### IN THE CO URT OF APPEALS OF TE NNE SS EE

AT JACKSON

Nov em be r 17 , 20 10 Ses si on

IN TH E MATTE R OF KENTAVI OUS M. (d.o .b. 03 /2 9/ 20 07 ),

A Mino r Chi ld Under E ig htee n (1 8) ye ar s o f ag e

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T h i s i s a t e r m i n a t i o n o f p a r e n t a l r i g h t s c a s e

. T h e t r i a l c o u r t t e r m i n a t e d t h e p a r e n t a l r i g h t s o f

t h e m o t h e r o n t h e g r o u n d s o f p e r s i s t e n c e o f c o n d i t i o n s , s u b s t a n t i a l n o n c o m p l i a n c e w i t h t h e

t e r m s o f t h e p e r m a n e n c y p l a n s , a n d m e n t a l i n c o m p e t e n c e

. T h e m o t h e r a p p e a l s , a r g u i n g t h a t

t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f C h i l d r e n ’ s S e r v i c e s d i d n o t m a k e r e a s o n a b l e e f f o r t s t o r e u n i t e h e r w i t h

t h e c h i l d

, t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f h e r p e r m a n e n c y p l a n s w e r e n o t r e a s o n a b l e a n d r e l a t e d t o t h e

c o n d i t i o n s t h a t r e q u i r e d h e r c h i l d ’ s r e m o v a l

, a n d t h e a l l e g e d f a i l u r e t o a p p o i n t h e r a g u a r d i a n

a d l i t e m i n t h e p r i o r d e p e n d e n c y a n d n e g l e c t p r o c e e d i n g s p r e c l u d e d t e r m i n a t i o n o f h e r

p a r e n t a l r i g h t s f

o r p e r s i s t e n c e o f c o n d i t i o n s

. F i n d i n g n o e r r o r i n t h e d e c i s i o n o f t h e t r i a l

c o u r t

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f i r m

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T e n n

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a n d R e m a n d e d

D A V ID R

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W i l l i a m R

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, K i a n n a M

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R o b e r t E

. C o o p e r , J r

. , A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l a n d R e p o r t e r , M i c h a e l E

. M o o r e , S o l i c i t o r G e n e r a l

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a n d J o s h u a D a v i s B a k e r , A s s i s t a n t A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l

, f o r t h e a p p e l l e e , T e n n e s s e e D e p a r t m e n t

o f C h i l d r e n ’ s S e r v i c e s

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O P I N I O N

I

. B a c k g r o u n d a n d P r o c e d u r a l H i s t o r y

T h i s a p p e a l c o n c e r n s t h e p a r e n t a l r i g h t s o f K i a n n a M

. ( d

. o

. b

. 1 / 1 9 / 9 2 )

, a r e g i s t e r e dm e m b e r o f t h e O s a g e N a t i o n

. K i a n n a h a s a l e n g t h y a n d u n f o r t u n a t e h i s t o r y w i t h t h e 1

D e p a r t m e n t o f C h i l d r e n ’ s S e r v i c e s ( “ D C S ” )

, b e g i n n i n g w h e n s h e w a s o n l y a t o d d l e r a n d

c o n t i n u i n g t h r o u g h a d u l t h o o d

. D C S r e c e i v e d n u m e r o u s r e p o r t s o f a b u s e a n d / o r n e g l e c t

c o n c e r n i n g K i a n n a d u r i n g h e r e a r l y y e a r s

. T h e s e c o n c e r n s p e r s i s t e d t h r o u g h o u t K i a n n a ’ s

y o u t h

, a n d l a t e r r e p o r t s o f t r u a n c y r e s u l t e d i n r e f e r r a l s t o c o m m u n i t y s e r v i c e a g e n c i e s

. T h e

r e c o r d s u g g e s t s t h a t K i a n n a ’ s p a r e n t s

— w h o m s h e d e s c r i b e d a s “ j u n k i e s ”

