In the Matter of the Dependency of: M.A.B.

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided November 22, 2022·No. 38656-2·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

In the Matter of the Dependency of )

) No. 38656-2-III M.A.B. ) (Consolidated with ) No. 38669-4-III)

)

) UNPUBLISHED OPINION )

SIDDOWAY, C.J. — In these consolidated appeals, the parents of now-15-month-

old M.A.B. appeal the order finding him dependent under RCW 13.34.030(6)(c). They challenge the trial court’s finding that they are not capable parents and collectively challenge three other factual findings. They also challenge the trial court’s legal conclusion that M.A.B. is a dependent child. Because evidence in the record supports the challenged findings and the trial court’s findings support its conclusion that M.A.B. is dependent, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The following facts are taken from the trial court’s unchallenged findings of fact in the dependency order, which are verities on appeal, e.g., In re Welfare of A.W., 182 Wn.2d 689, 711, 344 P.3d 1186 (2015), or are otherwise uncontested in the proceedings below.

In re Dependency of M.A.B.

M.A.B. was born on August 1, 2021, to a mother and father who had a long history of involvement with the Department of Children, Youth and Families (Department) over the welfare of the couple’s four older children. Intakes involving the parents’ four older children conveyed concerns about the children’s school absences, dirty appearance, chronic lice, unsanitary and unsafe housing, and parental substance abuse and mental health issues. The parents agreed to dependencies for the four children in December 2018. During those dependencies, the parents were ordered to complete drug and alcohol evaluations and recommended treatment, parenting education, a psychological evaluation for the mother and recommended treatment, random urinalysis (UAs), and to obtain safe and stable housing. The parents completed parenting classes but did not engage in a substance use assessment or treatment and did not comply with court-ordered UAs.

When the parents failed to remediate their parental deficiencies, the Department filed a petition to terminate their parental rights to each of the four children. The parents agreed in August 2020 to relinquish their parental rights.

The Department received another referral concerning the parents and newborn M.A.B. on August 2, 2021. It was reported that the mother had given birth to M.A.B. in a van and that later, at the hospital, M.A.B. had tested positive for methamphetamine.

In re Dependency of M.A.B.

Department social worker Veronica Mabee met with the parents at the hospital on August 2. Both denied any recent drug use. The father provided an oral swab to Ms. Mabee that later tested positive for methamphetamine. The parents told Ms. Mabee they were living in a van on the parental grandparents’ property.

The Department petitioned for a dependency for M.A.B. on August 3. At the shelter care hearing held shortly thereafter, the trial court found M.A.B. in need of shelter care and he was placed in licensed foster care. A Department social worker, Crystal DeLancy, then met with the parents and offered them services, including assistance in obtaining housing, assistance in accessing mental health services and substance abuse assessment and treatment, and parenting education. On the eve of the contested fact- finding hearing, Ms. DeLancy met with the parents again and requested that they participate in oral swab testing for substance use. Both declined.

The fact-finding hearing was held on October 7, 2021. Among the contested issues at the hearing was the parents’ suspected drug use. Ms. Mabee testified that the referral to the Department was based on M.A.B. testing positive for methamphetamines and amphetamines. She testified that drug use is known to affect a parent’s ability to properly care for a child, especially a newborn who needs 24-hour care. She testified to administering the oral substance swab to the father at the hospital.

In re Dependency of M.A.B.

Ana Gonzalez, who had worked with the parents during the dependency and termination proceedings for the four older children, testified about her history with the parents. Among other matters, she testified that the parents’ visits with the four older children were always supervised, in part because of concerns about possible parental drug use at a visit. She testified there was also a concern about the parents’ ability to handle all four children at a visit, and there was inconsistency in the parents’ visits.

Irene Shu, the scientific director of the laboratory that tested the father’s oral swab and reported positive results for methamphetamine and amphetamine, testified that no substance other than methamphetamine could have produced the father’s positive result. She testified that a positive result was evidence of recent use, because methamphetamine is typically only detectable for one and a half days after consumption. Asked if it would be possible for an individual to test positive for methamphetamine as a result of proximity to a user, Ms. Shu said that powder in the environment that was unknowingly ingested could lead to a positive result.

The mother denied ever having used any drugs other than marijuana, which she testified she used because she has Crohn’s disease and it helps with her digestion. But Barbara Bourgeois, a registered nurse who worked in the nursery of the hospital where M.A.B. was cared for after his birth, testified that the mother and M.A.B. both tested

In re Dependency of M.A.B.

positive for methamphetamine. Her testimony drew an objection that was ultimately overruled:

Q Did anything in the file indicate that the child or mother were exposed to substances before the child was born?

A You mean did we have information?

Q Yes.

A Well, labs are done on, a urine drug screen on the mother.

And then we do a urine drug screen on the babies and also we send a piece of umbilical cord to the⎯I’m not sure if it actually goes to the University of Washington or it’s a send out. And that also checks for drugs of abuse.

Q And did⎯did those tests reveal any exposure [for drugs of abuse]?

A Yes, I know methamphetamine was there, that’s⎯ [MOTHER’S COUNSEL]: Objection, hearsay. She’s talking about some tests but we don’t know where it’s coming from.

THE COURT: Yeah, you’re gonna have to⎯I’m gonna sustain that.

You’re probably gonna have to probably lay some more foundation because I’m not really sure exactly what tests we’re talking about.

Q Do you know what tests are completed on the cord or to⎯ A It’s a drug screen. I believe it’s a qualitative. What we do in the hospital is quantitively. And it shows that it’s there. I might have those backwards. But the one that goes to the state or the send out lab actually shows amount of whatever is there.

Q And could exposure to these substances affect the baby?

A Yes.

Q And would that influence your observations of the baby or how you care for the child?

A Yes.

Q So, did you rely on information in this file to provide care to this baby?

In re Dependency of M.A.B.

A Yes.

Q And was some of that information that the baby had been exposed to methamphetamine?

A Yes.

[MOTHER’S COUNSEL]: I’m gonna renew my objection.

THE COURT: So, I don’t think she’s explained where the methamphetamines came from. There was a lot of discussion about whether it’s umbilical cord or I’m not really clear on that. But I think she can testify to the fact that she’s caring for the child. She relied on this information well, regardless of where it came from to care for this baby.

So, for that purpose I’ll allow it.

Report of Proceedings (RP) at 82-84 (emphasis added).

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