In the Interest of B.L. and A.L., Minor Children, State of Iowa

CourtCourt of Appeals of Iowa
DecidedOctober 26, 2016
Docket16-0878
StatusPublished

This text of In the Interest of B.L. and A.L., Minor Children, State of Iowa (In the Interest of B.L. and A.L., Minor Children, State of Iowa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Interest of B.L. and A.L., Minor Children, State of Iowa, (iowactapp 2016).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA

No. 16-0878 Filed October 26, 2016

IN THE INTEREST OF B.L. and A.L., Minor Children,

STATE OF IOWA, Appellant. ________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Romonda D. Belcher,

District Associate Judge.

The State and guardian ad litem appeal from the juvenile court’s

permanency order returning physical custody of B.L. to father and A.L. to mother.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Mary A. Triick, Assistant Attorney

General, for appellant State.

Nicole Garbis Nolan of the Youth Law Center, Des Moines, for appellant

minor children.

Mark D. Reed of Marberry Law Firm, P.C., Urbandale, for appellee

mother.

Bryan P. Webber of Carr & Wright, P.L.C., Des Moines, for appellee

father.

Karen Taylor of Taylor Law Offices, Des Moines, for mother of B.L.

Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ. 2

DANILSON, Chief Judge.

The State and the children’s guardian ad litem (GAL) challenge the

juvenile court’s ruling following a contested permanency hearing that the children

be placed in the parents’ physical custody—B.L. with the father; and A.L. with the

mother, any contact between father and A.L. to be professionally supervised.

Upon our de novo review, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

The mother (Tabitha) and father (Cole) married in 2013. Tabitha has a

child from a previous relationship, A.C., born in October 2009.1 Cole also has a

child from a previous relationship, B.L., born in June 2008.2 Cole and B.L. have

been involved previously with the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS).

Together, Tabitha and Cole have a child, A.L., born in July 2012.

In May 2015, DHS investigated allegations made by A.C. that Cole had

inappropriate sexual contact with A.C. Cole admitted touching A.C.’s genitals for

medicinal purposes3 but denied sexual contact. A child abuse investigation

founded the allegations of sexual contact. The children remained in Tabitha’s

care subject to a safety plan under which she had agreed with DHS not to

discuss the allegations with A.C. and not to allow unsupervised contact between

Cole and the children. Thereafter, Tabitha and Cole violated the safety plan.

Tabitha did not believe A.C.’s allegations, asserting they were made at Ryan’s

1 A.C.’s father is Ryan. Ryan is married and he and his wife have two other children in their household. 2 Sarah is the non-custodial mother of B.L. Sarah “has a drug history” and “her son [B.L] has twice been involved in juvenile court because of [Sarah’s] drug abuse issues.” Sarah tested positive for methamphetamine on June 9, 2015. 3 A.C. has a history of reoccurring yeast infections. 3

urging. The children were removed from Tabitha’s and Cole’s custody on May

29, 2015; A.C. was placed in Ryan’s care, while A.L. and B.L. were placed with

maternal grandparents. However, it was later reported the maternal grandmother

“was unable to handle [B.L.’s] behaviors for more than one hour when she is

alone with him.” And, on July 7, while the children were visiting the paternal

grandparents, the maternal grandmother packed all the children’s belongings and

delivered them to the paternal grandparents, “indicating they were done” caring

for the children. On July 21, a motion to modify placement was filed with the

court. On July 30, the juvenile court placed B.L. and A.L. in the temporary legal

custody of paternal grandparents under DHS supervision.

A contested child-in-need-of-assistance (CINA) hearing was held on

August 17, September 24, October 2 and 16, and December 11, 2015. On

December 11, the juvenile court entered an order finding Cole had sexually

abused A.C. and that the three children were CINA. The court found A.C. and

A.L. were CINA pursuant to section 232.2(6)(c)(2) (2015) (failure to exercise a

reasonable degree of care in supervising the child) and (6)(d) (imminently likely

to be sexually abused by the child’s parent or custodian),4 and B.L. was CINA

pursuant to section 232.2(6)(c)(2). The court ordered A.C. remain in Ryan’s

custody; B.L. and A.L. were to remain in the paternal grandparents’ care under

4 The original CINA adjudication order stated A.L. and A.C. were CINA under section 232.2(6)(c)(2) and (6)(n). However, the juvenile court later filed a “Child in Need of Assistance Disposition Order Without Modification of Placement & Nunc Pro Tunc Adjudicatory Order,” which specified A.L. and A.C. were CINA under “(c)(2)” and “(d)”, not “(n).” 4

DHS supervision. No appeal was taken from the adjudication and dispositional

orders.

On January 25, 2016, DHS submitted a report to the court in which it was

noted B.L. was diagnosed with disruptive behavior disorder, was attending

individual therapy, and was able to be rewarded for positive behavior at school.

It also noted that A.C. was involved in individual therapy and doing well in

kindergarten. DHS recommended B.L. and A.C. continue to attend individual

therapy.

The report also stated:

Tabitha and Cole completed an online parenting class. FSRP [Family Safety, Risk, and Permanency] has worked with Tabitha and Cole on appropriate consequences for their children. Tabitha continues to believe that her daughter was not honest and the content of the child abuse assessment is untrue. Cole continues to have no contact with [A.C.] due to the founded child protective report for sexual abuse. .... Cole and Tabitha are currently not in individual therapy due to insurance issues. Cole and Tabitha continue to believe that the content of the [abuse investigation report] is untrue and that [A.C.] is lying. Tabitha is working with her parent partner and identifies her as a support. Cole, Tabitha, Ryan and Sarah have employment, housing, and transportation. .... The permanency recommendation for [B.L.] and [A.L.] and [A.C.] is that they be reunified with their mother, Tabitha [L.] and for [B.L.] and [A.L.] also their father, Cole. . . . Cole and Tabitha need to attend individual therapy to address the sexual abuse allegations and how this impacts their relationship and ability to be a family. Cole, Tabitha and Ryan will need to continue to live a life of recovery. Cole will need to address his criminal charges and abide by his current probation requirements.[5]

5 In June 2015, Cole had been charged with drag racing and eluding. 5

Cole and Tabitha were encouraged to “honestly participate in therapy and follow

all recommendations,” participate in FSRP services, refrain from criminal activity,

and provide drug screens.

A February 2016 letter from B.L.’s therapist, Rachel Klobassa,

recommended he remain in his grandparents’ care and “have consistent stable

housing with clear boundaries and expectations,” continued therapy, and

supervised visits with his mother.

On February 5, 2016, a dispositional hearing was held and, on February 8,

the juvenile court found “[p]lacement outside the parental home is necessary as a

return to the home is contrary to their welfare due to allegations of sexual abuse

in the home, failure of the parents to follow a safety plan.” The court’s written

disposition order noted, Cole “has founded child abuse assessment for sexual

abuse involving his stepdaughter, [A.C.], and the mother has struggled with

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Related

In the Interest of Dameron
306 N.W.2d 743 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1981)
In the Interest of J.c, Minor Child. D.C., Father
857 N.W.2d 495 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 2014)
In the Interest of C.B.
611 N.W.2d 489 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 2000)
In the Interest of K.N.
625 N.W.2d 731 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 2001)

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In the Interest of B.L. and A.L., Minor Children, State of Iowa, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-bl-and-al-minor-children-state-of-iowa-iowactapp-2016.