— e x p o s e d h e r t o
d o m e s t i c v i o l e n c e , s u b

j e c t e d h e r t o p h y s i c a l a b u s e , a n d f a i l e d t o p r o t e c t h e r f

r o m s e x u a l

a s s a u l t

. D C S o b t a i n e d c u s t o d y o f K i a n n a i n 2 0 0 4 a f t e r h e r m o t h e r w a s i n c a r c e r a t e d o n d r u g

c h a r g e s a n d h e r f

a t h e r a b a n d o n e d h e r

. S h e r e s i d e d w i t h a n a u n t f r o m O c t o b e r 2 0 0 5 t o A p r i l

2 0 0 7

, a p e r i o d d u r i n g w h i c h s h e o f t e n r a n a w a y f

r o m h o m e a n d c a u s e d t r o u b l e i n s c h o o l

. E v e n t u a l l y , K i a n n a ’ s a u n t d e t e r m i n e d h e r n i e c e w a s t o o u n r u l y t o r e m a i n i n t h e h o m e a n d

f i l e d a p e t i t i o n t o r e l i n q u i s h c u s t o d y

.

O n M a r c h 2 9

, 2 0 0 7

, a f

i f t e e n

- y e a r

- o l d K i a n n a g a v e b i r t h t o h e r f i r s t c h i l d

, K e n t a v i o u s

M

. , w h o i s a l s o a r e g i s t e r e d m e m b e r o f t h e O s a g e N a t i o n

. O n A p r i l 3

, 2 0 0 7

, t h e j u v e n i l e

c o u r t p l a c e d b o t h K i a n n a a n d K e n t a v i o u s i n t h e c u s t o d y o f D C S a f t e r c o n d u c t i n g a h e a r i n g

o n t h e p e t i t i o n t o r e l i n q u i s h c u s t o d y

. T h e n e x t d a y , D C S f i l e d a p e t i t i o n t o a d

j u d i c a t e

K e n t a v i o u s d e p e n d e n t a n d n e g l e c t e d

, a n d t h e c o u r t e n t e r e d a p r o t e c t i v e c u s t o d y o r d e r

s e p a r a t e l y p l a c i n g t h e c h i l d i n t h e t e m p o r a r y c u s t o d y o f D C S

. D C S i n i t i a l l y p l a c e d K i a n n a

a n d K e n t a v i o u s i n t h e s a m e f o s t e r h o m e , w i t h t h e f

o s t e r p a r e n t a s s i s t i n g K i a n n a i n c a r i n g f o r

t h e c h i l d

. K i a n n a ’ s u n r u l y b e h a v i o r a n d r u n n i n g a w a y , h o w e v e r , e v e n t u a l l y r e q u i r e d D C S

t o s e p a r a t e h e r f

r o m t h e c h i l d

.

O n A p r i l 1 9

, 2 0 0 7

, D C S d e v e l o p e d t h e f i r s t o f t h r e e p e r m a n e n c y p l a n s w i t h r e s p e c t

t o K e n t a v i o u s

. T h e f

i r s t p l a n , w h i c h t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t r a t i f i e d o n J u n e 8

, 2 0 0 7

, c o n t a i n e d

t h e d u a l g o a l s o f e x i t c u s t o d y t o l i v e w i t h r e l a t i v e s a n d / o r a d o p t i o n

. T h e f i r s t p l a n d i d n o t

c o n t a i n a n y d e s i r e d o u t c o m e s r e l a t e d t o K i a n n a b u t d i d r e q u i r e h e r t o e n s u r e t h a t K e n t a v i o u s

v i s i t e d a p e d i a t r i c i a n f

o r r e g u l a r c h e c k

- u p s

. T h e f i r s t p l a n a l s o r e q u i r e d K i a n n a t o e n s u r e t h a t

t h e c h i l d r e c e i v e d a p p r o p r i a t e s u p e r v i s i o n

. A l t h o u g h t h e f i r s t p l a n d i d n o t r e q u i r e K i a n n a

t o a d d r e s s t h e c o n d i t i o n s t h a t l e d t o K e n t a v i o u s ’ s r e m o v a l

, D C S n o n e t h e l e s s a t t e m p t e d t o

p r o v i d e t h e t e e n m o t h e r w i t h c o u n s e l i n g

. K i a n n a r e f u s e d t o c o o p e r a t e w i t h t h e c o u n s e l o r a n d

t h e s e s s i o n s w e r e d i s c o n t i n u e d a f t e r s h e r a n a w a y w i t h t h e c h i l d

, r e t u r n i n g a c o u p l e o f w e e k s
l a t e r

.

