Opinion
Case No. 20090205-CA.
Filed June 4, 2009. Not For Official Publication
Appeal from the Third District Juvenile, Salt Lake Department, 542945, The Honorable C. Dane Nolan.
Shamim Monshizadeh, Salt Lake City, for Appellant.
Mark L. Shurtleff and John M. Peterson, Salt Lake City, for Appellee.
Martha Pierce, Salt Lake City, Guardian Ad Litem.
Before Judges Greenwood, Thorne, and Orme.
MEMORANDUM DECISION
M.R.A. (Mother) appeals the termination of her parental rights to L.R.A. Mother stipulated to the grounds for termination. The trial proceeded only on the best interests allegations of the petition.See In re R.A.J., 1999 UT App 329, ¶ 7, 991 P.2d 1118 (stating that a court must separately find that a parent is below the minimum threshold of fitness and that the best interests of the child are served by termination of parental rights). Mother claims the evidence was insufficient to support the determination that a termination of parental rights is in L.R.A.'s best interest. Mother stipulated to the amended termination petition, with the exception of two paragraphs, to wit:
9. [L.R.A.] is currently in a legal risk home where she is thriving. The family has developed a bond of love and affection for [L.R.A.] and she has been integrated into their family. The family is willing to adopt [L.R.A.].
10. It is in the best interest of [L.R.A] to be adopted where she will be secure, stable and protected from further abuse and neglect and where her physical and emotional needs will be met.
Accordingly, the termination trial proceeded only as to these two disputed paragraphs.
The Division of Child and Family Services took L.R.A. into protective custody on January 10, 2008. At that time, Mother had been arrested and was being held on a federal immigration hold. Mother was sentenced in July 2008 to serve sixteen months in federal prison. Upon completion of the term, she will be deported to Mexico and placed on supervised release for twenty-four months, with the condition that she not re-enter the United States illegally. She began her incarceration in September 2008 and her projected release is in July 2009. Mother has not had face-to-face contact with L.R.A. since Mother's arrest in 2007.
L.R.A. has multiple medical problems. She has one kidney that is smaller than the other, has an enlarged bowel, and suffers from encropresis and enuresis. After removal, she was diagnosed with asthma, eczema, and tuberculosis. At the time of her removal from Mother, L.R.A.'s medical issues were not being addressed. The court found that the foster mother makes sure that the medical issues are being addressed in consultation with medical providers.
At the time of removal, L.R.A. did not speak English and had limited fluency in Spanish. Although she was seven years old, she was developmentally delayed and her skills tested below kindergarten level. She does not have a learning disability and the juvenile court found her delays were "the result of the parenting she received from [Mother] and other caretakers." In foster care, she is doing well academically, is developing reading skills, and is able to communicate in English. Her foster mother volunteers at L.R.A.'s school and is fluent in Spanish. Since removal, L.R.A. has made significant academic progress.
L.R.A. was withdrawn, angry, confused, and depressed when placed in protective custody. Her demeanor has changed to happy and outgoing. L.R.A. is bonded to both foster parents, and she has a sibling relationship with the other children in the home. She has lived with the foster family since January 2008, and the foster parents wish to adopt her. Ultimately, the juvenile court found it would be in L.R.A.'s best interests to be adopted into a home where she is secure, stable, loved, and protected from neglect and abuse.
In support of her challenge to the best interests determination, Mother expressed her belief that her incarceration will terminate in July 2009 and that she can be an effective parent in Mexico after her deportation if L.R.A. is allowed to be placed in the interim care of her maternal grandmother. She also asserted that L.R.A. should be raised in the Mexican culture. Mother does not make a credible demonstration that the juvenile court's findings on L.R.A.'s best interests are erroneous.
We will overturn the juvenile court's decision "only if it either failed to consider all of the facts or considered all of the facts and its decision was nonetheless against the clear weight of the evidence."In re B.R., 2007 UT 82, ¶ 12, 171 P.3d 435. "When a foundation for the court's decision exists in the evidence, an appellate court may not engage in a reweighing of the evidence." Id. The best interests determination is amply supported by the evidence. Accordingly, we affirm.
Pamela T. Greenwood, Presiding Judge, William A. Thorne Jr., Associate Presiding Judge, Gregory K. Orme, Judge.