In the Matter of: K.S. (Minor Child) Child in Need of Services J.J. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services

78 N.E.3d 740, 2017 WL 2806282, 2017 Ind. App. LEXIS 282
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 29, 2017
DocketCourt of Appeals Case 49A02-1701-JC-38
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 78 N.E.3d 740 (In the Matter of: K.S. (Minor Child) Child in Need of Services J.J. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana 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 Matter of: K.S. (Minor Child) Child in Need of Services J.J. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services, 78 N.E.3d 740, 2017 WL 2806282, 2017 Ind. App. LEXIS 282 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

Pyle, Judge.

Statement of the Case

J.J. (“Mother”) appeals the juvenile court’s order adjudicating her son, K.S. (“K.S.”), to be a Child in Need of Services (“CHINS”). Mother argues that the Department of Child Services (“DCS”) failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that K.S.’s physical or mental condition was ‘ seriously impaired or seriously endangered as a result of Mother’s inability, refusal, or neglect to supply K.S. with necessary food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, or supervision. Finding that DCS failed to present evidence, let alone sufficient evidence, that KS.’s physical or mental condition was seriously impaired or seriously endangered and that Mother was unable to supply K.S. with necessary shelter, we reverse the CHINS adjudication. 1

We reverse.

Issue

Whether there is sufficient evidence to support the CHINS adjudication.

Facts

In June 2016, DCS received a report alleging that Mother had tested positive for marijuana after giving birth to K.S. Within twenty-four hours of KS.’s birth, DCS Family Case Manager Kwanza Johnson (“FCM Johnson”) went to Community North Hospital to speak with Mother. When FCM Johnson arrived at the hospital, Mother appeared to just be waking up. *743 While Mother was still “pretty groggy,” FCM Johnson explained “what [she] was there for and the nature of [her] report.” (Tr. 17). Mother, who admitted that she had used marijuana two months earlier to increase her appetite during her pregnancy, became very “agitated and irate.” (Tr. 20). Mother refused FCM Johnson’s request that she submit to another drug screen. Mother told FCM Johnson that she had been living in a motel before being admitted to the hospital but that she planned to live with her cousin or mother following her discharge. Mother, however, refused to give FCM Johnson contact information for either her cousin or mother.

After stepping out of Mother’s hospital room and speaking with her supervisor by telephone, FCM Johnson “served [Mother] for court.” (Tr. 22). FCM Johnson explained that, given Mother’s behavior, DCS “had to restrict access to [K.S.].” (Tr. 22). The case manager further explained that restricted access meant that Mother “could not visit with the child or remove the child from the hospital.” (Tr. 23). When FCM Johnson “served [Mother with the papers for Court,” Mother “balled the paper up and threw it at [FCM Johnson] and told [FCM Johnson] to get the ‘f out of her room.” (Tr. 26). A few days later, Mother contacted FCM Johnson and asked if the case manager could explain what was happening. FCM Johnson returned to the hospital and reviewed DCS paperwork with Mother. Mother signed the documents as requested. FCM Johnson “explained what we were doing and why we were involved.... ” (Tr. 27). Mother advised the case manager that after she was released from the hospital, she would be living at her cousin’s house. Mother was calm and explained why she had initially been afraid of FCM Johnson. At this time, K.S. was.“feeding well. [T]here was nothing to note other than that.” (Tr. 25). There was no evidence presented by DCS that K.S. tested positive for marijuana.

DCS immediately filed a petition alleging that K.S. was a CHINS. Specifically, the petition alleged that Mother, who had admitted using marijuana while she was pregnant, had failed to provide K.S. with a safe, stable ahd appropriate living environment that was free from substance abuse. The petition further alleged that Mother was homeless and lacked a plan for obtaining and maintaining stable housing. DCS placed K.S. in foster care upon his discharge from the hospital.

Testimony at the CHINS fact-finding hearing revealed that after it filed the petition alleging that K.S. was a CHINS, DCS had referred Mother to home-based case management services and supervised visitation. Home-based services case-manager Gianna Simpson (“Case Manager Simpson”) testified that she supervised two visits between Mother and K.S. in June 2016. During the visits, Mother “was very engaged with her son.... She did everything you expected a mother to do. She was loving, she [fed] him, changed his diaper.... ” (Tr. 53). Mother told Case Manager Simpson that she was living with her cousin; however, visits took place at an agency because Mother told the case manager that her cousin did not want visitation at her house. Mother specifically explained that “she kind of felt like she wasn’t really wanted ... or that the stress of everything and the contact with everyone was a little bit much for her cousin.” (Tr. 48). Mother cancelled a scheduled visitation with K.S. in July 2016 and, at the time of the CHINS hearing in September and October 2016, Mother had had no further contact with her son.

Further testimony at the fact-finding hearing revealed that DCS Case Manager Andrea Wilburn (“Case Manager Wilburn”) was assigned to K.S.’s case in August 2016. When Case Manager Wilburn *744 reached Mother after two weeks of attempting to contact her, Mother told her that everything was going well. Case Manager Wilburn further testified that Mother had open referrals for home-based case work, supervised visitation, random drug screens, and a drug assessment. The case manager recommended that Mother complete a parenting assessment because she had not seen K.S. since June 2016. Case Manager Wilburn also recommended that Mother complete a mental health assessment.

K.S.’s foster mother testified that K.S. was “developing well, he’s a happy little ... baby meeting his milestones, doing well.” (Tr. 65). Also at the hearing, Mother testified that she worked at a clothing store, was living with her cousin, and had “[her] own therapist,” who was “outside of a DCS referral.” (Tr. 40). Mother told the juvenile court the address of her cousin’s house as well as the name of her therapist.

Following the hearing, the trial court adjudicated K.S. to be a CHINS. Specifically, the juvenile court concluded, in relevant part, that:

15. [KS.’s] physical or mental condition is seriously impaired or seriously endangered as a result of the inability, refusal, or neglect of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian to supply the child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, or supervision. [Mother] uses marijuana and does not have stable housing for herself and her child.

(App. 72-73). Mother appeals the adjudication.

Decision

Mother argues that there is insufficient evidence to support the CHINS adjudication. When determining whether there is sufficient evidence to support a CHINS determination, we consider only the evidence most favorable to the judgment and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom. In re S.D., 2 N.E.3d 1283, 1287 (Ind. 2014). This Court will not reweigh the evidence or reassess the credibility of the witnesses. Id. at 1286. Where, as here, a juvenile court’s order contains specific findings of fact and conclusions of law, we engage in a two-tiered review. In re A.G., 6 N.E.3d 952, 957 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).

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Bluebook (online)
78 N.E.3d 740, 2017 WL 2806282, 2017 Ind. App. LEXIS 282, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-matter-of-ks-minor-child-child-in-need-of-services-jj-indctapp-2017.