In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: C.F. and K.F. (Minor Children) and N.F. (Father) and M.F. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.)

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided February 20, 2018·No. 68A01-1709-JT-2077·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION FILED

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Feb 20 2018, 6:26 am Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as CLERK

precedent or cited before any court except for the Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals

purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, and Tax Court collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT N.F. ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Dale W. Arnett Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Winchester, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT M.F. David E. Corey Deputy Attorney General

J. Clayton Miller Indianapolis, Indiana Jordan Law, LLC Richmond, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

In the Matter of the Termination February 20, 2018 of the Parent-Child Relationship Court of Appeals Case No. of: 68A01-1709-JT-2077 Appeal from the Randolph Circuit C.F. and K.F. (Minor Children) Court and The Honorable Jay T. Toney, Judge N.F. (Father) and M.F. (Mother), Trial Court Cause Nos.

68C01-1701-JT-31

Appellants-Respondents, 68C01-1701-JT-32

v.

The Indiana Department of Child Services, Appellee-Petitioner.

Bradford, Judge. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 68A01-1709-JT-2077 | February 20, 2018 Page 1 of 18

Case Summary

[1] K.F. and C.F. (collectively, “the Children”) were born in June of 2006 and June

of 2007, respectively, to Appellants-Respondents N.F. (“Father”) and M.F. (“Mother”) (collectively, “Parents”). In August of 2015, after Appellee- Petitioner the Indiana Department of Child Services (“DCS”) received reports of substance abuse and unstable housing, the Children were removed from Parents and eventually found to be children in need of services (“CHINS”). Parents were ordered, inter alia, to participate in several services, submit to drug screens, and secure stable housing and income. Parents, for the most part, did not comply with the juvenile court’s orders, consistently testing positive for illegal drugs and failing to secure stable housing or income.

[2] In January of 2017, DCS petitioned the juvenile court to terminate Parents’ rights in the Children. Following an evidentiary hearing held in May of 2017, the juvenile court ordered Parents’ rights in the Children terminated. Mother contends that DCS presented insufficient evidence to establish that (1) the conditions leading to the removal of the Children would not be remedied, (2) continuation of the parent-child relationship posed a threat to the Children, and (3) termination was in the Children’s best interests. Father contends that DCS failed to establish that it has a satisfactory plan for the care and treatment of the Children. Because we disagree, we affirm.

Facts and Procedural History Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 68A01-1709-JT-2077 | February 20, 2018 Page 2 of 18

[3] The Children were born in June of 2006 and June of 2007, respectively, to Parents. On August 5, 2015, DCS received a report “with allegations of substance abuse by both parents and lack of stable housing by both parents.” Tr. p. 8. The same day, DCS family case manager Danielle Ankrom (“FCM Ankrom”) went to the home. Father admitted to FCM Ankrom “he had been using heroin to cope with back pain from a previous injury.” Tr. p. 9. DCS removed the Children after substantiating the allegations of Parents’ drug use and lack of stable housing.

[4] On September 21, 2015, the juvenile court adjudicated the Children to be CHINS after Parents admitted they “have inadequate and unstable housing for” the Children, who need “care, treatment or rehabilitation that the child was not being received at the time of removal and is unlikely to be provided or accepted without the coercive intervention of the Court.” DCS Ex. 5. At the October 22, 2015, dispositional hearing, Parents were ordered to (1) participate in and complete home-based counseling services, (2) complete a parenting assessment and a substance-abuse assessment, (3) not use or consume any illegal controlled substances and only take prescribed medications, (4) submit to drug screens, (5) obtain and maintain suitable housing, (6) provide a safe and stable home environment for the Children, and (7) attend all visits with the Children. Over the course of the CHINS cases, Parents attended nine child and family team meetings.

[5] Both Parents consistently tested positive for illegal substances throughout most of the CHINS and termination proceedings, specifically, for methamphetamine, Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 68A01-1709-JT-2077 | February 20, 2018 Page 3 of 18 amphetamine, heroin, morphine, cocaine, THC, Xanax, Fentanyl, or combinations of these drugs. Father admitted at the termination hearing that he abused drugs, having “started out with a pain medication” after he had been prescribed morphine for back pain nine or ten years previously. Tr. p. 145. Father said the pain clinic closed and he “was introduced to heroin and that was the only thing that was helping [his] back at the time.” Tr. p. 145. Father admitted to using “meth before too”, but testified, “that’s not a problem.” Tr. p. 155.

[6] DCS referred Parents for substance-abuse assessments five times between August of 2015 and March of 2016. Father completed a Harbor Lights assessment in November of 2015 but did not follow the recommendations. Parents completed the assessment at Extra Special Parents in December 2015, which recommended completing a detoxification program and then a residential treatment plan. They did not follow these recommendations. Parents completed the second assessment at Harbor Lights in March of 2016, which again recommended detoxification and residential treatment. Parents completed the detoxification portion that same month but did not complete the residential program. Father did not begin the residential program because Mother was enrolled. Harbor Lights prefers that persons in a relationship not attend the same treatment program “because of fraternization rules and it’s not a protocol that [it] has.” Tr. p. 103. Mother was participating in residential treatment, but she left against medical advice when Father left after completing detoxification. Father never came back to start residential treatment after

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 68A01-1709-JT-2077 | February 20, 2018 Page 4 of 18

Mother left. FCM Ankrom and court-appointed special advocate (“CASA”) Debra McGriff-Tharp provided Parents with free community resources for substance-abuse support meetings, and provided them with attendance sheets. FCM Ankrom never received any sheets back.

[7] Parents did not have stable housing or steady employment during the CHINS case. Parents only “sporadically” reported to FCM Ankrom where they were living. Tr. p. 17. Parents had four different addresses and sometimes stayed with family, friends, or in hotels. Parents’ lack of employment “has been an ongoing struggle throughout this case as well.” Tr. p. 18. DCS referred Parents for case-management services on three occasions to assist with housing and employment. Parents cancelled most of their meetings with their home-based case manager. Parents did not accomplish their goals, and the service was closed in October of 2016.

[8] Thereafter, DCS referred Parents to Lifeline for case management. Although Parents were initially “engaged and motivated[,]” their engagement and level of participation diminished. Tr. p. 85. There “were a lot of cancellations and no- shows.” Tr. p. 85. At times, Parents forgot or slept through appointments and did not attempt to reschedule. Services closed in February of 2017 after Parents missed three appointments in a row, not having completed their housing and employment goals. Mother was discharged from another provider in early March of 2017 because of “too many no shows.” Tr. p. 22.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 68A01-1709-JT-2077 | February 20, 2018 Page 5 of 18

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In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: C.F. and K.F. (Minor Children) and N.F. (Father) and M.F. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2018).

In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: C.F. and K.F. (Minor Children) and N.F. (Father) and M.F. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.) (In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: C.F. and K.F. (Minor Children) and N.F. (Father) and M.F. (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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