State ex rel. K.V.

161 So. 3d 795, 2014 WL 6498342
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 21, 2014
DocketNo. 14-163
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 161 So. 3d 795 (State ex rel. K.V.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. K.V., 161 So. 3d 795, 2014 WL 6498342 (La. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

KEATY, Judge.

| j Following a bench trial, the trial court rendered judgment dismissing the State of Louisiana’s petition to terminate the parental rights of the mother and the father, K.R.S. and K.S.V.,1 to their minor children, fraternal twins K.S.V. and K.N.D.V., after finding that the State had not proven its case by clear and convincing evidence. The judgment ordered the minor children to remain in the custody of the Depart[797]*797ment of Children and Family Services (DCFS) with a case plan goal of adoption. The State now appeals. For the following reasons, we reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The twins, one male and one female, born on September 20, 2010, were placed in the custody of DCFS by an Oral Instanter Order issued on June 1, 2011. The basis of the Order was neglect that presented substantial immediate danger to the health and safety of the twins. According to the affidavit filed in support of the Instanter Order, at the time of their placement with DCFS, the twins lived in a one-room trailer with their mother and five other adults, all of whom were alleged drug users. The affidavit provided that a May 13, 2011 investigation into a report of abuse/neglect revealed that the female child had a cigarette burn on her left wrist and a yeast infection on her neck caused by improper bathing and that both children had multiple insect bites. When interviewed by a DCFS employee as part of the investigation, the mother stated that she had recently moved out of the home of the twins’ father’s mother, Wanda Vincent, because Ms. Vincent’s boyfriend sold crack cocaine and marijuana. She stated that she had to call law enforcement |2to get her infant daughter back because Ms. Vincent wanted to keep the baby. The mother further expressed her belief that Ms. Vincent had filed this “bogus” report on her because Ms. Vincent was mad that she and the twins had moved out.

The affidavit in support of the Instanter Order expressed DCFS’s finding that the mother was a teenager who lacked parenting skills, who had repeatedly failed to properly supervise her infant children, and who was unable to provide for her own needs and the needs of her children. The affidavit further detailed that the twins’ father was incarcerated at the time of their removal from their mother’s care. Originally, the twins were placed in a certified foster home in Lake Charles, Louisiana. On June 24, 2011, they were moved to another certified adoptive foster home in Sulphur, Louisiana, where they remain. According to a DCFS report dated September 27, 2011, the twins “adjusted well to their placement and are thriving.”

The minors were adjudicated children in need of care on July 7, 2011, by Judge Joel Davis, and a case plan was established which sought permanency through reunification. Following a Permanency Hearing in April 2012, the case plan goal was changed to adoption, and in’ June 2012, DCFS filed a Petition for Certification for Adoption and Termination of Parental Rights (Petition for Adoption).

After several continuances, a hearing on the petition was conducted on October 9, 2013, before Judge Pro Tempore H.W. Fontenot, and the matter was taken under advisement. Judge Fontenot issued written reasons for judgment one week later “dismiss[ing] the petition for termination of parental rights,” continuing the children in State custody, and giving the parents the opportunity to complete a new case plan that “sets realistic goals for the parents in view of their limitations.” |3The State appealed and is now before this court asserting the following assignment of error:

Whether the decision by the Judge, Pro Tempore, was manifestly erroneous in its failing to terminate the parental rights of the parents where the parents failed to substantially comply with prior case plan(s) for services, which were court-approved by the Judge ordinarily assigned to the division of Court where the matter was assigned, for a period of twenty-eight (28) months — far in excess [798]*798of the one (1) year contemplated, under the law — and where there is no reasonable expectation of significant improvement in the parents’ conduct in the near future.

DISCUSSION

Law

“We review a trial court’s determination as to whether parental rights should be terminated according to the manifest error standard of review.” State in Interest of M.A.N., 12-946, p. 3 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/28/12), 106 So.3d 288, 290-91.

Louisiana Children’s Code Article 1015 sets forth eight grounds for termination of parental rights. Although the State need only establish one ground for termination, the trial court must also find that the termination is in the best interest of the child in order to meet the statutory requirement of La.Ch.Code art. 1035(A), which requires that grounds for termination be proven by clear and convincing evidence.

State in the Int. of J.K.G., 11-908, pp. 5-6 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1/11/12), 118 So.3d 10, 14-15.

The Case Plans

After the twins were adjudicated in need of care on July 7, 2011, the trial court set a review hearing for October 5, 2011. According to a DCFS report filed into the record on October 3, 2011, a family conference was held on June 30, 2011, between the parents and the twins’ foster parents, where numerous recommendations were made regarding what was required of the parents to be reunited with the twins. More specifically, they were directed to maintain their |4own safe, clean, and stable environment in which to reside on a daily basis for at least six consecutive months. The residence was to have adequate space and bedroom furniture, as well as electricity, running water, an adequate food supply, and operational kitchen and bathroom facilities. The parents were directed to obtain and maintain employment or income sufficient to provide a steady income for the family sufficient to meet its food, shelter, utility, and clothing needs. Said employment and/or income was to be maintained for at least six consecutive months, and the parents were each told to provide verification of their income and expenses to the case manager on a monthly basis. The parents agreed to complete a family assessment and to follow all of the recommendations made by the evaluator. They further agreed to submit to substance abuse assessments, to complete any recommended treatment, and to undergo random drug screens. The parents agreed to attend nurturing parenting classes and to show positive attention to the twins during family visits. The parents were told to develop three positive connections within the community to provide them with support and assistance. In addition, the parents were told to keep in contact with DCFS, to be available for monthly home visits by their case worker, and to attend all team conferences, court hearings, and visits with the twins. DCFS agreed to assist the parents with any transportation needed to comply with its recommendations. At the time the report was filed, DCFS recommended that the twins remain in foster care for six months with the goal of reunification with their parents. By Case Review Judgment dated October 12, 2011, Judge Davis approved the case plan submitted by DCFS and ordered that it be complied with by all the parties.

By the time DCFS filed its next report with the trial court on April 5, 2012, the primary goal for the twins had been changed to adoption with the secondary | Bgoal of reunification with their parents. The record reflects that at a Permanency

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Bluebook (online)
161 So. 3d 795, 2014 WL 6498342, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-kv-lactapp-2014.