Opinion
NO. 2013-CA-000502-ME NO. 2013-CA-000503-ME
03-28-2014
T. C. APPELLANT v. CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY AND B. L. C., A MINOR CHILD APPELLEES AND T. C. APPELLANT v. CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES, COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY AND S. R. E. L. J., A MINOR CHILD APPELLEES
BRIEF FOR APPELLANT: Paul Neil Kerr II Russellville, Kentucky BRIEF FOR APPELLEE: Mary Gaines Locke Cabinet for Health and Family Services Munfordville, Kentucky
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
APPEAL FROM LOGAN CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE TYLER L. GILL, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 12-AD-00001
APPEAL FROM LOGAN CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE TYLER L. GILL, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 12-AD-00002
OPINION
AFFIRMING
BEFORE: LAMBERT, STUMBO AND THOMPSON, JUDGES. THOMPSON, JUDGE: T. C. (mother) challenges the termination of her parental rights to B. L. C. and S. R. E. L. J. (the children).
Mother and T. W. C. (father) had two children. B. L. C. was born in 2005 and S. R. E. L. J. in 2007. Mother and father were married in 2008. However, father has rarely resided with mother and the children due to a series of incarcerations on drug-related offenses.
In December 2007, the children were removed from mother's care pursuant to an emergency custody order due to serious environmental neglect. Police officers found B. L. C. with dried feces on her leg that had leaked from her diaper and marijuana roaches in the home. The children were placed in the custody of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and were in foster care from December 2007 until January 2008, at which time they were placed with relatives. From March 2008 to December 2008, mother was uncooperative and expressed anger at social workers. She terminated her services with the Family Preservation Program and failed to complete her case plan. The children were returned home by court order in September 2008, over the objection of the Cabinet. The case was never closed by the Cabinet because mother did not complete her case plan.
In September 2010, the children were placed in foster care pursuant to an emergency custody order and their removal was continued following a contested hearing. In the three months immediately prior to the removal, the Cabinet was unable to locate either mother or father. At a home visit in September, mother refused to take a drug screen, admitting it would test positive for marijuana.
Following a protracted period of time in which mother failed to comply with the Cabinet's case plan, it moved to terminate her parental rights on the basis of her failure to provide for the children and the length of time they were in foster care. At the trial, extensive testimony was provided that mother had abused or neglected the children and was incapable of making sufficient progress for them to be returned to her because she continued to have severe anger issues, continued to abuse marijuana and methamphetamines, the children were afraid of her and no additional interventions could preserve the family.
The Cabinet obtained the termination of father's parental rights. As father is not appealing, we do not discuss the evidence pertaining exclusively to him.
Social worker Amanda Loudy testified that on September 13, 2010, she supervised visitation between mother and the children. While the children were at first happy to see mother, when they were taken to the visitation room they demonstrated extreme fear, begging Loudy not to leave and hiding behind her. The visitation was terminated and further visitation was suspended until mother completed a mental health assessment, an anger management assessment and followed recommendations.
The children's current therapist Marci Huff began seeing the children in July 2011. She recommended continued suspension of visitation with mother because the children expressed negative feelings about their parents and anxiety about being returned to them. Huff testified B. L. C. suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome. She also testified the children act out sexually together which resulted in their placement in separate homes. Both children talked about being beaten by their parents and B. L. C. drew a picture of a spiky stick, which she said she was whipped with by mother after the paddle broke. Huff testified the children have no positive memories of their home life prior to their removal and neither wants to return home.
Counselor Grant Goodman testified mother was compliant with anger management and substance abuse counseling with him from September 2010, until February 2011. She then had sporadic attendance and admitted to Goodman she continued to use marijuana and methamphetamine.
Goodman testified that during a session in May 2011, mother became angry and threatened to kill a social worker and her unborn child, and another social worker, if her parental rights were terminated. Goodman reported the incident to the Cabinet and the county attorney. The county attorney brought terroristic threatening charges against mother, to which she pled guilty.
