Opinion
No. 2-1059 / 02-1955
Filed January 29, 2003
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Nancy A. Baumgartner, Associate Juvenile Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her child. AFFIRMED.
John Broz, Cedar Rapids, for appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Tabitha Gardner, Assistant Attorney General, and Lance Heeren, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee State.
H. Gloe, Cedar Rapids, guardian ad litem for the minor child.
Considered by Vogel, P. J., and Miller and Eisenhauer, JJ.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her child pursuant to Iowa Code sections 232.116(1)(e), (h), and (l) (Supp. 2001). She contends the State failed to prove the grounds for termination by clear and convincing evidence. We review her claims de novo. In re C.H., 652 N.W.2d 144, 147 (Iowa 2002).
We find the mother's rights were properly terminated under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(h). The mother concedes the first three elements of this section have been met, and we find overwhelming evidence that the children cannot be returned to her custody. At the time of trial, the mother was serving a jail sentence for child endangerment. The mother has a long history of substance abuse and has not completed treatment. At her birth, the child tested positive for marijuana. Just prior to her removal, the child tested positive for both methamphetamines and cocaine. Finally, the mother has a history of abusing and neglecting her children. She has five other children and none are in her custody.
While the law requires a "full measure of patience with troubled parents who attempt to remedy a lack of parenting skills," this patience has been built into the statutory scheme of chapter 232. In re C.B., 611 N.W.2d 489, 494 (Iowa 2000). Children should not be forced to endlessly await the maturity of a natural parent. Id. At some point, the rights and needs of the child rise above the rights and needs of the parent. In re J.L.W., 570 N.W.2d 778, 781 (Iowa Ct.App. 1997). It is clear the child cannot be returned to the mother's care. Because we need only find termination was proper under one ground to affirm, we do not consider the mother's other arguments on appeal. See In re R.R.K., 544 N.W.2d 274, 276 (Iowa Ct.App. 1995).