U p o n r e t u r n , K i a n n a r e

- e n r o l l e d a t t h e P y r a m i d A c a d e m y , a n a l t e r n a t i v e s c h o o l t h a t

T he Os age Nat ion is an I ndi an t ri be l oca te d i n Oklaho m a. 1

-2-p r o v i d e s d a y

- c a r e s e r v i c e s f o r t e e n m o t h e r s

. S h e a l s o r e s u m e d c o u n s e l i n g a n d a t t e n d e d 2

p a r e n t i n g c l a s s e s

. T h e s e s e r v i c e s , h o w e v e r , w e r e p e r i o d i c a l l y i n t e r r u p t e d b y h e r r u n n i n g

a w a y a n d u n r u l y b e h a v i o r

. O n A u g u s t 1 5

, 2 0 0 7

, K i a n n a r a n a w a y f r o m h e r f o s t e r h o m e a f

t e r

a v e r b a l a l t e r c a t i o n w i t h h e r f o s t e r m o t h e r , w h i c h n e c e s s i t a t e d p l a c i n g h e r i n a n e w f o s t e r
h o m e

. O n O c t o b e r 3 0

, 2 0 0 7

, K i a n n a r a n a w a y w i t h t h e c h i l d a f t e r a s s a u l t i n g a c a r e t a k e r a t

t h e P y r a m i d A c a d e m y

. S h e r e t u r n e d t h a t s a m e d a y a n d w a s a r r e s t e d

, l e a d i n g t o y e t a n o t h e r

p l a c e m e n t i n a n e w f

o s t e r h o m e

. O n N o v e m b e r 5

, 2 0 0 7

, K i a n n a o n c e m o r e r a n a w a y f r o m 3

s c h o o l w i t h t h e c h i l d

, b u t s h e w a s f o u n d t h a t s a m e d a y

. D C S c o n s e q u e n t l y s e p a r a t e d K i a n n a
f r o m h e r c h i l d a n d p l a c e d t h e m o t h e r i n a f o s t e r h o m e i n J a c k s o n , T e n n e s s e e

. O n N o v e m b e r
2 1

, 2 0 0 7

, K i a n n a a g a i n r a n a w a y a n d d i d n o t r e t u r n u n t i l J a n u a r y 1 4

, 2 0 0 8

.

D u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d

, D C S f i l e d i t s o r i g i n a l p e t i t i o n t o t e r m i n a t e K i a n n a ’ s p a r e n t a l

r i g h t s , w h i c h i t t w i c e a m e n d e d

. T h e s e c o n d a m e n d e d p e t i t i o n a l l e g e d i n p a r t t h a t t h e

c o n d i t i o n s n e c e s s i t a t i n g t h e c h i l d ’ s r e m o v a l p e r s i s t e d a n d w e r e u n l i k e l y t o b e r e m e d i e d a t

a n e a r l y d a t e s u c h t h a t c o n t i n u a t i o n o f t h e p a r e n t

- c h i l d r e l a t i o n s h i p w o u l d d i m i n i s h

K e n t a v i o u s ’ s c h a n c e s a t e a r l y i n t e g r a t i o n i n t o a s t a b l e a n d p e r m a n e n t h o m e

. A c c o r d i n g t o

D C S

, t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s i n c l u d e d K i a n n a ’ s f r e q u e n t r u n n i n g a w a y f

r o m D C S p l a c e m e n t s , h e r

m e n t a l i n c o m p e t e n c e , a n d h e r r e f u s a l t o c o m p l e t e t h e t a s k s o f h e r p e r m a n e n c y p l a n s