Mother had difficulty complying with the Cabinet's case plan. Mother began anger management classes with Leigh Anne Mathis, but did not follow through on her recommendations. Mother completed parenting classes with Goodman but was unable to apply what she learned and became defensive when Goodman discussed specific situations with her own children. Mother was frequently uncooperative with Cabinet staff. Loudy testified that during home visits, mother became irate with staff members.
Detective Robbie Matthews testified that while investigating a report of stolen guns in mother's garage, mother agreed to a search of her garage. The stolen guns were located as well as precursors for a methamphetamine lab. Pursuant to a search warrant, a methamphetamine lab was discovered in her house.
The trial court determined the children were abused and neglected and termination of parental rights would be in their best interests. Termination was appropriate because two grounds were met under KRS 625.090(2)(g) and (j): (1) mother, for reasons other than poverty alone, has continuously or repeatedly failed to provide or is incapable of providing essential food, clothing, shelter, medical care or education reasonably necessary and available for the children's well-being and there is no reasonable expectation of significant improvement in mother's conduct in the immediately foreseeable future, considering the ages of the children; and (2) the children were in foster care for fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months preceding the filing of the petition to terminate parental rights.
The trial court considered whether the Cabinet rendered or attempted to render all reasonable services to mother in an effort to bring about a reunion of the family as required by KRS 625.090(3)(c) and concluded as follows:
[F]rom 2007 through July of 2011, the Cabinet made reasonable efforts to reunify the family. Given all of the circumstances, the Court is clearly convinced that no additional actions by the Cabinet after July of 2011, would have caused the parents to utilize their services or resulted in reunification. The Court is clearly convinced from the evidence that mother and father have been, at all relevant times, addicted to drugs, including methamphetamine, and the Cabinet has no magic to fix that. Therefore, the Court finds that [the Cabinet] did render or attempt to render all reasonable services to [mother] and [father] in an effort to bring about a reunion of the family but these services were not utilized.The trial court concluded it was in the best interests of the children that mother's parental rights be terminated and their custody assigned to the Cabinet with authority to place them for adoption.
Mother appealed. However, her attorney was unable to find any meritorious issue to address on appeal, determining the preserved issue of whether the Cabinet had made reasonable efforts to reunite the children with mother was entirely without merit. Consequentially, he followed the process established in Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 1400, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), and adopted by our Court as applicable in termination cases in A.C. v. Cabinet for Health & Family Servs., 362 S.W.3d 361, 367-372 (Ky.App. 2012), by asking to be dismissed from representing mother, sending mother a copy of his brief, requesting mother to be allowed to raise any points she chose in her appeal and requesting independent review of the record by this Court. By order, mother was given thirty days to file a supplemental pleading. Mother has not filed any pleadings.
Having fully reviewed the record, we determine the trial court properly made factual findings to support its determination by clear and convincing evidence that the children were abused or neglected and termination was in their best interests. We agree with the trial court that the Cabinet satisfied its responsibility to make reasonable efforts to reunify mother with children by offering her services to address her anger and substance abuse issues. Despite these efforts, mother was not fully cooperative and had a lack of progress resolving these issues. Therefore, the Cabinet satisfied its obligation regarding reunification. See C.J.M. v. Cabinet for Health & Family Servs., 389 S.W.3d 155, 162-163 (Ky.App. 2012); Prater v. Cabinet for Human Resources, 954 S.W.2d 954, 956 (Ky. 1997).
Accordingly, we affirm the Logan Circuit Court's termination of mother's parental rights to B. L. C. and S. R. E. L. J.
ALL CONCUR. BRIEF FOR APPELLANT: Paul Neil Kerr II
Russellville, Kentucky
BRIEF FOR APPELLEE: Mary Gaines Locke
Cabinet for Health and Family
Services
Munfordville, Kentucky