In the Interest of P.D., Minor Child, R.B., Mother
This text of In the Interest of P.D., Minor Child, R.B., Mother (In the Interest of P.D., Minor Child, R.B., Mother) 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.
Opinion
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 14-0931 Filed August 13, 2014
IN THE INTEREST OF P.D., Minor Child,
R.B., Mother, Appellant. ________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Mark F. Schlenker,
District Associate Judge.
The mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her child, P.D.
AFFIRMED.
Zachary C. Priebe of Jeff Carter Law Offices, P.C., Des Moines, for
appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kathrine S. Miller-Todd, Assistant
Attorney General, John Criswell, County Attorney, and Tracie L. Sehnert,
Assistant County Attorney, for appellee State.
Jane White, Des Moines, attorney and guardian ad litem for minor child.
Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Vogel and Bower, JJ. 2
VOGEL, J.
The mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her child,
P.D., claiming the State did not prove by clear and convincing evidence grounds
to terminate her parental rights under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(d), (h), (i),
and (l) (2013). She further argues that, due to the bond she shares with the
child, termination was not in his best interest, and she should have been given an
additional six months to engage in services. We conclude that, because of the
mother’s addiction to methamphetamine that has persisted despite the receipt of
services, the State proved by clear and convincing evidence her rights should be
terminated under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(l). Furthermore, termination is in
P.D.’s best interest and her bond with the child does not impede termination.
Consequently, we affirm.
P.D., born May 2012, was removed from the mother’s care upon his birth
because he tested positive for methamphetamine due to the mother’s use of the
drug during pregnancy. He was born prematurely and kept in the hospital until
he was stabilized, then placed in foster care. Following P.D.’s birth the mother
attended treatment for her substance abuse issues, including counseling at the
House of Mercy, first as an outpatient then as an inpatient, and attended Family
Recovery Court and Drug Court. The mother was allowed overnight visits with
P.D. beginning on October 18, 2012, with increased visitation once she began
inpatient substance abuse treatment. P.D. was returned to the mother’s care
while she was an inpatient at the House of Mercy, and under the supervision of
the Department of Human Services (DHS), on November 13, 2012. 3
The mother was sober for a period of approximately nine months, from
October 2012 to August 2013. On September 20, 2013, the mother tested
positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine. P.D. was again removed from
the mother’s care on September 26 and placed in a foster home, where he
remained at the time of the termination hearing. He tested positive for
methamphetamine at high levels on October 4.1 The mother was terminated
from Family Recovery Court on October 18. As of the date of the termination
hearing—April 9, 2014—she was unemployed and homeless.
The following services were offered to the mother: assessment services;
family safety, risk, and permanency services; supervised visits; urinalysis; House
of Mercy residential inpatient and outpatient care; family team meetings; and
Warren County Family Recovery Court meetings and services. It was also noted
by DHS workers the mother needed mental health counseling. The mother has
yet to access mental health services, other than those provided by the House of
Mercy.
On January 10, 2014, the State petitioned to terminate the mother’s
parental rights. A hearing was held on March 6 and April 9, 2014, and on May
19, the juvenile court issued an order terminating the mother’s parental rights
pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(d), (h), (i), and (l). The mother
appeals.
1 An affidavit submitted by the father, who remains incarcerated, declared he was the one who exposed P.D. to methamphetamine. However, the mother admitted she was using methamphetamine while P.D. was in her care, and the DHS worker testified that, given the high levels of methamphetamine as well as the timeframe, she did not believe the father was the only one who exposed P.D. to methamphetamine. 4
We review termination proceedings de novo. In re S.R., 600 N.W.2d 63,
64 (Iowa Ct. App. 1999). The grounds for termination must be proved by clear
and convincing evidence. Id. Our primary concern is the child’s best interest. Id.
When the juvenile court terminates parental rights on more than one statutory
ground, we only need find grounds to terminate under one of the sections cited
by the juvenile court to affirm. Id. A parent’s rights may be terminated under
paragraph (l) if the State proves by clear and convincing evidence the child has
been adjudicated CINA, the parent has a severe and chronic substance abuse
problem rendering her a danger to herself or others, and the child cannot be
returned within a reasonable time due to the substance abuse problem. Iowa
Code § 232.116(1)(l).2
We conclude the State proved by clear and convincing evidence the
mother’s rights should be terminated under paragraph (l). As the juvenile court
noted:
The problems addressed in the case permanency plan . . . have not been solved. The mother’s inconsistent compliance with the case plan is indicative of her lack of progress toward alleviating or mitigating the cause for adjudication, as she has not maintained her sobriety and has not refrained from continued use of methamphetamine, even exposing the child yet again to the drug.
We agree with this assessment, as it is fully supported by the record. Moreover,
in determining the future actions of the parent, her past conduct is instructive. In
re J.E., 723 N.W.2d 793, 798 (Iowa 2006). It is clear the mother has been 2 To terminate parental rights, the State must prove by clear and convincing evidence under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(d), the child was adjudicated CINA for physical or sexual abuse or neglect, and circumstances continue despite receipt of services; under paragraph (h), the child is three or younger, adjudicated CINA, removed from the home for six of the last twelve months, and the child cannot be returned home; and under paragraph (i), the child meets the definition of CINA, was in imminent danger, and services would not correct these conditions. 5
unable to remain sober, and, due to her addiction, continues to expose P.D. to
methamphetamine. Given P.D.’s young age, he is in need of permanency, which
the mother cannot give to him due to her chronic abuse of methamphetamine.
Moreover, termination is in P.D.’s best interest. See Iowa Code
§ 232.116(2). The few times he was in the mother’s care he tested positive for
methamphetamine. Additionally, the mother has been in substance abuse
treatment since 2012, and has yet to show signs of improvement, continually
exposing P.D. to methamphetamine. Furthermore, allowing the mother an
additional six months to engage in the same services that have proved ineffective
would only serve to prolong the instability in P.D.’s life. “We have repeatedly
followed the principle that the statutory time line must be followed and children
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