. D C S

f u r t h e r a l l e g e d t h a t K i a n n a ’ s f a i l u r e t o c o m p l y w i t h t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s o u t l i n e d i n h e r

p e r m a n e n c y p l a n s a n d h e r m e n t a l i n c o m p e t e n c e w e r e s e p a r a t e g r o u n d s f o r t e r m i n a t i o n

. F i n a l l y , D C S a l l e g e d t h a t t e r m i n a t i o n w a s i n t h e b e s t i n t e r e s t s o f t h e c h i l d

, c i t i n g t h e

t r a u m a t i c i m p a c t o f a p o t e n t i a l c h a n g e o f c a r e t a k e r s a n d K i a n n a ’ s i n a b i l i t y t o c a r e f o r t h e

c h i l d

. K i a n n a d i d n o t f i l e a n a n s w e r d e n y i n g D C S ’ s a l l e g a t i o n s

.

O n J a n u a r y 1 1

, 2 0 0 8

, t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t c o n d u c t e d a h e a r i n g o n t h e d e p e n d e n c y a n d

n e g l e c t p e t i t i o n t h a t D C S p r e v i o u s l y f i l e d c o n c e r n i n g K e n t a v i o u s

. T h e c o u r t

, h a v i n g

e x a m i n e d t h e w i t n e s s e s a n d c o n s i d e r e d t h e e v i d e n c e , n o t e d K i a n n a ’ s r u n a w a y s t a t u s a n d

e n t e r e d a d e f

a u l t j u d g m e n t i n f

a v o r o f D C S

. T h e c o u r t ’ s o r d e r a d j u d i c a t e d K e n t a v i o u s
d e p e n d e n t a n d n e g l e c t e d b e c a u s e h e w a s s u f f e r i n g f r o m a b u s e o r n e g l e c t

, c o n c l u d i n g t h a t

K i a n n a ’ s u n r u l y b e h a v i o r p o s e d a s u b s t a n t i a l r i s k t o t h e c h i l d

. S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e c o u r t f

o u n d

t h a t K i a n n a “ w o u l d n o t f e e d o r p r o p e r l y c a r e f

o r s a i d c h i l d

, w o u l d r u n a w a y w i t h s a i d c h i l d

,

a n d w o u l d n o t c o o p e r a t e w i t h c o u n s e l o r s

. ” T h e c o u r t a c c o r d i n g l y p l a c e d K e n t a v i o u s i n t h e

c u s t o d y o f D C S

. I m p o r t a n t l y , t h e c o u r t ’ s o r d e r a l s o p r o h i b i t e d K i a n n a a n d h e r r e l a t i v e s f r o m
h a v i n g c o n t a c t w i t h K e n t a v i o u s

.

T he r eco rd sho ws t hat K ia nna was exp el le d f rom her pr evious m idd le sc hool

. 2

K ia nna acknowl edges in her bri ef tha t DCS pla ced her in at le ast seven dif fe re nt fos te r car e 3

ar ra ngem ent s, wi th the m ult ipl e pl ace m ent s a ri si ng fro m her ru nni ng away and viol ent beh avior

.

-3-D C S d e v e l o p e d t h e s e c o n d p e r m a n e n c y p l a n a t a c h i l d a n d f a m i l y t e a m m e e t i n g

c o n d u c t e d J a n u a r y 2 3

, 2 0 0 8

. T h e s e c o n d p l a n c o n t a i n e d t h e s o l e g o a l o f a d o p t i o n b u t

n e v e r t h e l e s s i m p l e m e n t e d t h r e e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r K i a n n a : ( 1 ) o b t a i n a m e n t a l h e a l t h

a s s e s s m e n t a n d f

o l l o w i t s r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s , ( 2 ) e n r o l l i n a n d c o m p l e t e p a r e n t i n g c l a s s e s , a n d ( 3 ) c o m p l e t e h i g h s c h o o l o r r e m a i n i n s c h o o l u n t i l t h e a g e o f s e v e n t e e n

. K i a n n a i n i t i a l l y

m a d e p r o g r e s s t o w a r d s c o m p l e t i n g t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e s e c o n d p l a n

