Pine v. Arkansas Department of Human Services

379 S.W.3d 703, 2010 Ark. App. 781, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 817
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 17, 2010
DocketNo. CA 10-685
StatusPublished
Cited by62 cases

This text of 379 S.W.3d 703 (Pine v. Arkansas Department of Human Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pine v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 379 S.W.3d 703, 2010 Ark. App. 781, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 817 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

DAVID M. GLOVER, Judge.

|, Appellants, Lisa Hoffman and Michael Pine, appeal the termination of their parental rights to their son, M.P., who was born on August 15, 2008.1 On appeal, appellants argue that the termination of their parental rights was not in M.P.’s best interest and that the State failed to present sufficient proof of the grounds specified in the termination order. We affirm the termination.

Preliminary Matters

On January 7, 2009, the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) filed a 12petition for emergency custody and dependency/neglect of M.P. .based upon three reports of inadequate supervision and intoxication and one report of throwing a child. Pine was arrested for third-degree domestic battery after the first report, and Hoffman, who became combative with police officers, was arrested for second-degree battery, third-degree assault, endangering the welfare of a minor, and obstructing governmental operations after the third report. The trial court granted the petition for emergency custody on January 7, 2009.

On January 14, 2009, the trial court found that probable cause existed for removing M.P.; that it was in his best interest to remain in DHS custody; and that it was contrary to M.P.’s welfare to be returned to appellants because Hoffman was incarcerated and Pine had not yet established paternity and was not present at the hearing. Hoffman was awarded supervised visitation upon her release from jail on the condition that she refrain from being under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol. Pine was not awarded visitation.

On February 18, 2009, the trial court adjudicated M.P. dependent/neglected based upon parental unfitness due to the parties’ continued alcohol abuse and domestic violence. The trial court ordered M.P. to remain in DHS custody and ordered supervised visitation for appellants twice a week for one hour.

At the review hearing on May 13, 2009, the trial court continued custody of M.P. in DHS, finding that it was contrary to M.P.’s welfare to be returned to appellants because Hoffman was currently in inpatient treatment at Decision Point, neither parent had | .-¡maintained stable housing or employment, and Hoffman had not sufficiently addressed her addiction. The trial court was also concerned that Pine had not yet established paternity.2

A second review hearing was held on September 23, 2009. The trial court found that it was in M.P.’s best interest to remain in DHS custody, noting M.P.’s medical fragility and the need to be transitioned into the home; it awarded unsupervised visitation to appellants once a week for four hours in their home. A permanency planning hearing was set for December 16, 2009.

On November 18, 2009, an emergency hearing was held regarding the unsupervised visitation because Hoffman tested positive for alcohol on November 4, 2009. An order was entered on November 19, 2009, rescinding unsupervised visitation and reinstating only supervised visitation twice a week for two hours per visit.

A permanency planning hearing was held on December 16, 2009. The trial court changed the concurrent plan of reunification/adoption to adoption, finding that M.P. could not be returned to appellants that day and that they had not made significant progress for reunification; the court further found that they had not remedied the conditions that caused removal and that they had not shown that they could safely parent. The trial court noted that Hoffman had tested positive for alcohol on November 4, 2009, and that although she was living with Pine, she was still married to another man. With regard to Pine, the trial court found that he was arrested for his third DWI on December 7, 2009, and that he had not |4maintained sobriety or adequately addressed his alcohol problems. The trial court ordered that supervised visitation be continued once a week for two hours, but it also set a termination-of-parental-rights hearing for March 12, 2010.

DHS filed a petition for termination of parental rights on February 4, 2010, alleging that it was in M.P.’s best interest for parental rights to be terminated, considering the likelihood that M.P. would be adopted and the potential harm of returning M.P. to appellants. DHS alleged three grounds for termination: (1) M.P. had been adjudicated dependent/neglected and had continued out of the home for twelve months, and despite a meaningful effort by DHS the parents had not remedied the conditions that caused removal; (2) M.P. had lived outside the home for twelve months and the parents had willfully failed to provide significant material support or to maintain meaningful contact with M.P.; (3) other factors arose subsequent to the filing of the original petition that demonstrated that return of M.P. to appellants was contrary to his health, safety, or welfare, and despite offers of appropriate family services, appellants had manifested an incapacity or indifference to remedy the subsequent factors that prevented the return of M.P. to their custody.

TPR Hearing

At the termination hearing, Darla Hash, the DHS caseworker, related the circumstances that necessitated the need to initially open a protective-services case on M.P. and to eventually remove him from his parents’ custody. Hash expressed her concern regarding both appellants’ continued use of alcohol. According to her, appellants would go |Bfor weekly alcohol testing (when she called) but that it was not really random testing; that Hoffman tested positive for alcohol on December 31, 2009, and Pine tested positive for alcohol on January 15, 2010. Hash did not believe the parents had remedied the conditions that caused M.P. to come into DHS custody. She said that although the visitation with M.P. was appropriate, Pine had been convicted in February 2010 of being in actual control of a vehicle while intoxicated, his second offense, and that, in her opinion, neither parent had shown that they could safely parent and take care of M.P., nor had either of them maintained sobriety or adequate stability. Hash stated that there was a high likelihood that M.P. would be adopted if parental rights were terminated. She explained that M.P. was a medically fragile child who had been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and a tethered spinal cord, and that he had ongoing issues with weight gain. She also said that it was suspected that M.P. suffered from Noonan’s Syndrome, but that it could not be diagnosed until after M.P. turned age two. Hash explained that while appellants were given unsupervised visitation at one point, it did not last because Hoffman tested positive for alcohol. Hash recommended termination of parental rights.

It was Hash’s opinion that both appellants were cooperating with DHS and attending counseling. However, she said that when she discussed with them their positive tests for alcohol, both of them denied that they had used alcohol, which she did not believe because they had a long history of alcohol abuse and both admitted that they are alcoholics. Hash said she did not believe that either of the appellants (because of the extent of their alcohol issues) | fiwere able to properly care for M.P.; that alcohol issues were why M.P. came into DHS care; and that, after more than a year, there were still problems with positive tests for alcohol and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

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Bluebook (online)
379 S.W.3d 703, 2010 Ark. App. 781, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 817, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pine-v-arkansas-department-of-human-services-arkctapp-2010.