In the Matter of the Termination of Parental Rights of: I.H., and E.H. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services and Child Advocates, Inc. (mem. dec.)

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 21, 2019
Docket18A-JT-2231
StatusPublished

This text of In the Matter of the Termination of Parental Rights of: I.H., and E.H. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services and Child Advocates, Inc. (mem. dec.) (In the Matter of the Termination of Parental Rights of: I.H., and E.H. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services and Child Advocates, Inc. (mem. dec.)) 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 the Termination of Parental Rights of: I.H., and E.H. (Mother) v. Indiana Department of Child Services and Child Advocates, Inc. (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED regarded as precedent or cited before any Feb 21 2019, 8:42 am court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals estoppel, or the law of the case. and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Danielle L. Gregory Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Indianapolis, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Matthew Michaloski Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

In the Matter of the Termination February 21, 2019 of Parental Rights of: Court of Appeals Case No. 18A-JT-2231 I. H., Appeal from the Marion Superior and Court E. H. (Mother), The Honorable Marilyn Moores, Appellant-Respondent, Judge The Honorable Larry Bradley, v. Magistrate Trial Court Cause No. Indiana Department of Child 49D09-1802-JT-183 Services, Appellee-Petitioner,

and

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-JT-2231 | February 21, 2019 Page 1 of 18 Child Advocates, Inc.,

Appellee-Guardian Ad Litem.

Riley, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE [1] Appellant-Respondent, E.H. (Mother), appeals the termination of her parental

rights to her minor child, I.H. (Child).

[2] We affirm.

ISSUE [3] Mother raises one issue on appeal, which we restate as: Whether the Indiana

Department of Child Services (DCS) presented clear and convincing evidence

to support the trial court’s termination of Mother’s parental rights.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY [4] Mother gave birth to the Child on December 21, 2014. The Child’s putative

father was alleged to be either J.H. or J.T. The Child was initially removed

from Mother’s care on July 12, 2016 due to allegations of abuse and neglect.

Two days later, on July 14, 2016, DCS filed a Child in Need of Services

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-JT-2231 | February 21, 2019 Page 2 of 18 (CHINS) petition, alleging that Mother had failed to provide the Child with a

safe, stable, and appropriate living environment free from domestic violence.

DCS claimed that Mother had shown “a propensity of violence as evidenced by

her involvement in two altercations within a month—each within the presence

of the Child.” (Petitioner’s Exh. 1, p. 4). During the altercation, a window was

broken and Mother was punched in the face. When police officers arrived at

the scene, Mother refused to disclose the location of the Child, declaring “you’ll

never find her.” (Petitioner’s Exh. 1, p. 4). Marijuana and paraphernalia were

located in the residence and Mother admitted to being a regular user.

[5] During the pre-trial hearing on August 1, 2016, the trial court ordered the Child

returned to Mother, contingent on Mother’s participation in home-based

therapy, home-based case management services, random drug screens, and a

domestic violence assessment. Mother cared for the Child for approximately

two-and-one-half months, until she became “overwhelmed” and voluntarily

placed the Child in the care of Mother’s former foster parents. (Petitioner’s

Exh. 5, p. 24).

[6] On November 7, 2016, the trial court adjudicated the Child to be a CHINS

based on Mother’s history of domestic violence, her failure to successfully

complete classes, her eviction from the residence, and her on-going drug abuse.

Although the trial court initially placed the Child with Mother’s former foster

parents, in January 2018, the trial court placed the Child with the daughter and

husband of Mother’s former foster parents (Foster Parents). On December 5,

2016, the trial court ordered Mother to participate in supervised parenting time,

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-JT-2231 | February 21, 2019 Page 3 of 18 in addition to her participation in home-based case management, submission to

random drug screens and to follow all recommendations of her service

providers.

[7] During the pendency of the CHINS proceedings, Mother was in and out of jail.

Following a June 2, 2016 domestic violence incident, Mother was charged with

seven Counts. She pled guilty to domestic battery as a Class A misdemeanor

and was sentenced to probation. On March 29, 2017, Mother pled guilty to

possession of methamphetamine, after being charged with three drug-related

Counts, and was given a suspended sentence of 365 days. Mother’s probation

was revoked on May 10, 2017—following her guilty plea to Level 6 felony

invasion of privacy—and the court amended her sentence to community

corrections. Mother subsequently fled to Tennessee for several months to avoid

an outstanding warrant. Upon her return to Indiana in October 2017, she was

arrested while visiting the Child and incarcerated for approximately three

months.

[8] Mother was not consistently employed because her criminal history made it

“very difficult” to find a position. (Transcript p. 45). Mother also failed to

benefit from court-ordered services. While Mother initially participated in

domestic violence therapy, she stopped attending sessions in November 2016.

DCS referred her again for classes in 2017, but Mother could not be reached.

She eventually engaged in individual therapy upon her release from

incarceration in 2018; however, these services were not provided by DCS and

information from the sessions was not submitted to DCS. Likewise, Mother

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-JT-2231 | February 21, 2019 Page 4 of 18 did not successfully complete home-based case management. DCS deemed the

service necessary because Mother was facing homelessness and the classes

would aid her in finding stability and housing. Although Mother participated

in the beginning, DCS closed out this service in November 2016 after a period

of non-attendance. Mother was again referred in 2017, but then refused to

participate.

[9] Mother never graduated from supervised visitation because she failed to utilize

her parenting time in order for DCS to recommend a change. While parental

visits were suspended in October 2017 due to non-compliance and her

incarceration, visitation was resumed in January 2018. After the visits with

Mother resumed, a change was noted in the Child’s behavior, with her

becoming unruly and disrespectful. Mother did not always respond to this

behavior appropriately and occasionally broke down in tears, prompting her to

end visits with the Child early.

[10] Mother was addicted to illegal drugs before and during the pendency of the

CHINS proceeding. She admitted to regular use of marijuana and was found to

be in possession of marijuana and paraphernalia during her June 2016 arrest.

After leaving the Child with her former foster parents, Mother became addicted

to methamphetamine and pled guilty to possession thereof in March 2017. The

drug screen referral was eventually closed out for noncompliance. If Mother

had been compliant and engaged in random drug screens since July 2016, DCS

would have received results for “more than 50 drug screens.” (Tr. p. 81). In

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 18A-JT-2231 | February 21, 2019 Page 5 of 18 actuality, only about 5 were received, and the test results were “mostly

positive.” (Tr. p. 84).

[11] At the time of the termination hearing, the Child had been placed outside of

Mother’s care for twenty months. She was “thriving” with her Foster Parents,

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