Juvenile Officer v. I.A.

185 S.W.3d 256, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 244
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 3, 2006
DocketNo. WD 65819
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 185 S.W.3d 256 (Juvenile Officer v. I.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Juvenile Officer v. I.A., 185 S.W.3d 256, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 244 (Mo. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

PATRICIA BRECKENRIDGE, Judge.

This is an appeal of a judgment entered by the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Family Court Division, (juvenile court), denying a petition for termination of the parental rights of I.A. (Mother) to her children M.A., A.A., and S.A. The appeal is brought by the children’s guardian ad li-tem (GAL).1 On appeal, the GAL asserts various reasons why the juvenile court erred in failing to terminate I.A.’s parental rights. The GAL asks this court either to remand the case with instructions for the juvenile court to enter findings pursuant to section 211.447.5, RSMo 2000,2 or, in the alternative, to enter a judgment of termination. Because the juvenile court failed to make sufficient findings regarding the statutory grounds pled by the juvenile officer in its petition for termination of I.A.’s parental rights, the juvenile court’s decision is reversed and remanded to allow the juvenile court to make the necessary findings.

[258]*258Factual and Procedural Background

On May 30, 2001, the Juvenile Officer of Jackson County filed a petition to have the juvenile court assume jurisdiction over S.A., born December 28, 1990; M.A., born November 17, 1994; and A.A., born January 11, 1999. The petition alleged that S.A. and M.A. were sexually abused by their father, I.A. failed to protect S.A. and M.A., the children’s home was unfit for habitation, the children had head lice, and father physically abused S.A. by striking her on the arm with a back scratcher. On June 6, 2001, S.A., M.A., and A.A. came under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court and were placed in the temporary custody of the Division of Family Services (“DFS” or the “Division”).

On November 26, 2001, the juvenile court sustained the allegation that father sexually abused S.A. The court, however, found that there was insufficient evidence to sustain the allegations that father sexually abused M.A., that I.A. failed to protect S.A. and M.A., and that the children had lice. There was no evidence offered on the condition of the home. Thereafter, on January 14, 2002, the court issued findings and recommendations, which committed the children to the custody of the Division for placement in foster care. In particular, the court found that “[rjeunification is not possible as the father continues to reside in the home.” On November 17, 2002, however, father died.

On November 4, 2002, the juvenile officer filed a petition for termination of I.A.’s parental rights to S.A., M.A., and A.A. As grounds for termination, the petition alleged that S.A., M.A., and A.A. “had been in foster care for at least fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months,” under section 211.447.2(1), the children had been abused or neglected, under section 211.447.4(2), and failure to rectify conditions that led to the assumption of jurisdiction over the children, under section 211.447.4(3). On July 30, 2003, following a two-day hearing, the juvenile court entered an order denying the juvenile officer’s petition for termination of I.A.’s parental rights. In particular, the court found sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the children had been in foster care for at least fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months, but the evidence was insufficient to establish either of the other two grounds for termination alleged in the petition.3 Finding one ground for termination of I.A.’s parental rights, the court then examined the best interest of the child factors, set forth in section 211.447.6. After analyzing each of these factors, the juvenile court found that the best interest of S.A., M.A., and A.A. required that I.A.’s parental rights be preserved and maintained. Consequently, the juvenile court denied the petition and ordered that custody of S.A., M.A., and A.A. be placed with I.A., under the supervision of the Division. The court further ordered that supervision was to be limited to “providing family therapy to assist in rebuilding the bond between [I.A.] and the children.” Following the juvenile court’s order, S.A., M.A., and A.A. were returned to I.A.’s custody.

In August 2003, when the children were returned to I.A.’s custody, I.A. and the children lived with I.A.’s sister and her husband. In September 2003, I.A. moved into her own house. When I.A. moved, the children were required to attend a new school. After moving into her own house, I.A. allowed Tina and Daniel Frayling to [259]*259move in with her family for financial reasons. The Fraylings continued to live with I.A. and her children until December 2003. While the children were residing with I.A., I.A. received social security benefits derived from the death of the children’s father.

On December 5, 2008, the juvenile officer filed a motion to modify. In the motion, the juvenile officer alleged that I.A. had educationally neglected S.A.; M.A. and S.A. had head lice;4 I.A. allowed individuals with a history of child abuse, the Fraylings, to be in contact with her children; and I.A. had a chemical dependency. On December 11, 2003, the juvenile officer filed a first amended motion to modify, which contained the same allegations as the original motion except that the allegation that I.A. had a chemical dependency was excluded.

The court held a hearing on the first amended motion to modify on December 12, 2003. At the hearing, the parties informed the court that they had reached an agreement to allow the children to remain with I.A. In agreeing not to remove the children from I.A.’s custody and pursuant to the parties’ agreement, the court ordered that individual counseling for I.A. and the children was to occur, family counseling was to continue; Intensive In-home Services were to be provided; I.A. was to submit to random urinalysis; the children were to attend school, unless a medical excuse was provided; and there was to be no contact with Dan or Tina Frayling or any other members of the Frayling family. The court also ordered that before anyone could live in the home with I.A. and her children, a background check must be performed and court approval obtained. The court also authorized services through the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA) and the Pause Parenting class, a parenting skills course.

On December 19, 2003, the juvenile officer filed a second amended motion to modify, which included count I from the first amended motion to modify and added a second count. The second count alleged that on or about December 18 and 19, 2003, I.A. violated the court’s prior order issued during the December 12, 2003 protective custody hearing, in that I.A. permitted contact between her children and Daniel and Tina Frayling. That same day, the court issued an order for protective custody placing the children in temporary and legal custody of the Division. On December 30, 2003, the court entered its order, following a protective custody hearing, wherein the court ordered that the children were to remain in protective custody and I.A. was to have supervised visitation. Following a case management conference on January 5, 2004, the court ordered the Division to, provide the following services: individual therapy for I.A. and the children, family therapy, parent aide for visitation, MOCSA for I.A., and Pause Parenting Group for I.A. The court also ordered supervised visitation.

On March 12, 2004, the juvenile court sustained the December 19, 2003 second amended motion to modify.

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Bluebook (online)
185 S.W.3d 256, 2006 Mo. App. LEXIS 244, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/juvenile-officer-v-ia-moctapp-2006.