Jeffrey T. v. Dcs, A.T.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMay 9, 2019
Docket1 CA-JV 18-0463
StatusUnpublished

This text of Jeffrey T. v. Dcs, A.T. (Jeffrey T. v. Dcs, A.T.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jeffrey T. v. Dcs, A.T., (Ark. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE.

IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE

JEFFREY T., Appellant,

v.

DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SAFETY, A.T., Appellees.

No. 1 CA-JV 18-0463 FILED 5-9-2019

Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. JD531555 The Honorable Karen L. O’Connor, Judge

VACATED

COUNSEL

Law Office of H. Clark Jones, LLC, Mesa By H. Clark Jones Counsel for Appellant

Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Mesa By Lauren J. Lowe Counsel for Appellee Department of Child Safety

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Presiding Judge Lawrence F. Winthrop delivered the decision of the Court, in which Judge Maria Elena Cruz and Judge Kenton D. Jones joined. JEFFREY T. v. DCS, A.T. Decision of the Court

W I N T H R O P, Judge:

¶1 Jeffrey T. (“Father”) appeals the juvenile court’s order adjudicating A.T. dependent as to him on the grounds of abuse and/or neglect. Concluding the court’s findings are not reasonably supported by the record, we vacate the order.1

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY2

¶2 Father and Paula A. (“Mother”) are the biological parents of A.T., born in May 2001.3 Until she was twelve years old, A.T. lived primarily with Mother, and Father eventually gained parenting time under a “graduated visitation plan.”

¶3 In June 2013, Father sought and was granted physical custody of A.T. on an emergency basis because Mother was selling prescription drugs out of her apartment and due to allegations of unsafe living conditions and Mother having unresolved substance abuse and mental health issues. In March 2014, the family court awarded Father sole legal decision-making authority and ordered that Mother undergo random drug testing and be permitted supervised parenting time only.4 Subsequently, Mother was noncompliant with drug testing and failed to maintain any further contact with A.T.

1 We do not remand this matter for further proceedings because, by the time this decision is filed, A.T. will have turned eighteen years of age, and the juvenile court will no longer have authority over her. See Maricopa Cty. Juv. Action No. JD-6236, 178 Ariz. 449, 451 (App. 1994). A.T.’s age does not render this appeal moot, however, given the potential effect of the juvenile court’s order on Father’s interests. See, e.g., Ariz. Rev. Stat. (“A.R.S.”) § 8-804(A).

2 In reviewing an adjudication of dependency, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to affirming the juvenile court’s findings. Willie G. v. Ariz. Dep’t of Econ. Sec., 211 Ariz. 231, 235, ¶ 21 (App. 2005).

3 Mother is not a party to this appeal.

4 By this time, however, A.T. was so angry with Mother, who she described as “emotionally abusive,” that she refused to even sit in the same room with her.

2 JEFFREY T. v. DCS, A.T. Decision of the Court

¶4 Meanwhile, from 2013 to 2014, A.T. participated in counseling to address the trauma she experienced while living with Mother and, ostensibly, to address a diagnosed eating disorder, bulimia, which caused A.T. to binge and purge. The therapy sessions ended after approximately one year when the therapist discharged A.T. because she “was doing well.” Also, to address A.T.’s eating disorder, Father prepared home-cooked meals and taught her to cook, to utilize portion control, and to maintain healthy eating habits.

¶5 In the summer of 2016, A.T. ran away from her home in Tempe. In July 2016, she contacted the Tempe Police Department, asked if Father had reported her as a runaway, and claimed Father had been mentally and physically abusing her. Finding no evidence of abuse, the police contacted Father, who took A.T. to a mental health facility; however, A.T. refused to participate in mental-health services and was released soon afterward.

¶6 In August 2017, Father’s long-time girlfriend, J.H., and her teenage son, Z.S., moved in with Father and A.T. At approximately that same time, A.T.—who was by then sixteen years old—began dating a young adult male5 who lived in Peoria, and that relationship caused significant tension between A.T. and Father. A.T. began missing curfew and initially lied about the relationship, and when Father learned of it, he insisted the couple be accompanied by a “chaperone” if they continued to date. Instead of acceding to Father’s demands, however, the young couple continued to surreptitiously see one another, while engaging in sexual activity.

¶7 Throughout the fall of 2017, A.T. went into a “downward spiral” in which her lying became habitual, her “mood just kept getting worse,” she became extremely aggressive, defiant, and hostile, and her eating disorder symptoms of binging and purging reappeared. Meanwhile, Father had recently obtained a Ph.D. in research psychology and had left his full-time work position to do an internship and obtain his clinical licensure so he could become a licensed psychologist. Due to these changes in his employment situation, Father no longer had insurance to cover A.T.’s mental health needs, and although he explored getting a therapist for A.T. either through a colleague or through the state’s AHCCCS program, he did not procure one.

5 A.T.’s boyfriend was at least eighteen years old at the time the couple began dating.

3 JEFFREY T. v. DCS, A.T. Decision of the Court

¶8 On December 30, 2017, A.T. again ran away from home. She later explained she was “scared to go home” and was “anxious, depressed, and suicidal.” Police officers located her at her boyfriend’s house and returned her to Father’s home, but she ran away again on January 3, 2018, leaving a note that stated she was moving in with her boyfriend and would return later for her belongings. She returned home shortly thereafter.

¶9 On January 5, 2018, A.T. reported to the Department of Child Safety (“DCS”) and the Tempe Police Department that Father had assaulted her. When police officers arrived, A.T. described a January 2 incident in which Father had slapped her face after she became aggressive and began screaming profanities at him, but she had no visible injuries from the alleged assault.6 A.T. had some apparently minor bruising on her lower legs, forearm, and shoulder, however, which she stated was the result of her “wrestling” with Father when he attempted to confiscate a prohibited cell phone in her bag.7 She told the police that Father was verbally abusive and “controlling,” she felt “stressed” and did not like to stay at home, and she wanted to strangle herself—although she immediately recanted and said she would “never do it.” When questioned at the home, Father’s girlfriend, J.H., denied witnessing any physical violence and explained that A.T. was angry because she did not want to follow Father’s rules. When contacted later, Father denied abusing A.T. and explained she was “lashing out” due to restrictions on seeing her boyfriend. Father also requested assistance in the form of counseling services at that time. No charges were filed based on the reported incident.

¶10 Although DCS offered Father in-home family-preservation services, it did not immediately provide them. Moreover, A.T. ran away again on January 19, further delaying services because DCS had a policy that it would not provide such services when the child was absent from the home. A.T. finally returned home on February 4, and on February 14, the DCS in-home case manager referred the family for family-preservation services because of “the fragile home situation.” In her referral, the case

6 At the dependency hearing, Father testified he believed slapping A.T.

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