State ex rel. S.F.

802 So. 2d 791, 1 La.App. 5 Cir. 702, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 2687, 2001 WL 1426562
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 14, 2001
DocketNo. 01-CA-702
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 802 So. 2d 791 (State ex rel. S.F.) 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. S.F., 802 So. 2d 791, 1 La.App. 5 Cir. 702, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 2687, 2001 WL 1426562 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

I ¿THOMAS F. DALEY, Judge.

Appellant, M.F., appeals the granting of the State’s petition to terminate her parental rights to her daughter, S.J.F. On appeal, M.F. argues that the trial court erred in terminating her parental rights for the grounds in Ch.C. art. 1015(6), that she has been sentenced to an extended jail term, when she has been paroled. She also argues that she was not given the requisite legal notice, as required by Ch.C. art. 1015(6).

The record shows that M.F., a forty-two year old woman, is the mother of S.J.F., born on December 5, 1998. S.J.F. was placed into the custody of the Department of Social Services, Office of Community Services (OCS) three times before she was ten months old due to her mother’s repeated incarcerations. At the time of the Termination of Parental Rights trial on March 19, 2001, S.J.F. was twenty-seven months old and had been in OCS custody for nineteen months. At that time, M.F. was incarcerated in the State of Missouri, fulfilling two concurrent sevenj^ear3 sentences for drug possession that were imposed after her probation in that State was revoked as a result of positive drug screens on May 16, 2000 and June 5, 2000.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

OCS first became involved with S.J.F. on May 19, 1999, after receiving a report that a five month old baby was found in a filthy residence with her mother and other adults who were arrested for using drugs. M.F. was charged with child desertion, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:93.2.1, for which she was later convicted and incarcerated in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center (JPCC). M.F. was also serving a probated sentence from the State of Missouri, for a 1998 conviction for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, for which she was on probation at the time. OCS reported that M.F. stated that S.J.F.’s father was unknown and she had no relatives to care for the child while she was in jail. The court granted an Instanter Order and S.J.F. was placed into a dually certified foster home.

At a hearing on May 25,1999, custody of S.J.F. was granted to OCS. The State filed a Child in Need of Care (CINC) Petition pursuant to LSA-Ch.C. art. 606(A)(3). Adjudication was set for July 17, 1999. Meanwhile, S.J.F. remained in foster care until M.F. was released from JPCC and was able to secure housing. Upon the mother’s motion, the court recalled OCS custody and S.J.F. was returned to her mother on July 13, 1999. The CINC adjudication was continued to August 17, 1999.

S.J.F., now seven months old, remained with M.F. approximately one month. On August 16,1999, M.F. was convicted on the charge of child desertion (see above). The next day she was sentenced to six months in jail. OCS was contacted, and learned from M.F. that she had left S.J.F. with a neighbor, M.F. not having made a plan for S.J.F.’s care in the event she returned to jail. At this time M.F. reported to |40CS that S.J.F.’s father was “Manuel” but did not know his last name. No Manuel was ever located.

OCS requested and was granted from the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Court a second Instanter Order for the custody of S.J.F., who was placed back in the home of her former foster parents. The CINC adjudication was held on August 17, 1999. M.F., represented by counsel, stipulated that S.J.F. was a Child in Need of Care. Regarding the second Instanter Order, a custody hearing was held on August 20, 1999. M.F.’s sister appeared and stated [793]*793that M.F. wanted her to care for S.J.F. while M.F. was incarcerated. The court vacated the August 1999 Instanter Order, thereby returning custody of S.J.F. back to her incarcerated mother, and allowing M.F.’s alternative plan for her child to be cared for by her sister to take effect.

M.F.’s sister, however, did not fulfill her obligations. On September 15, 1999, OCS received a report that S.J.F. was found in a van during a narcotics investigation. The whereabouts of M.F.’s sister were unknown at the time. Marijuana was found in S.J.F.’s diaper. OCS was granted a third Instanter Order for the custody of S.J.F. She was returned to her former foster parents on September 17, 1999, and has remained there since.

M.F. was released from JPCC on October 4, 1999, but was arrested on a traffic stop on November 13, 1999, before she had been able to locate adequate housing for herself and S.J.F. The arrest revealed that she had outstanding warrants from St. Louis, Missouri. M.F. was extradited to Missouri on December 1, 1999. Her probation from the 1998 drug conviction was revoked on January 10, 2000, as a result of her conviction of child desertion in Jefferson Parish. M.F. was sentenced to a 120 day drug treatment program.

|sin November of 1999, M.F. named B.P. of St. Louis, Missouri, as S.J.F.’s biological father. A later paternity test was negative.

M.F. was released on probation on or around May 13, 2000, after completing the 120 day drug treatment program. She returned to the New Orleans area and restarted her case plan for reunification with S.J.F. The record shows that she attended all her supervised visitations with S.J.F. and other counseling sessions. Conditions of M.F.’s probation as well as her OCS case plan prohibited the use of illegal substances. Drug screens performed on M.F. were positive for cocaine on May 16, 2000 and June 5, 2000. On July 11, 2000, Missouri issued a warrant for M.F.’s arrest for this violation of her probation. M.F. was subsequently arrested on or around September 25, 2000, and was extradited to Missouri for the second time on or around October 4, 2000. M.F.’s probation was revoked on October 19, 2000, and her seven year sentence in Missouri was reinstated.

On September 26, 2000, while all parties were present for a CINC review hearing in Juvenile Court, the state filed a Termination of Parental Rights Petition pursuant to LSA-Ch.C. art. 1015(5), alleging M.F.’s lack of compliance with the court approved case plan for services and that there was no reasonable expectation of significant improvement in this forty-two year old mother’s near future. The petition also alleged abandonment by the unknown father, pursuant to LSA-Ch.C. art. 1015(4)(b)(c). M.F., who was incarcerated at JPCC awaiting extradition back to Missouri, was present in court and was served with a copy of the Termination Petition in open court, according to the State’s appellate brief. At this hearing, M.F.’s appointed counsel from the CINC case was appointed to represent her at the termination proceeding. On October 11, 2000, through counsel, M.F. entered a general denial in the answer to the Termination Petition.

IfiOn September 27, 2000, the OCS social worker, Pam Martin, received a call from an O.W., who advised Ms. Martin that he had just learned from M.F. that he was S.J.F.’s biological father and that he wanted custody of his child. Later, while in jail in Missouri, M.F. signed a notarized document dated October 24, 2000, authorizing O.W. and a C.A.W. to have temporary custody of S.J.F. until further notice. A paternity test revealed that he could not [794]*794be S.J.F.’s father, and he had no further contact with OCS.

On November 9, 2000, the State amended the Termination of Rights Petition to add the grounds authorized under LSA-Ch.C. art. 1015(6), alleging that M.F.’s conviction and sentence rendered her unable to care for S.J.F., and despite notice by OCS, M.F. had presented no reasonable plan to care for the child other than foster care. M.F. was served with a copy of the amended petition through her attorney on November 14, 2000.

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Bluebook (online)
802 So. 2d 791, 1 La.App. 5 Cir. 702, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 2687, 2001 WL 1426562, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-sf-lactapp-2001.