In the Matter of the Parental Rights to: M.M.B. & R.J.B.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedApril 18, 2019
Docket35778-3
StatusUnpublished

This text of In the Matter of the Parental Rights to: M.M.B. & R.J.B. (In the Matter of the Parental Rights to: M.M.B. & R.J.B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington 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 the Parental Rights to: M.M.B. & R.J.B., (Wash. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

FILED APRIL 18, 2019 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 Parental Rights to ) No. 35778-3-III ) (consolidated with) M.M.B. and R.J.B.† ) No. 35779-1-III ) No. 35780-5-III ) No. 35781-3-III) ) ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION ) )

LAWRENCE-BERREY, C.J. — Yoci Bustos and Randy Godinez appeal after the trial

court terminated their parental rights to M.M.B. and R.J.B. They argue the trial court

erred by finding (1) that all necessary services were expressly and understandably offered

or provided, (2) there was little likelihood conditions would be remedied so the children

could be returned to them in the near future, and (3) it was in the children’s best interests

to terminate their parental rights. We affirm.

† To protect the privacy interests of the minor children, we use their initials throughout this opinion. General Order for the Court of Appeals, In re Changes to Case Title, (Aug. 22, 2018), effective Sept. 1, 2018. No. 35778-3-III; No. 35779-1-III, No. 35780-5-III, No. 35781-3-III In re Parental Rights to MMB & RJB

FACTS

Yoci Bustos and Randy Godinez are the biological parents of M.M.B. (M.B.) and

R.J.B. (R.B.). In 2013, M.B.-R, who is not an issue in this appeal, had fractures in both

legs that were believed to be caused by domestic violence between Ms. Bustos and Mr.

Godinez. M.B. was born in February 2014 and was placed with Mr. Godinez due to the

prior incident with M.B.-R. In October 2014, there was another report of domestic

violence and the Department of Social and Health Services (Department) removed M.B.

Around this time, Ms. Bustos pleaded guilty to assault of M.B.-R in the third degree. Ms.

Bustos began her 10 month jail sentence in December 2014.

In January 2015, both parents agreed to dependency and disposition of M.B. The

order required Ms. Bustos to participate in mental health therapy and parenting education.

Mr. Godinez was required to participate in a chemical dependency evaluation and

treatment, a domestic violence evaluation, parenting education, and a psychological

evaluation.

In July 2015, during Ms. Bustos’s incarceration, R.B. was born. The Department

removed R.B. immediately. In September 2015, both parents agreed to dependency and

disposition of R.B. The services ordered were largely the same as before except Ms.

2 No. 35778-3-III; No. 35779-1-III, No. 35780-5-III, No. 35781-3-III In re Parental Rights to MMB & RJB

Bustos was required to do domestic violence counseling and it recommended family

therapy after disposition for both parents.

Parenting Services

Ms. Bustos was referred to Parents and Children Together (PACT) in October

2013. PACT is a hands-on parenting program that teaches parents parenting skills and

works with them on those skills. Mr. Godinez joined the program in January 2014. In

December 2014, Ms. Bustos removed herself from PACT because of her upcoming jail

sentence.

In March 2015, Mr. Godinez was removed from the PACT program because of six

unexcused absences. Mr. Godinez asked to be re-enrolled in PACT in June 2015, but he

never showed up for class, so he was withdrawn again in July 2015. Mr. Godinez was

able to complete the Positive Parenting Program.

When the case transferred to social service specialist Heather Schrader, Ms. Bustos

and Mr. Godinez were able to successfully complete the parenting education classes. Ms.

Schrader had no concerns with either parents’ conduct during visitations with M.B. and

R.B.

3 No. 35778-3-III; No. 35779-1-III, No. 35780-5-III, No. 35781-3-III In re Parental Rights to MMB & RJB

Mental Health Treatment

Dr. Paul Wert performed a psychological evaluation on Ms. Bustos in May 2013.

He diagnosed her with some personality disorders and believed that she could not provide

a consistent and safe parenting environment because of her issues with domestic violence.

Dr. Wert recommended mental health therapy.

Ruby Padilla was the social worker assigned to Ms. Bustos and Mr. Godinez from

March 2015 until January 2016. During this time, Ms. Bustos was released from jail, and

Ms. Padilla sent referrals for PACT and Social Treatment Opportunity Program (STOP).

STOP has drug and alcohol counseling as well as domestic violence counseling.

In August 2016, Ms. Bustos was referred to Dr. Terri Greer. Dr. Greer does

mental health evaluations and assessments and has specialized training in domestic

violence issues. Ms. Bustos asserted that she did not need counseling, but Dr. Greer was

directed to focus on and address her domestic violence issues. After the initial

assessment, Dr. Greer believed that Ms. Bustos needed more therapy. However, Ms.

Bustos was guarded and resistant. Dr. Greer was only able to complete three sessions

with Ms. Bustos. Ms. Bustos was not engaged, she continued to assert she did not need

counseling, and she stated that there were no problems with domestic violence. Dr. Greer

4 No. 35778-3-III; No. 35779-1-III, No. 35780-5-III, No. 35781-3-III In re Parental Rights to MMB & RJB

had grave concerns about reuniting the children with Ms. Bustos while her domestic

violence issues went unaddressed.

Dr. Scott Mabee performed the psychological evaluation for Mr. Godinez in

October 2016. Dr. Mabee diagnosed Mr. Godinez with two personality disorders and a

chemical dependency disorder. Dr. Mabee recommended mental health counseling, a

chemical dependency assessment, and family therapy. Dr. Mabee believed that it would

be more efficient and effective for Mr. Godinez to address his mental health and

substance abuse problems first. Mr. Godinez engaged in two mental health sessions

before being discharged for lack of attendance. He has since re-engaged.

Family Therapy

Lisa Briscoe, a family therapist, received a referral from the Department in May

2016 for Ms. Bustos and Mr. Godinez. During the assessment, Ms. Bustos’s demeanor

was very timid and cautious, and she would look to Mr. Godinez before answering direct

questions—as if asking for permission to speak. Mr. Godinez would interrupt Ms.

Bustos, not let her answer questions, or change the subject. Both parents admitted to

incidents of physical fighting. After the initial assessment, Ms. Briscoe did not

recommend family therapy because she suspected Ms. Bustos was afraid to tell the truth

for her own safety. Before family therapy was appropriate, Ms. Briscoe recommended

5 No. 35778-3-III; No. 35779-1-III, No. 35780-5-III, No. 35781-3-III In re Parental Rights to MMB & RJB

parenting education, mental health therapy, and one year of domestic violence treatment

for Mr. Godinez.

Domestic Violence Services

Ms. Bustos did not successfully complete domestic violence services because of

her inability to address the issues with Dr. Greer. Ms. Schrader believed that this is Ms.

Bustos’s only barrier to returning the children to her.

In 2015, Robert Lagerquist recommended one year of domestic violence treatment

through STOP for Mr. Godinez. Mr. Godinez failed to complete this. STOP performed

another evaluation with Mr. Godinez in July 2016 and recommended one year of

domestic violence treatment. During this evaluation, Mr. Godinez identified incidents of

domestic violence problems with Ms. Bustos and the children. He self-reported that he

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