In the Interest of J.K.V.

485 S.W.3d 202, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 641, 2016 WL 269134
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 22, 2016
DocketNo. 06-15-00063-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 485 S.W.3d 202 (In the Interest of J.K.V.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas 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 J.K.V., 485 S.W.3d 202, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 641, 2016 WL 269134 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice Moseley

In a suit brought by the Department -of Family and Protective Services (the Department), Emma’s parental rights to three-year-old J.K.V.1 were terminated after a bench trial. On appeal, Emma complains that the evidence was factually insufficient to support the trial court’s finding that termination was in J.KV.’s best interest. Because the evidence is factually sufficient to support the trial court’s best-interest finding, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. .

I. Background

Emma checked into the Women’s Center of East Texas (the Center) in November 2013 after her roommate, whom she described as a “drug addict,” struck eighteen-month-old J.KV.2 Shortly after she entered the Center, Emma lost her job. Not long after that, and while she remained a shelter resident, Emma gave birth to a second child, K.V.,3 in February 2014.

Emma experienced difficulties during the time she lived at the Center with her two children. She engaged in two verbal altercations with residents of the Center, she refused to sign the Center’s cooperative living .agreement, and she became very angry when an employee of the Center tried to speak with her, a second time, about cooperation. On witnessing his mother’s anger, J.KV. became very distressed and threw himself down on the floor.

In April 2014, the Department was called to the Center and ultimately removed J.K.V. and KV. from Emma’s care. On April 29, the Center contacted the Department with a report that J.KV. had fallen and bruised his face and cut his head. Although the Good Shepherd Healthy Hotline advised the Center that Emma should take J.KV. to the hospital, Emma refused to do so. Department investigator Jessica Galindo visited the Center that evening and, on learning that Emma had gone to bed, advised the Center to ask Emma to take J.K.V. to the hospital the following morning. Galindo returned to the Center the following day, only to learn that Emma had not taken J.KV.- to the hospital. Instead, Emma had taken the children with her to a beauty salon appointment which she had.

In speaking with Galindo, Emma denied ever having been told to take J.KV. to the hospital. Galindo observed a laceration or “deep cut” on J.KV.’s forehead and an abrasion on his cheekbone. Galindo stated that J.KV.’s injuries were not consistent with thé description Emma provided—that J.KV. fell on concrete while Emma was. looking at apartments. Emma refused the Department’s request that she take J.K.V. [204]*204to the hospital to be evaluated. During the time Galindo was speaking with Emma, J.K.V. was removing pill bottles from Emma’s bag and was placing the bottles in his mouth. He also put an open bottle of baby powder in his mouth. Emma did not respond to these activities. Galindo also observed J.K.V. crying and seeking attention.

Also during this interview, Emma received an instant-read drug test, which indicated that she had ingested methamphetamine. Emma agreed to submit to a urine drug screen at that time, but thereafter quickly became upset and irate and insisted that she -and the children would leave the Center immediately. J.K.V. became distraught and clung to Emma, .while Emma was screaming and crying uncontrollably. Finally, Emma threw- herself into a chair, screamed that she could no longer feel her arms and legs, and fell to the floor in a fetal position.

Eventually, Emma and J.K.V. were transported by ambulance to the emergency room at Good Shepherd Medical Center. Emma was again screaming and “out of control.” She was cursing and refusing to speak English. At that point, Galindo made the decision to remove the children from Emma, who had no home for the children, no reliable transportation, and no dependable economic resources. She was unable to provide food, clothing, or medical care for the children. In the meantime, J.K.V. was tended by nurses,4 who were feeding him, snacks. Emma had stated earlier that even though J.K.V. was eighteen-months old, she only fed him formula due to her fear that the Center’s staff was poisoning the food.

Although she was advised of the time, and place of the scheduled fourteen-day hearing, Emma did not appear at the hearing. She did, however, visit with Galindo in her office when Galindo returned from the hearing, stating that she wanted to see her children. When Emma learned that the hearing had already occurred, she became irate and called the police, stating that Galindo should be arrested for kidnapping.

Dionne Jordep, a caseworker with the Department, testified that Emma became confrontational in a discussion about working services, refused to discuss her service plan, and refused to work services. Emma refused to accept a copy of the service plan and refused to sign the plan. Emma did submit to a psychological evaluation, but did not go to counseling.

Jorden observed that the children were riot bonded to Emma during the five occasions Emma visited with them subsequent to their removal. When Emma visited the children, she hugged J.K.V., but he would not attempt to return the hug, and it looked as if hugging by her was foreign to him. According to Jorden, J.K.V. did not display any affection toward Emma, and there was no display of separation anxiety by J.K.V. when Emma’s visits concluded. He sometimes ran out of the room when the visit was concluded. In October 2014, Emma stopped showing up for her visitation, and the Department was unable to contact her. In November 2014, the Department was advised by Emma’s brother-in-law that Emma had gone to Mexico. Emma explained that she did not tell the Department she was going to Mexico because she did not know what she was doing. In August 2014, Emma became very ' depressed and attempted suicide. She was then admitted “into a behavioral hospital in Tyler,” but on her release, she again attempted suicide. After her second failed suicide attempt, Emma fled to Mexi[205]*205co, where she was admitted to a drug rehabilitation center for thirty days. "

In December 2014, • Emma called the Department to let them know that she was in Mexico. Emma made no further contact -with the Department from January through July 2015. Then, on August 10, Emma called the Department to advise that she had returned to Longview. She stated that she was aware of the termination hearing scheduled for August 18. Emma testified that she had conquered her drug habit, that she wanted to raise her children, and that she would do anything for them.5 At the time of the hearing, Emma was employed at a restaurant and was renting a house in Longview.

Emma has presented no plan to provide for her children and has taken no action under the service plan to demonstrate her ability to change the risky behavior that led to the Department’s involvement. There is no evidence that Emma ever sought medical treatment for her children or that she was able to perceive the children’s medical, emotional, and physical needs. Likewise, there is no evidence that Emma was ever able to provide a safe and stable home for her children.

At the time of the termination hearing, J.K.V. was living in a foster home, where he had been living since April 80, 2014. The foster mother was advised by a pediatrician that J.K.V. was not having his needs met before he was separated from Emma, as he had blossomed and grown “quite a bit” since joining his foster family. At the time of trial, J.K.V.

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Related

in the Interest of J.K v. a Child
490 S.W.3d 250 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016)
in the Interest of K.O., A.O., and O.O., Children
488 S.W.3d 829 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016)

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Bluebook (online)
485 S.W.3d 202, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 641, 2016 WL 269134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-jkv-texapp-2016.