition on August 20, 2003. K.M.C. had come from "an environment that was not very enriched." His scores on the WISC-III revealed an I.Q. of 69, which showed mild mental retardation. Although the child was six years and five months old, his scores and verbal skills were in the two-year-old to three-year-old range. Dr. Darrow diagnosed K.M.C. with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), oppositional defiant disorder, severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with marked impulsivity, an impulse control disorder, an unspecified learning disorder and "neglect of a child" based on lack of parental supervision in the 2001 incident when K.M.C. wandered away from home and in the 2003 incident when he set the fire that killed B.C. Given K.M.C.'s condition, Dr. Darrow did not recommend returning him to the family home. Instead, he needed an environment that was more enriched, stable and structured and that provided him with "constant supervision."

While K.M.C. was in the Division's custody and receiving mental health treatment, the Division prepared a treatment plan for Mother. The plan was intended to address the problems created by Mother's unstable housing, unstable employment, mental health issues and deficient parenting skills.

Mother completely failed to comply with the treatment plan's requirement that she maintain a stable residence. When the Division took custody of K.M.C., Mother was residing with a relative of her new husband, E.S. (Husband). In September 2003, Mother moved in with a family friend. In October 2003, Mother and Husband moved back in with his relatives. In November 2003, Mother moved back in with the family friend. In January 2004, Mother obtained a house on State Street in Springfield. Mother lost that house. In July 2004, Mother moved in with friends. In September 2004, Mother moved into the home of Husband's brother. The brother subsequently moved out, and Mother was able to reside in the home rent free. Mother was unable to maintain that residence and moved into another home. Mother remained there until May 2005 when she moved into the Missouri Hotel. Mother was evicted from the Missouri Hotel due to lack of cooperation with her caseworker and her failure to do her required work at the hotel. In August 2005, Mother briefly resided at a motel. On August 11, 2005, Mother moved in with an alleged child abuser in Seymour, Missouri. Mother then moved back to Springfield, where she lived part of the time with Husband's relatives and part of the time at the Missouri Hotel.

Between 2003 and 2006, Mother was intermittently employed.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Douglas
132 S.W.3d 251 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2004)
In Interest of CLW
115 S.W.3d 354 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2003)
In the Interest of L.M. v. Greene County Juvenile Office
212 S.W.3d 177 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
C.M.S. v. Greene County Juvenile Office
213 S.W.3d 161 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
In the Interest of Kierst v. D.D.H.
965 S.W.2d 932 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1998)
Juvenile Officer v. R.H.
9 S.W.3d 56 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2000)
Juvenile Officer v. L.L.J.
24 S.W.3d 771 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2000)
M.S.K. v. Greene County Juvenile Office
64 S.W.3d 923 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2002)
Campbell v. R.L.O.
75 S.W.3d 905 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2002)
Greene County Juvenile Office v. R.L.F.
99 S.W.3d 15 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2003)
Missouri Division of Family Services v. A.R.H.
124 S.W.3d 63 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2004)
In the Interest of P.L.O.
131 S.W.3d 782 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2004)
In the Interest of A.S.W.
137 S.W.3d 448 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2004)
In the Interest of C.F.C.
156 S.W.3d 422 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2005)
M.D.R. v. Greene County Juvenile Office
179 S.W.3d 418 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2005)
Holland v. Crow
203 S.W.3d 295 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2006)
In the Interest of M.D.D.
219 S.W.3d 873 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
In the Interest of C.K.
221 S.W.3d 467 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)
In re the Interest of K.M.C.
223 S.W.3d 916 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
223 S.W.3d 916, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-kmc-moctapp-2007.