In the Interest of E.D.H.

138 S.W.3d 761, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 998, 2004 WL 1486057
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 6, 2004
DocketNo. ED 84003
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 138 S.W.3d 761 (In the Interest of E.D.H.) 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 the Interest of E.D.H., 138 S.W.3d 761, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 998, 2004 WL 1486057 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

PATRICIA L. COHEN, Judge.

Introduction

Michael Dewayne Monroe (“Father”) appeals the decision of the Circuit Court of [762]*762Audrain County terminating his parental rights to his daughter, E.D.H. (“Child”). We affirm.

Statement of the Facts and Proceedings Below

The court held a hearing on the Amended Petition to Terminate [Father’s] Parental Rights on November 19, 2003. Viewed in the light most favorable to court’s decision, the evidence adduced at the hearing established that Mother gave birth to Child on December 9,1998. At the time of Child’s birth, Mother and Father were not married. In fact, Father was not aware of Child’s birth until the summer of 1999 when Child was approximately six-months old. At the hearing, Father alleged that he had frequent and even extended contact with Child as soon as he learned of Child’s birth. However, there is no documentation of the extent of this initial contact.

Prior to Child’s birth, the Children’s Division of the Division of Family Service (“DFS”) maintained an open case on Mother and Child’s maternal half sister due to the unsanitary and hazardous living conditions in Mother’s home.1 As a result of DFS’s repeated involvement with Mother and Child’s maternal half sibling, DFS has been aware of Child since birth.

On February 22, 2001, DFS removed Child and her maternal half-sibling from Mother’s unsanitary home.2 DFS placed Child in the temporary custody of foster parents. DFS records indicate that Father contacted DFS about visiting with Child after the removal. At that time, however, Father did not advise DFS of any prior visits or involvement with Child and likewise did not request that he be considered as an alternative to foster care.

Upon placing Child in foster care, DFS made reasonable efforts to reunite Child with Mother.3 Due to the fact that Father had not been part of the initial family unit, DFS did not consider reunification with Father a possibility. However, in response to Father’s requests, DFS made supervised visitation available to Father. When DFS determined that Father and Child made progress in their visits, DFS provided unsupervised visits. Since removing Child from Mother’s home and the placement of Child in foster care, DFS has thoroughly documented both the availability of visitation to Father as well as the number of actual visits Father’s has had with Child.

According to the Social Summary prepared by DFS and included in the record, Father entered into written service agreements on April 3, 2002 and May 19, 2003.4 A case worker mailed a revised written service agreement to Father for the time period of November 19, 2002 through February 18, 2003, however, Father did not sign and return this agreement. Despite both parties’ failure to provide copies of the written service agreement, the Social Summary included in the record explains some of the terms of the fully-executed written service agreement. Specifically, Father agreed, inter alia,: (1) not to smoke, or allow anyone else to smoke, around Child because of her asthma; (2) to attend all of Child’s doctor’s appointments; (3) to work with Child’s foster mother to arrange a specific date and time for routine weekly visits with Child; (4) to contact foster mother 48 hours in advance to can[763]*763cel visits or make changes to the date or time of visits; (5) to promptly pick up Child for visits and promptly drop off Child at foster mother’s home at the designated times; (6) to complete and return Parent Reaction Forms after every visit with Child; (7) to provide funds directly to foster mother so that Child could begin dance and swimming lessons; (8) to provide funds for additional expenses not covered by Medicaid; and (9) to attend all Family Support Team and Permanency Planning meetings.

Rhonda Flick testified on behalf of DFS regarding DFS records and her experiences with Father and his compliance with the terms of the written service agreements. Specifically, Ms. Flick explained that, in light of the fact that Child was in custody for 116 weeks prior to the termination of Father’s visitation in June of 2003, Father theoretically had 116 visits available to him prior to termination. DFS records indicate, however, that Father utilized less than twenty of those 116 available visits. Ms. Flick also explained that Father only attended six of the nineteen Family Support Team meetings. Moreover, Father only accompanied Child to one of twenty-nine scheduled doctor’s appointments.

The record also indicates that Father has failed to meet his child support obligations. Specifically, on June 15, 1999, Father was ordered to pay child support to Mother in the amount of $283 per month. By January of 2000, however, Father was $2,264 in arrears. As of January of 2001, the arrearage had grown to $5,660. Pursuant to an Order dated September 15, 2001, Father was required to pay $205 per month to DFS Audrain County for Child. Father did not make any payments on this Order between July 2002 and June of 2003. Furthermore, by January of 2002, Father was $9,095 in arrears. In January of 2003, the arrearage was $12,452 and by October of 2003, the arrearage had grown to $14,999.

On June 3, 2003, the juvenile officer filed a Petition for Termination of Natural Father’s Parental Rights. On June 4, 2003, the juvenile officer filed a Motion to Discontinue Visitation and Reasonable Efforts which the court granted that same day. At Father’s request, the court appointed counsel. The juvenile officer filed the Amended Petition for the Termination of Parental Rights on November 18, 2003.

The court held a hearing on the Amended Petition. The court terminated Father’s parental rights on November 26, 2003, finding, inter alia, that: (1) Child has been in foster care for at least fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months; (2) Child was abandoned in light of Father’s failure to consistently pay child support, maintain contact with Child, attend Family Support Team meetings as well as Child’s doctor’s appointments; (3) Father has, without good cause, left Child without any provision for parental support and without making arrangements to visit or communicate with Child, and failed to pay child support; (4) the written service plan did not contain unreasonable objectives for Father, yet he failed to comply with those plans; (5) Child had emotional ties to Father, but Father’s inconsistent visits and total failure to visit from May 2002 to the present has extinguished those ties; (6) Father has paid less than $2,500 in child support since June of 1999 and is in arrears several time that amount; (7) no services would bring about a lasting parental adjustment because Child has never lived with Father; and (8) termination of Father’s parental rights is in Child’s best interest and clear, cogent and convincing evidence supports termination. Father appealed the termination.

[764]*764 Standard of Review

Our review of a trial court’s decision to terminate parental rights is governed by Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30 (Mo. banc 1976). We will affirm the judgment of the trial court unless no substantial evidence supports the decision, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. In the Interest of K.O., 933 S.W.2d 930

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Bluebook (online)
138 S.W.3d 761, 2004 Mo. App. LEXIS 998, 2004 WL 1486057, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-edh-moctapp-2004.