Stewart v. Randolph County Office of Family & Children

804 N.E.2d 1207, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 438, 2004 WL 540896
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 19, 2004
DocketNo. 68A01-0312-JV-462
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 804 N.E.2d 1207 (Stewart v. Randolph County Office of Family & Children) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stewart v. Randolph County Office of Family & Children, 804 N.E.2d 1207, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 438, 2004 WL 540896 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

NAJAM, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Cherryl Stewart ("Mother") appeals from the trial court's termination of her parental rights with respect to her children G.B., N.B., M.P., and H.S. She presents the following issues for our review:

1. Whether she was denied her right to due process when the Randolph County Office of Family and Children ("OFC") created case plans.
2. Whether the OFC made all reason- . able efforts to avoid termination of her parental rights.
3. Whether the trial court made sufficiently specific written findings and conclusions to support its disposi-tional decrees.

We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

N.B. was born March 831, 1998; M.P. was born March 27, 1995; G.B. was born January 15, 1998; and H.S. was born November 10, 1999. Three different men fathered the children, and none of those men are parties to this appeal. In 2000, the children lived with Mother, Mother's then-boyfriend Charles Stewart, and two other children in an apartment in Winchester.

In August 2000, someone called the Winchester Police Department to report that three of Mother's young children were in the apartment alone. The responding officer observed that the apartment was exceptionally dirty and contacted the OFC. Joy Ann Woolf, a family case manager for the OFC, arrived at Mother's apartment that evening to investigate. She observed that the apartment was crowded, with only three bedrooms for eight people, and that it was "very dirty." Mother cleaned the apartment, and when Woolf returned the next day, she observed that it was "much better than it had been." But Woolf initiated a service referral agreement, whereby Mother contracted with the OFC to participate in home-based services through Dunn Center, to keep the apartment clean, and to make sure that her older children went to school.

Thereafter, there were other occasions when the young children were left at the apartment unattended. Then in June 2001, a Winchester police officer contacted Woolf to report that M.P., then six years old, was found alone in front of an Arby's restaurant on State Road 32, having walked there by himself. Mother and Stewart were home, but were not aware that M.P. was missing. The police arrested Mother and Stewart for neglect of a dependent, and on June 18, 2001, the OFC filed petitions alleging that each of the children were in need of services ("CHINS"). The OFC placed the children in foster care.

At an initial hearing on July 2, 2001, Mother admitted the factual allegations in each of the CHINS petitions, and on August 23, 2001, the trial court issued dispo-sitional decrees for each of the children. [1210]*1210Those decrees provided in relevant part that each of the children was to remain in foster care, that Mother have visitation with the children, and that Mother continue to participate in home-based services and counseling. The children were returned to Mother's home in May 2002, but they were removed again in November 2002 because Mother was not complying with her-case plans.

The OFC filed petitions for the involuntary termination of her parental rights with regard to each of the four children in December 2002. Following fact-finding Hearings, the trial court ordered that Mother's parental rights be terminated on July-31, 2003. This appeal ensued.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

. Issue One: Case Plans

The involuntary termination of parental rights is an extreme measure that is designed to be used only as a last resort when all other reasonable, efforts have failed. A.P. v. Porter County Office of Family and Children, 734 N.E.2d 1107, 1112 (Ind.Ct.App.2000), trans. denied. Choices about marriage, family life, and the upbringing of children are among associational rights the United States Supreme Court has ranked as of basic importance in our society and are rights sheltered by the Fourteenth Amendment - against - the State's unwarranted usurpation, disregard, or disrespect. Id. A case involving the State's authority to permanently sever a parent-child bond demands the close consideration the Supreme Court has long required when a family association so undeniably important is at stake. Id. "Although due process has never been precisely defined, the phrase expresses the requirement of "fundamental fairness." E.P. v. Marion County Office of Family and Children, 653 N.E.2d 1026, 1031 (Ind.Ct.App.1995).

Mother first contends that the OFC did not negotiate her case plans with her and that she was denied her right to due process as a result. Indiana Code Section 81-34-15-2 provides as follows: "The county office of family and children, after negotiating with the child's parent, guardian, 'or custodian, shall complete a child's case plan not later than sixty (60) days after: (1) the date of the child's first placement; or (2) the date of a dispositional decree; whichever comes first." (Emphasis added).

In support of her contention, Mother refers us to the following excerpt of Woolf's testimony at one of the fact-finding hearings in this case:

Q: But are you familiar with the statute I'm talking about that requires negotiation between you and [Mother] prior to those case plans being made up?
. A: I know there is now. I'm not sure when that statute came into effect."
Q: So if it was in effect then, you didn't follow it; is that correct?
A: Right. Correct. I didn't have a case conference, sit down with [Mother] and say, "What do you think you need to do or what do you think the kids need to do and I need to do?" We did 'disceuss it in a-
. Q: I understand. You've answered the question....

Mother maintains that this evidence shows that the OFC did not comply with Indiana Code Section 31-34-15-2 when it completed her case plans. We cannot agree.

Neither the statute nor relevant case law explains what type of negotiation is required in establishing a case plan. [1211]*1211The interpretation of a statute is a question of law reserved for the courts. State v. Rans, 739 N.E.2d 164, 166 (Ind.Ct.App.2000), trans. denied. If the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, it is not subject to judicial interpretation. Id. However, when the language is susceptible to more than one construction, we must construe the statute to determine the apparent legislative intent. Id. Our task with respect to statutory interpretation has been summarized as follows:

We ascertain and implement legislative intent by "giving effect to the ordinary and plain meaning of the language used in the statute." The statute is examined and interpreted as a whole and the language itself is serutinized, including the grammatical structure of the clause or sentence at issue. Within this analysis, we give words their common and ordinary meaning, without "overemphasizing a strict literal or selective reading of individual words." |

Id. (quoting Clifft v.

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804 N.E.2d 1207, 2004 Ind. App. LEXIS 438, 2004 WL 540896, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stewart-v-randolph-county-office-of-family-children-indctapp-2004.