In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: A.M. (Minor Child) and W.M. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided February 28, 2020·No. 19A-JT-2035·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED regarded as precedent or cited before any Feb 28 2020, 10:47 am court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals

estoppel, or the law of the case. and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Alexander W. Robbins Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Public Defender - Morgan County Attorney General of Indiana Bloomington, Indiana Katherine A. Cornelius

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

In re the Termination of the February 28, 2020 Parent-Child Relationship of: Court of Appeals Case No.

19A-JT-2035

A.M. (Minor Child) Appeal from the Morgan Circuit and Court The Honorable Matthew G.

W.M. (Father), Hanson, Judge Appellant-Respondent, Trial Court Cause No.

55C01-1903-JT-90

v.

Indiana Department of Child Services, Appellee-Petitioner,

Robb, Judge. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-2035 | February 28, 2020 Page 1 of 19

Case Summary and Issue

[1] W.M. (“Father”) appeals the termination of his parental rights to his child and

presents the sole issue of whether the juvenile court’s order terminating his parental rights was clearly erroneous. Concluding it was not, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [2] Father and J.P. (“Mother”), now deceased, are the biological parents of A.M.,

born June 18, 2007 (“Child”). The Department of Child Services (“DCS”) became involved in this case in 2016. At that time, Mother had legal custody of Child and shared another child with her boyfriend, M.G. The four of them lived together. On November 1, 2016, DCS received a report that M.G. and his sister snorted heroin in the bedroom and M.G. overdosed; Mother was in the other room with Child’s half-sibling and Child was at school. DCS believed Mother was sober and an appropriate parent, and Mother agreed to enter into an informal adjustment to address M.G.’s substance abuse issues. Father was a “non-offending parent or at least extraneous” to the case and therefore, was not part of the informal adjustment. Transcript at 20.

[3] On December 14, 2016, DCS filed a petition alleging Child was a child in need of services (“CHINS”).1 Around February 2017, Father became involved with

1 Initially, filings named Child as “A.P.” but Child’s correct name is “A.M.” See Tr. at 19; see also Supplemental Exhibit Index at 3-15, 39-41.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-2035 | February 28, 2020 Page 2 of 19

DCS in another matter concerning his wife and his wife’s two children. DCS began an informal adjustment due to Father’s use of methamphetamine and determined that Father’s wife was an appropriate caregiver for her children. Father entered into an informal adjustment and agreed to participate in services to address his substance abuse issues. Father completed a substance abuse evaluation at Centerstone on February 7, which recommended substance abuse treatment. Despite attempts to contact Father, he never participated in any recommended services and was discharged. Eventually, Father and his wife separated and divorced; DCS successfully closed out the informal adjustment with Father’s wife.

[4] An initial/detention hearing for Child was held in February 2017, and the juvenile court adjudicated Child a CHINS on March 28, 2017. Following a dispositional hearing on April 4 at which Father failed to appear, the juvenile court ordered Father to (among other things): maintain weekly contact with the DCS family case manager (“FCM”); timely enroll in recommended programs; obtain and maintain suitable housing and income; refrain from drug use; obey the law; submit to random drug screens; and complete a substance abuse assessment and follow all recommended treatment. See Supplemental Exhibit Index at 64-67. At the time, Child remained in Mother’s care.

[5] The juvenile court held a periodic case review hearing on July 10 and ordered Child to remain in Mother’s care. Father failed to appear. On July 13, Father reached out to the DCS FCM and asked what he needed to do to move forward in the CHINS case; the FCM informed Father he needed to participate in the Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-2035 | February 28, 2020 Page 3 of 19 recommended services but Father stated he did not want to participate in group services. From July 13, 2017 to September 24, 2018, Father ceased all contact with the FCM despite numerous attempts to contact him through his parents, Child, and Mother.

[6] Due to Mother’s own substance abuse issues, Child was removed from Mother’s care on July 24, 2017 and placed with her maternal grandparents. Later, on October 3, Father completed a new substance abuse evaluation at Centerstone during which he disclosed that he has been using methamphetamine daily for the last three or four years and he used as recently as three days prior to the evaluation. Centerstone referred Father to an intensive outpatient program (“IOP”)2 program – an addictions and parenting group, which focuses on parenting skills and maintaining sobriety. Father attended five sessions but missed eleven. Due to Father’s non-compliance with the program and positive drug screens, he was discharged from services.

[7] Following a review hearing on November 2, the juvenile court found that Father: had not complied with Child’s case plan; tested positive for methamphetamine; failed to visit Child; and had not cooperated with DCS. See id. at 96-97. In February 2018, the juvenile court found that Father “is not participating in this case.” Id. at 99. A permanency hearing was held on May 3, 2018, and the juvenile court again found that Father was missing and not

2 Although not explicitly defined in the record, we believe “IOP” refers to an intensive outpatient program.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-2035 | February 28, 2020 Page 4 of 19 participating in the case. The court subsequently entered an order changing Child’s permanency plan from reunification to reunification with a concurrent plan of adoption. Father failed to appear for each of these hearings.

[8] As of the August 9 review hearing, Father was still missing and non-compliant with the case plan. However, the FCM learned that Father had an active criminal case and successfully made contact with Father on September 24 at the courthouse. At the time, Father stated he would engage in services and “want[ed] to fight for his daughter.” Tr. at 25. However, Father never reached out to re-engage in services and again ceased contact with the FCM. The juvenile court held another review hearing on December 12 and again, Father failed to appear and the juvenile court found Father had been non-compliant with the case plan, had not enhanced his ability to fulfill his parental obligations, and had not visited Child. See Supp. Ex. Index at 106-07.

[9] In January 2019, Father was arrested on multiple counts of substance abuse related charges – possession of methamphetamine, possession of paraphernalia, possession of a narcotic drug, unlawful possession of a syringe, and maintaining a common nuisance. On March 1, 2019, DCS filed its petition for the involuntary termination of Father’s parental rights. While incarcerated, Father met with the FCM and indicated he was interested in participating in services. However, Father is not able to participate in any DCS-offered services while incarcerated because jail policy no longer allows service providers to work one on one in the jail.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-JT-2035 | February 28, 2020 Page 5 of 19

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In re the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: A.M. (Minor Child) and W.M. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2020).

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

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