In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of A.H. (Minor Child) and J.H. (Father) and T.S. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided December 13, 2019·No. 19A-JT-1245·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any Dec 13 2019, 8:36 am

court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK Indiana Supreme Court

the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals and Tax Court

estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Alexander L. Hoover Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Law Office of Christopher G. Walter, Attorney General of Indiana P.C.

Natalie F. Weiss

Nappanee, Indiana Robert J. Henke Deputy Attorneys General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

In re the Termination of the December 13, 2019 Parent-Child Relationship of Court of Appeals Case No. A.H. (Minor Child) and 19A-JT-1245 J.H. (Father) and T.S. (Mother), Appeal from the Starke Circuit Court

Appellants-Respondents, The Honorable Nancy L.

v. Gettinger, Senior Judge Trial Court Cause No.

Indiana Department of Child 75C01-1811-JT-22 Services, Appellee-Petitioner.

Mathias, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-1245 | December 13, 2019 Page 1 of 19

[1] T.S. (“Mother”) and J.H. (“Father”) appeal the Starke Circuit Court’s order involuntarily terminating their parental rights to A.H. (“Child”). Parents argue there was insufficient evidence to support the termination of parental rights (“TPR”). Finding the evidence sufficient as to both parents, we affirm.

[2] We affirm.

Facts & Procedural History [3] Child was born to Mother and Father on February 17, 2011. When she was

nearly five years old, on December 15, 2015, a methamphetamine lab exploded in the family’s apartment in Knox, Indiana, causing the Starke County Department of Child Services (“DCS”) to file a petition alleging Child was a Child in Need of Services (“CHINS”). Mother and Father were arrested, and Child underwent medical examination for potential harm from exposure to the lab. Thereafter, she was placed in relative care with her maternal great- grandmother, which was authorized during a detention hearing the same day when the trial court determined out-of-home placement was necessary to protect Child’s health and safety. Mother and Father were each charged with six counts: Level 4 felony dealing in methamphetamine; Level 5 felony neglect of a dependent; Level 6 felony possession of chemical reagents or precursors with the intent to manufacture; Level 6 felony possession of methamphetamine; Level 6 felony theft; and Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana. A no- contact order was also entered at the time between the parents and Child.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-1245 | December 13, 2019 Page 2 of 19

[4] DCS Family Case Manager Kara Crippen (“FCM Crippen”) was assigned to Child’s case. Initial hearing on the CHINS petition was held on January 12, 2016; both parents appeared in custody, they admitted to some but not all allegations in the petition, and Child was adjudicated a CHINS. Parents were ordered to complete services at a disposition hearing on February 2. While in custody, both parents completed a substance use disorder assessment, clinical assessment, and Father participated in fatherhood engagement services. These activities were reported at a May 2016 review hearing before the trial court. Mother began participating in ordered services upon her release from jail in June 2016. A second review hearing was held in August 2016; both parents continued to participate in services. Father was released to a substance abuse treatment program in November 2016, and both parents appeared in person at a December 2016 review and permanency hearing. At that time, it was reported that in November 2016, Father had a positive screen for methamphetamine, and in September 2016, Mother had a positive screen for suboxone. Starke County DCS policy prevented parents from participating in visitations with Child until each returned three clean screens.

[5] FCM Crippen developed concurrent permanency plans: reunification and adoption. Between the December 2016 hearing and the subsequent review hearing in April 2017, Mother started visits with Child and participated in home-based work, but had not yet secured housing and outside employment. Father had also started visits with Child and secured outside employment. While Child’s visits with Mother were reportedly going well, visits with Father

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-1245 | December 13, 2019 Page 3 of 19 were not. Based on recommendations by Child’s therapist at the time, regular visits with Father were slowed. FCM Crippen explained:

[W]e went down to a therapeutic level visitation. We didn’t want to vilify dad. And [Child] was very mad at dad. [Child] blamed dad for the whole situation. And so, we didn’t want to, kind of, confirm that to [Child] that dad was bad. We wanted to continue to work on that relationship and see if we could repair that relationship.

Tr. pp. 29–30.

[6] In June 2017, Father voluntarily stopped his visits with Child in an attempt to see if stopping visits with Child would “have a beneficial effect” on their relationship. Tr. p. 31. At this point, fifteen months had passed since Child was removed from her parents’ care and adjudicated a CHINS.

[7] A year passed before Child’s next review hearing, in August 2017. FCM Crippen reported that both parents had made progress in that time: Father was working, had resumed visits with Child, and had returned clean drug screens. Mother, too, was working, participated in therapy with Child, and had returned clean drug screens. Parents had moved into a new house in Knox. Both had been sentenced to the Starke County Community Corrections home detention program: Mother to day reporting, and Father to electronic monitoring home detention. In FCM Crippen’s opinion, both parents had made positive progress in their criminal cases and in Child’s CHINS case.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-1245 | December 13, 2019 Page 4 of 19

[8] Child, however, maintained her opposition to going back to live with her parents. FCM Crippen explored other placement options, but the decision was made to continue Child’s placement with great-grandmother despite there being concerns about it being an appropriate long-term placement, due to great- grandmother’s advanced age and Child’s young age. FCM Crippen was also receiving conflicting reports about Child’s relationships with parents: therapist Pamela McElroy (“McElroy”) reported her concern that Child “was experiencing trauma from contact with mom and dad.” Tr. pp. 38–39. Those who observed supervised visits between Child and parents, however, reported the visits were “fine” and that Child was bonding with Father. Tr. p. 39. FCM Crippen later testified that during this time, in late 2017, Child “seemed to be kind of stuck in that pattern of not wanting to go with dad but we had to try it, we couldn’t hold it against the parents because [Child] was mad at them.” Tr. p. 40. Accordingly, Father’s visits with Child were increased, and the permanency plan was revised to solely recommend reunification. At the same time, to clarify the conflicting reports received, the trial court ordered DCS to “explore a new family therapist to work on the father-child relationship.” Tr. p. 40.

[9] In January 2018, FCM Crippen and the child and family team determined that the family was ready to participate in partially supervised visits, a step closer to reunification. The next review hearing occurred on April 10, 2018, at which point the report from the court-ordered family therapist was presented. FCM Crippen explained of the family therapist’s court-ordered report:

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-1245 | December 13, 2019 Page 5 of 19

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In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of A.H. (Minor Child) and J.H. (Father) and T.S. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2019).

In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of A.H. (Minor Child) and J.H. (Father) and T.S. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.) (In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of A.H. (Minor Child) and J.H. (Father) and T.S. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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