Mares v. Department of Social & Health Services

182 Wash. App. 776
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedAugust 4, 2014
DocketNos. 70832-5-I; 70833-3-I; 70834-1-I; 70835-0-I; 70836-8-I; 70837-6-I
StatusPublished
Cited by113 cases

This text of 182 Wash. App. 776 (Mares v. Department of Social & Health Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mares v. Department of Social & Health Services, 182 Wash. App. 776 (Wash. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Dwyer, J.

¶1 Brian Mares and Brittany Knopff appeal from the trial court’s order terminating their parental rights to their three children. Mares contends that the trial court erred by failing to apply the law in effect at the time of its ruling and that insufficient evidence was admitted to establish that all required services had been provided to him. Knopff contends that the Department of Social and Health Services (Department) failed to satisfy the exacting requirements of due process when it neglected to provide notice of a parental deficiency on which the trial court relied in terminating her parental rights, and that the Department failed to discharge its statutory burden by not providing her with a parenting coach.

¶2 In reversing the trial court’s termination decision as to Mares, we hold that the trial court failed to apply the law that was in effect at the time of its decision. This error manifests itself in the Department failing to satisfy its burden of proof as to all statutory factors. In reversing the trial court’s termination decision as to Knopff, we hold that she was not provided with constitutionally adequate notice of one of the parental deficiencies on which the trial court relied in terminating her parental rights. Accordingly, as to Mares, we reverse and remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. As to Knopff, we reverse and remand to the trial court with instructions to strike from its findings the parental deficiency of which she did not receive adequate notice and to consider whether, on the basis of her remaining parental deficiencies, termination of her parental rights is nonetheless warranted.

[780]*780I

¶3 Mares and Knopff are the biological parents of three children: A.M.M.,1 M.A.M.,2 and A.M.M.3 In September 2011, Mares and Knopff were living separately. Their children lived with Knopff. Although Mares did not live with Knopff and the children, he generally saw the children two or three times a week. Mares had a criminal history— including a history of domestic violence and of not complying with no-contact orders designed to protect Knopff — -and he was enrolled in an outpatient treatment program, which he completed as a part of a drug offender sentencing alternative in May 2011.

¶4 On September 10, 2011, after Knopff was arrested for unlawful drug possession, the Department placed the three children in protective custody. Mares contacted the Department on September 12 and inquired about the children.

¶5 On September 13, the Department filed dependency petitions as to all three children. Although the children were briefly returned to Knopff on September 19, they were again removed on September 27 due to her failure to comply with drug testing requirements.

¶6 In late October, shortly after the dependency petitions were filed, Mares was arrested and held in the Pierce County jail. He was charged with assault in the third degree and violation of a domestic violence protection order; Knopff was the alleged victim. In November, he was convicted and sentenced to 43 months of incarceration. He had been incarcerated twice before for a total of 37 months. Mares’ earliest estimated release date is September 18, 2014.

[781]*781¶7 On November 23, 2011, Mares agreed to orders of dependency and the court entered a final dispositional order as to him. The dispositional order required Mares to participate in four services: (1) a drug and alcohol evaluation; (2) age appropriate parenting classes with an approved provider; (3) random drug screens through urinalysis three times per week; and (4) domestic violence batterer’s treatment by a state certified provider. The order provided for supervised visitation three times per week for two hours each visit. The Department never moved to modify visitation.

¶8 In January 2012, Mares was transferred from the Pierce County jail to the Airway Heights Corrections Center, which is located near Spokane. Mae Henderson, the social worker assigned to Mares’ case, did not offer any services to Mares prior to his transfer. Henderson testified that after Mares was transferred to Airway Heights, she spoke with someone at the corrections facility about the services the facility offered and sent Mares a service letter. She admitted that a copy of this letter had not been provided to any of the parties and was unsure whether there was a note in the case file documenting her recollection of speaking with someone at Airway Heights. Additionally, she was unaware whether the prison administration would have allowed the Department to provide any services to Mares while he was incarcerated. Finally, she did not attempt to set up visitation between Mares and the children and did not seek modification of the visitation order.

¶9 Ashley Peres replaced Henderson in March 2012. She sent Mares three service letters designed to explain his service requirements. Within these letters, she informed Mares that he could participate in substance abuse treatment while he was incarcerated and that the urinalysis and parenting class requirements would “be deferred until you are released from incarceration.” Peres also included a list of programs available at Airway Heights, which she had copied and pasted from its website. However, Peres failed to [782]*782mention the court-ordered domestic violence batterer’s treatment as a service that Mares needed to complete. Peres also failed to specify that Airway Heights, in general, offered substance abuse treatment only to prisoners who were approaching their release date.

¶10 On April 20, 2012, Mares wrote a letter to Peres in which he inquired as to the welfare of his children and added, “I wish I could see them.” Peres responded on May 1, enclosed some photographs of the children, and recounted her interactions with them. However, she did not attempt to arrange for visitation or advise Mares that visitation was available. On June 29, Peres wrote to Mares, telling him that the children’s foster parents wanted to take them to Montana for a week and asking whether he would agree to this arrangement. Mares agreed that the children could go, stating, “I want my children to be happy.”

¶11 Social worker Leah Butler replaced Peres in October 2012. She sent three service letters that were identical in substance to those sent by Peres. Although Butler knew that Mares wanted to see his children and that he missed them, she did not attempt to arrange for in-person or telephonic visitation. She also did not indicate that he could write to his children.

¶12 On December 5, 2012, the Department moved to terminate Mares’ parental rights. The petition stated that Mares had been referred five times for each of the four court-ordered services. The Department alleged that Mares was not engaged in services, had not visited his children, and had not maintained regular contact with the Department.

¶13 The court held a consolidated trial on the termination petitions as to both parents on July 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 29, 2013. Mares testified via telephone.

¶14 Mares was unaware that he could have formally requested visitation with his children, stating that he “didn’t think that was an option that I had any right to.” If [783]*783Mares had known that he had a right to ask that his children come and see him, he would have “absolutely” wanted to have seen his children.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In The Matter Of The Parental Rights To: A.l.c.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2025
In The Matter Of The Parental Rights To A.r.l.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2024
Mehmet Serkan Ketenci, V. Aino Kaarina Ketenci
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2024
In Re The Dependency Of: R.l.s.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2023
In Re The Dependency Of: S.e.l.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2022
In Re The Dependency Of: G.l.l.
499 P.3d 984 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021)
In Re The Welfare Of: B.D.B.B.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
In Re The Dependency Of S.E.S.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
In Re The Dep Of J.B.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
In Re The Dep Of D.C-C.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
In Re The Dependency Of M.r.d., Leanna Hanson, V. Dcyf
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
In Re The Dep Of D.c-c., Janaye M. Clausen, V. Dcyf
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
L. H. v. State Of Washington
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2021
In Re The Dep Of J.b., Stephanie Baird v. Dcyf
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2020
Dep Of Sls, Calvin Turner v. Dshs
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
182 Wash. App. 776, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mares-v-department-of-social-health-services-washctapp-2014.