In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of C.D. & J.D. (Children) and N.D. (Mother) N.D. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided April 28, 2017·No. 49A02-1611-JT-2466·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any FILED court except for the purpose of establishing Apr 28 2017, 8:52 am the defense of res judicata, collateral CLERK estoppel, or the law of the case. Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals

and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Amy Karozos Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Greenwood, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana

Robert J. Henke

Abigail R. Recker

Deputy Attorneys General

Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

In the Matter of the Termination April 28, 2017 of the Parent-Child Relationship Court of Appeals Case No. of C.D. & J.D. (Children) and 49A02-1611-JT-2466 N.D. (Mother); Appeal from the Marion Superior Court

N.D. (Mother), The Honorable Marilyn Moores, Appellant-Respondent, Judge The Honorable Larry Bradley, v. Magistrate Trial Court Cause No.

The Indiana Department of 49D09-1605-JT-480 Child Services, 49D09-1605-JT-481

Appellee-Petitioner

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May, Judge.

[1] N.D. (“Mother”) appeals the termination of her parental rights to C.D. and J.D. (collectively, “Children”). She argues the evidence was insufficient to support termination. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [2] C.D. was born to Mother and E.B. 1 on January 21, 2014. Mother is diagnosed

with schizophrenia and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”). In August 2014, Mother took C.D. to Riley Children’s Hospital because C.D. had a mark under his eye. 2 The Department of Child Services (“DCS”) received a report on August 17, 2014, concerning Mother’s ability to care for C.D., alleging Mother was homeless and was not taking medication for her mental health diagnoses.

[3] On August 18, 2014, Family Case Manager (“FCM”) Peter McCoskey completed an initial assessment of Mother and C.D. McCoskey spoke with Mother, a social worker at Riley Hospital, and a case manager from the shelter at which Mother had been staying. McCoskey learned Mother lost her bed at the shelter when she took C.D. to the hospital and “had no place to go,” (Tr. at 40), because she did not make it back to the shelter before the cut-off time.

1 The alleged father of C.D. is E.B., who is believed to be deceased.

2 The record does not indicate how the “mark” under C.D.’s eye originated. (Tr. at 41.)

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Mother also informed McCoskey she had stopped attending her mental health treatment sessions at the beginning of August.

[4] That same day, DCS removed C.D. from Mother’s care on an emergency basis and placed C.D. in foster care. Later that day, the juvenile court held an initial hearing on C.D.’s removal. The court found C.D. was “seriously endangered,” (Ex. 2), and it was in C.D.’s best interests to be removed from Mother’s care. The court granted DCS temporary wardship of C.D. and granted DCS permission to file a petition alleging C.D. was a Child in Need of Services (“CHINS”). The court appointed a Guardian Ad Litem (“GAL”) for C.D. DCS filed its petition alleging C.D. was a CHINS under Cause Number 49D09- 1408-JC-1764 (“Cause No. 1764”).

[5] On October 21, 2014, the court held a fact-finding hearing on DCS’s CHINS petition. Mother’s counsel, DCS’s counsel, C.D.’s GAL, C.D.’s maternal grandmother (“Grandmother”), 3 and Grandmother’s counsel appeared. Grandmother requested C.D. be placed in her care. Mother failed to appear, but Mother’s attorney stated Mother objected to C.D.’s placement with Grandmother, and counsel requested a continuance. The court granted the continuance and ordered DCS to investigate placing C.D. with Grandmother.

3 We note the record refers to “grandparents” and “grandmother” interchangeably. Based on context in the record, we infer the trial court’s reference to “grandparents” is to Grandmother and her boyfriend. For clarity, we refer only to “Grandmother” in this opinion.

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[6] On October 28, 2014, the court held the continued fact-finding hearing and adjudicated C.D. a CHINS. Mother appeared and objected to C.D.’s placement with Grandmother, alleging “she ha[d] safety issues” with Grandmother. (Ex. 9.) The court ordered C.D. remain in his foster care placement and not be placed with Grandmother. The court also entered a parental participation order requiring Mother to engage in a homebased counseling program, all family members actively participate in the homebased counseling, and Mother meet all personal medical and mental health needs in a timely and complete manner. Specifically, the court ordered Mother to follow all directions of her nurses and doctors, attend all appointments, and properly take all medications prescribed to her. The court authorized Mother to have more parenting time pending recommendations from service providers.

[7] In November 2014, Mother obtained an apartment of her own with support from Midtown Community Mental Health Center. On December 19, 2014, Mother filed a motion requesting C.D. be placed in Grandmother’s care. The court set a hearing on Mother’s motion for January 20, 2015. At the January 20 hearing, Mother withdrew her request and indicated she no longer wished to have C.D. placed with Grandmother. The court ordered C.D.’s placement in foster care continue.

[8] On February 17, 2015, the court held a periodic review hearing. Mother and her attorney requested DCS refer a new homebased provider because Mother was having conflicts with her current homebased provider. The court ordered DCS to make a new referral for Mother’s homebased provider and to continue Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 49A02-1611-JT-2466 | April 28, 2017 Page 4 of 19 supervised parenting time. The court further ordered DCS to make referrals for services for Mother’s boyfriend, J.M. (“Boyfriend”), if he was willing to participate.

[9] On May 19, 2015, Mother filed a motion to have C.D. placed with Grandmother. On May 26, 2015, the court held a periodic review hearing. At the hearing, Mother reaffirmed her request for C.D. to be placed with Grandmother. The court ordered for C.D.’s continued placement in his current foster care, but authorized C.D.’s “transition into [Grandmother’s] home pending positive recommendations” by service providers. (Ex. 14.)

[10] On July 31, 2015, Mother gave birth to J.D. 4 When J.D. was born, Mother had not completed any services required by the court for C.D. to return to her care under Cause No. 1764. Mother also was not successfully engaging in visitation services. Thus, on August 5, 2015, DCS removed J.D. from Mother’s care and placed him in foster care, citing Mother’s inability, refusal, and neglect. That same day, the court held a hearing on J.D.’s removal. The court granted DCS permission to file a CHINS petition, granted DCS temporary wardship of J.D., and appointed a GAL for J.D. DCS filed its petition alleging J.D. was a CHINS under Cause Number 49D01-1508-JC-2371 (“Cause No. 2371”).

4 Boyfriend is the alleged father of J.D., but the record does not indicate his paternity was ever established. As he was never made a party to these proceedings involving J.D., Boyfriend is not part of this appeal.

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In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of C.D. & J.D. (Children) and N.D. (Mother) N.D. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2017).

In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of C.D. & J.D. (Children) and N.D. (Mother) N.D. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.) (In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of C.D. & J.D. (Children) and N.D. (Mother) N.D. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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