Term. of the Parent-Child Rel. of A.B., Minor Child, and Her Father, S.M.B. S.M.B. v. Indiana Dept. of Child Services

Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided October 18, 2012·No. 53A01-1204-JT-147·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before Oct 18 2012, 8:33 am any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, CLERK

collateral estoppel, or the law of the case. of the supreme court, court of appeals and

tax court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:

KARA REAGAN ANNA M. SEBREE Stafford Law Office, LLC Department of Child Services, Bloomington, Indiana Monroe County Office Bloomington, Indiana

ROBERT J. HENKE

DCS Central Administration Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

IN THE MATTER OF THE INVOLUNTARY ) TERMINATION OF THE PARENT-CHILD ) RELATIONSHIP OF A.B., MINOR CHILD, ) AND HER FATHER, S.M.B., )

)

S.M.B. )

)

Appellant-Respondent, )

)

vs. ) No. 53A01-1204-JT-147 )

INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF CHILD ) SERVICES, )

)

Appellee-Petitioner. )

APPEAL FROM THE MONROE CIRCUIT COURT The Honorable Stephen R. Galvin, Judge Cause No. 53C07-1105-JT-417

October 18, 2012

MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION BRADFORD, Judge Appellant-Respondent S.M.B. (“Father”) appeals the juvenile court’s order terminating his parental rights to A.B. Father alleges that the Indiana Department of Child Services (“DCS”) did not provide sufficient evidence to support the termination of his parental rights. Concluding that the evidence was sufficient to support the termination of Father’s parental rights, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY A.B. was born on May 21, 2010, at which time she tested positive for both amphetamines and THC. L.F. (“Mother”) also tested positive for drugs, specifically, amphetamine, methamphetamine, and marijuana while pregnant. Mother and Father used drugs together while Mother was pregnant. Father did not try to stop Mother from using drugs during her pregnancy. Despite the fact that A.B. tested positive for drugs at the time of her birth, Mother and Father were permitted to take A.B. home from the hospital.

DCS first became involved with A.B. on June 4, 2010, after police were called to Mother and Father’s shared residence to investigate an alleged act of domestic violence against Mother by Father. In the course of investigating the alleged domestic incident, police determined that the altercation between Mother and Father began at Wal-Mart and continued into the home. Father was heavily intoxicated and Mother was heavily medicated at the time. Father drove the family home from Wal-Mart while intoxicated. At one point, Mother and Father were engaged in a physical altercation over who would hold A.B., with Mother trying

to physically take A.B. out of Father’s arms. While either Mother or Father was holding A.B., Father pushed Mother down the stairs.1 Police also found that the home shared by Mother and Father did not meet minimum living standards and contacted DCS.

On June 7, 2010, DCS filed a verified petition alleging that A.B. was a CHINS. The juvenile court conducted an initial hearing on July 2, 2010, at which it entered a denial on behalf of both Mother and Father. The juvenile court conducted a fact-finding hearing on the CHINS petition on August 23, 2010, at which Mother appeared and admitted that A.B. was a CHINS. Father, however, did not appear at the fact-finding hearing. The juvenile court issued a dispositional order on September 20, 2010, in which it ordered Mother and Father to complete certain services. The juvenile court conducted a review hearing on December 6, 2010, at which it found that Mother and Father had not complied with A.B.’s case plan, visited regularly with A.B., or cooperated with DCS. A subsequent review hearing was held on March 7, 2011, at which the juvenile court found that Mother and Father had still not complied with A.B.’s case plan, had not fully cooperated with DCS, and that Mother, but not Father, had participated in visitation with A.B.

On May 25, 2011, DCS filed a petition seeking the termination of Mother’s2 and Father’s parental rights to A.B. On December 16, 2011, and January 27, 2012, the juvenile court conducted an evidentiary termination hearing at which Father appeared and was

1 It is unclear who was holding A.B. when Father pushed Mother down the stairs because the petition alleging that A.B. was a Child In Need of Services (“CHINS”) indicated that Father was holding A.B. while the juvenile court’s order finding A.B. to be a CHINS states that Mother was holding A.B. when Father pushed her down the stairs.

2 The termination of Mother’s parental rights is not at issue in this appeal. Mother subsequently consented to the termination of her parental rights and the adoption of A.B. by maternal grandmother.

represented by counsel. During the termination hearing, DCS introduced evidence relating to Father’s history of domestic and substance abuse, Father’s inability or refusal to properly care for his children, and Father’s failure to participate in or benefit from the services offered by DCS. DCS also introduced evidence indicating that termination of Father’s parental rights was in A.B.’s best interests, and that its plan for the permanent care and treatment of A.B. was adoption. Father presented evidence which he claimed demonstrated that he was beginning to make progress and, as such, should be given more time before his parental rights were terminated. On March 5, 2012, the juvenile court terminated Father’s parental rights to A.B. Father now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the traditional right of a parent to establish a home and raise his child. Bester v. Lake Cnty. Office of Family & Children, 839 N.E.2d 143, 145 (Ind. 2005). Further, we acknowledge that the parent-child relationship is “one of the most valued relationships of our culture.” Id. However, although parental rights are of a constitutional dimension, the law allows for the termination of those rights when a parent is unable or unwilling to meet his responsibility as a parent. In re T.F., 743 N.E.2d 766, 773 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001), trans. denied. Therefore, parental rights are not absolute and must be subordinated to the child’s interests in determining the appropriate disposition of a petition to terminate the parent-child relationship. Id.

The purpose of terminating parental rights is not to punish the parent but to protect the child. Id. Termination of parental rights is proper where the child’s emotional and physical development is threatened. Id. The juvenile court need not wait until the child is irreversibly

harmed such that her physical, mental, and social development is permanently impaired before terminating the parent-child relationship. Id.

Father contends that the evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing was insufficient to support the juvenile court’s order terminating his parental rights. In reviewing termination proceedings on appeal, this court will not reweigh the evidence or assess the credibility of the witnesses. In re Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights of S.P.H., 806 N.E.2d 874, 879 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004). We only consider the evidence that supports the juvenile court’s decision and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom. Id. Where, as here, the juvenile court includes findings of fact and conclusions thereon in its order terminating parental rights, our standard of review is two-tiered. Id. First, we must determine whether the evidence supports the findings, and, second, whether the findings support the legal conclusions. Id.

In deference to the juvenile court’s unique position to assess the evidence, we set aside the juvenile court’s findings and judgment terminating a parent-child relationship only if they are clearly erroneous. Id. A finding of fact is clearly erroneous when there are no facts or inferences drawn therefrom to support it. Id. A judgment is clearly erroneous only if the legal conclusions made by the juvenile court are not supported by its findings of fact, or the conclusions do not support the judgment. Id.

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Term. of the Parent-Child Rel. of A.B., Minor Child, and Her Father, S.M.B. S.M.B. v. Indiana Dept. of Child Services, (Ind. Ct. App. 2012).

Term. of the Parent-Child Rel. of A.B., Minor Child, and Her Father, S.M.B. S.M.B. v. Indiana Dept. of Child Services (Term. of the Parent-Child Rel. of A.B., Minor Child, and Her Father, S.M.B. S.M.B. v. Indiana Dept. of Child Services) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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