State ex rel. Z.L.H. v. Humphries

892 So. 2d 745, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 76, 2005 WL 156833
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 26, 2005
DocketNo. 39,528-JAC
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 892 So. 2d 745 (State ex rel. Z.L.H. v. Humphries) 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. Z.L.H. v. Humphries, 892 So. 2d 745, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 76, 2005 WL 156833 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

hPEATROSS, J.

The father, T.H., appeals a judgment terminating his parental rights to his two minor children, Z.L.H. and H.D.H.1 For the reasons stated herein, we affirm.

FACTS

The minor children involved in this case are Z.L.H., a boy, who is now 4 years old, and H.D.H., a girl, who is now 2 years old. T.H. is the legal, not biological, father of Z.L.H. The biological father of Z.L.H. is unknown and has not provided any care and support for the child.2 T.H., however, is the legal and biological father of H.D.H.

The two children were taken into custody of the Department of Social Services (“Department”) on September 25, 2002, and were declared to be in need of care on October 31, 2002. There were also two minor step-children of T.H.’s living in the home at the time Z.L.H. and H.D.H. were removed from the home. These two stepchildren were found to have been sexually molested and raped by T.H. This occurred while Z.L.H. and H.D.H were in the home. T.H. was indicted for the above-described offenses on his two step-children and has a history of sexually molesting juveniles, including his own siblings. In addition, according to the Department, the mother has consistently had men in her life who have abused her children.

In December 2003, the Department filed a Petition for Termination of Parental Rights of T.H. and E.H. At the time the petition was filed, T.H. hwas incarcerated awaiting trial on charges related to his sexual abuse of his two minor step-children as earlier mentioned. The petition alleged, inter alia, that T.H. had abandoned the children, had failed to provide significant contributions to the children’s care and support and had failed to maintain significant contact with the children. Further, the petition alleged that T.H. was not in substantial compliance with the case plan filed by the Department and showed no reasonable expectation of significant improvement. Specifically, T.H. refused to attend or schedule any sexual perpetrator sessions; failed to complete parenting classes; failed to complete anger management classes; and failed to start budgeting classes to which he was referred by the Department. Finally, the petition alleges the passive abuse based on the alleged sexual molestation by T.H. of his two minor step-children while Z.L.H. and H.D.H. were in the home.

After trial, the trial judge found that T.H. sexually molested and raped his stepchildren who were minors, while Z.L.H. and H.D.H. were living in the same house. The trial judge further found that T.H. failed to substantially comply with his case plan, most importantly by failing to complete sexual perpetrator counseling. In addition, the trial judge found that T.H. had failed to participate in parenting, anger management and budgeting classes and had failed to complete a TPR-2 packet and submit a written plan for the children to the agency. Citing La. Ch. C. arts. 1015 and 1036, the trial judge concluded that grounds for termination of T.H.’s parental rights had been proven by clear and convincing evidence. Finally, based on these findings, the trial judge concluded that it was in the best | ¡¡interest of the [748]*748children that T.H.’s parental rights be terminated and the children freed for adoption. This appeal ensued.

DISCUSSION

Termination of parental rights is governed by Title X of the Children’s Code. La. Ch. C. art. 1015 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

The grounds for termination of parental rights are:
(3) Misconduct of the parent toward this child or any other child of the parent or any other child in his household which constitutes extreme abuse, cruel and inhuman treatment, or grossly negligent behavior below a reasonable standard of human decency, including but not limited to the conviction, commission, aiding or abetting, attempting, conspiring, or soliciting to commit any of the following:
* * *
(d) Rape.
* * *
(i) Abuse or neglect which is chronic, life threatening, or results in gravely disabling physical or psychological injury or disfigurement.
* * *
(Z) Sexual abuse, which shall include, but is not limited to acts which are prohibited by R.S. 14: 43.1, 43.2, 80, 81, 81.1, 81.2, 89 and 89.1.
* * *
(4) Abandonment of the child by placing him in the physical custody of a nonpar-ent, or the department, or by otherwise leaving him under circumstances demonstrating an intention to permanently avoid parental responsibility by any of the following:
(a) For a period of at least four months as of the time of the hearing, despite a diligent search, the whereabouts of the child’s parent continue to be unknown.
|4(b) As of the time the petition is filed, the parent has failed to provide significant contributions to the child’s care and support for any period of six consecutive months.
(c) As of the time the petition is filed, the parent has failed to maintain significant contact with the child by visiting him or communicating with him for any period of six consecutive months.
(5)Unless sooner permitted by the court, at least one year has elapsed since a child was removed from the parent’s custody pursuant to a court order; there has been no substantial parental compliance with a case plan for services which has been previously filed by the department and approved by the court as necessary for the safe return of the child; and despite earlier intervention, there is no reasonable expectation of significant improvement in the parent’s condition or conduct in the near future, considering the child’s age and his need for a safe, stable, and permanent home.

Specifically, under La. Ch. C. art. 1015(5), as stated above, termination of parental rights is warranted when (1) at least one year has elapsed since a child was removed from the parent’s custody pursuant to a court order; (2) there has been no substantial parental compliance with a case plan for services which has been previously filed by the department and approved by the court as necessary for the safe return of the child; and (3) despite earlier intervention, there is no reasonable expectation of significant improvement in the parent’s condition or conduct in the near future, considering the child’s age and his [749]*749need for a safe, stable and permanent home. Lack of parental compliance with a case plan is defined as one or more of the following:

(1) The parent’s failure to attend court-approved scheduled visitations with the child.
(2) The parent’s failure to communicate with the child.
(3) The parent’s failure to keep the department apprised of the parent’s whereabouts and significant changes affecting the | ^parent’s ability to comply with the case plan for services.
(4) The parent’s failure to contribute to the costs of the child’s foster care, if ordered to do so by the court when approving the case plan.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
892 So. 2d 745, 2005 La. App. LEXIS 76, 2005 WL 156833, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-zlh-v-humphries-lactapp-2005.