Opinion
No. 3-601 / 03-1108
Filed August 27, 2003
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Butler County, Peter B. Newell, Associate Juvenile Judge.
E.N. appeals the termination of her parental rights to her minor child. AFFIRMED.
Amy Swanson of Lawler Swanson, P.L.C., Parkersburg, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kathrine Miller-Todd, Assistant Attorney General, Gregory M. Lievens, County Attorney, and Martin Petersen, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee-State.
Lana Luhring of Laird Luhring, Waverly, for father.
Roger Sutton of the Sutton Law Office, Charles City, for maternal grandfather.
Patrick Vickers of Vickers Law Office, Greene, guardian ad litem for minor child.
Considered by Huitink, P.J., and Vaitheswaran and Eisenhauer, JJ.
I. Background Facts Proceedings
Erin and Eric are the parents of Savannah, born in May 1997. They became involved with the Department of Human Services in November 2000, when Eric was arrested for eluding police officers, and Savannah was in the vehicle at the time. Eric was charged with child endangerment. There were also concerns about dirty and unsanitary conditions in Erin's home. Savannah was adjudicated to be a child in need of assistance.
At the time the Department became involved, Erin was married to Terry, and this relationship involved domestic disputes. Erin did not cooperate with services. Her home remained unsanitary, and her conduct with Savannah was harsh and punitive. A psychological evaluation noted that Erin evinced an agitated, major depression. The report also noted, "[t]his woman is typically conflicted, resentful, and irritable, and her characteristic state is complicated by the discomforting symptoms of a generalized anxiety syndrome." The evaluation concluded Erin was in urgent need of mental health treatment. "Until her mental health problems are treated and her marital relationship improves, there is an elevated and unacceptable risk that Erin will neglect her children." Due to these problems, Savannah was removed from Erin's care in December 2001 and placed with the paternal grandmother.
Savannah has been diagnosed with enuresis and encopresis. Erin did not deal appropriately with these problems, but continued to shame and demean Savannah when she had an accident. Despite services, Erin continued to show poor parenting techniques during visitation. In once instance, Erin became extremely angry and was emotionally and physically out of control during a visit, which scared Savannah. Erin continued to have relationships with abusive men. Her new boyfriend was charged with child endangerment after he punched in a window of a car, when a child was inside the car.
In February 2003 the State filed a petition seeking to terminate the parents' rights. The juvenile court terminated Erin's parental rights pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(f) (2003). The court found Savannah could not be returned to Erin's care. Erin was living with her parents and did not have a job. The court noted Erin had exposed Savannah to domestic violence, which had a negative impact on Savannah. Erin testified she found parenting stressful. The court concluded Erin was "an immature young woman who is emotionally unattached to her children." The paternal grandmother expressed an interest in adopting Savannah. Erin appealed.
II. Standard of Review
The scope of review in termination cases is de novo. In re C.B., 611 N.W.2d 489, 492 (Iowa 2000). The grounds for termination must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. In re S.R., 600 N.W.2d 63, 64 (Iowa Ct.App. 1999).
III. Sufficiency of the Evidence
Erin claims the State failed to present sufficient evidence to show Savannah could not be returned to her care. We determine there was clear and convincing evidence Savannah could not be safely returned to Erin's care. Erin's mental health problems remained a problem, which created an unacceptable risk she would neglect Savannah. Additionally, Erin continued to be involved in abusive relationships and she continued to have anger management problems. Despite services, Erin's parenting techniques did not improve.
IV. Reasonable Efforts
Erin maintains that the State did not engage in reasonable efforts to reunite her with Savannah. She claims the State should have provided her with unsupervised visitation, which would give her the opportunity to demonstrate her parenting skills. Reasonable services must be provided to attempt to reunite a family before the State can terminate parental rights. In re L.M.W., 518 N.W.2d 804, 807 (Iowa Ct.App. 1994).
We question whether Erin preserved this issue for our review, because the evidence does not show she requested increased visits. Even if the issue was preserved, we find services were reasonable under the facts of this case. Erin was not cooperative with services, and she did not demonstrate the necessary parenting skills to progress to unsupervised visits.
V. Best Interests
Erin contends termination of her parental rights was not in Savannah's best interests. She points out that Savannah is living with a relative, and that under section 232.116(3)(a), termination of parental rights was not mandatory in these circumstances. She also claimed termination would be detrimental to Savannah, under section 232.116(3)(c).
Again we question whether this issue was preserved for our review, as it was not raised before the district court. Even if the issue was preserved, we note that section 232.116(3) has been interpreted to be permissive, not mandatory. In re J.L.W., 570 N.W.2d 778, 781 (Iowa Ct.App. 1997). We must consider a child's long-range and immediate best interests. Id. We conclude termination of Erin's parental rights is in Savannah's best interests. Erin did not appropriately deal with Savannah's enuresis and encopresis. Erin was not able to meet Savannah's needs and was emotionally unattached to her child.
We affirm the decision of the juvenile court.