. S h e r e c e i v e d a

m e n t a l h e a l t h e v a l u a t i o n , r e

- e n r o l l e d a t P y r a m i d A c a d e m y , r e s u m e d c o u n s e l i n g , a n d a t t e n d e d

p a r e n t i n g c l a s s e s

. A g a i n , h o w e v e r , K i a n n a ’ s r u n n i n g a w a y a n d u n r u l i n e s s i m p e d e d D C S ’ s

e f f o r t s t o p r o v i d e h e r t h e s e r v i c e s s h e n e e d e d

. S h e r a n a w a y o n J a n u a r y 3 1

, 2 0 0 8

, a n d a g a i n

o n F e b r u a r y 2 9

, 2 0 0 8

, r e t u r n i n g f o r t h e p e r m a n e n c y h e a r i n g c o n d u c t e d o n M a r c h 1 1

, 2 0 0 8

. A t t h i s p e r m a n e n c y h e a r i n g , t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t i n s t r u c t e d K i a n n a t h a t a n y f u r t h e r a t t e m p t s

t o r u n a w a y w o u l d r e s u l t i n t h e t e r m i n a t i o n o f h e r p a r e n t a l r i g h t s

. K i a n n a n e v e r t h e l e s s

p r o c e e d e d t o r u n a w a y o n A p r i l 1

, A p r i l 4

, A p r i l 7

, A p r i l 1 1

, J u l y 8

, a n d O c t o b e r 2 9

, 2 0 0 8

. D u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d

, s h e a s s a u l t e d a D C S e m p l o y e e a n d a s e c u r i t y g u a r d

, k i c k e d o u t a w i n d o w

a t a l e v e l

- t h r e e f

o s t e r c a r e f

a c i l i t y , a n d j u m p e d o u t o f a f o s t e r p a r e n t ’ s m o v i n g v e h i c l e

. K i a n n a d i d n o t r e a p p e a r f o l l o w i n g h e r l a s t e s c a p e f r o m f o s t e r c a r e u n t i l A p r i l 2 0 0 9

.

D C S d e v e l o p e d a t h i r d p e r m a n e n c y p l a n o n J a n u a r y 1 2

, 2 0 0 9

, w h i l e K i a n n a w a s o n

r u n a w a y s t a t u s

. T h e t h i r d p l a n m a i n t a i n e d t h e s o l e g o a l o f a d o p t i o n a n d f

o c u s e d i t s e f

f o r t s

o n p l a c i n g K e n t a v i o u s w i t h a s u i t a b l e f o s t e r p a r e n t

. T h e t h i r d p l a n r e c o g n i z e d t h a t t h e O s a g e

N a t i o n w o u l d p l a c e t h e c h i l d i f t h e c o u r t g r a n t e d D C S ’ s t e r m i n a t i o n p e t i t i o n , b u t i t a l s o

r e q u i r e d t h a t D C S p r o v i d e a s t a b l e , s u i t a b l e h o m e p e n d i n g a d o p t i o n

. I n a n o r d e r c o n c e r n i n g

t h e t h i r d p l a n , t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t s t a t e d t h a t K i a n n a w a s n o t a p a r t y t o t h e p l a n

. O n A p r i l 6

, 2 0 0 9

, K i a n n a b r i e f

l y r e t u r n e d p r i o r t o a s c h e d u l e d t e r m i n a t i o n h e a r i n g , w h i c h t h e c o u r t

c o n t i n u e d u p o n t h e r e q u e s t o f K i a n n a ’ s c o u n s e l

. T h e y o u n g m o t h e r r a n a g a i n o n A p r i l 6

, b u t

w a s l a t e r a r r e s t e d o n a s s a u l t c h a r g e s a n d r e t u r n e d t o D C S o n A p r i l 2 9

, 2 0 0 9

. O n c e a g a i n , K i a n n a r a n a w a y o n A p r i l 2 9 a n d r e t u r n e d t o D C S o n l y a f t e r s h e s u f

f e r e d s e r i o u s i n

j u r i e s
d u r i n g a c a r a c c i d e n t t h a t l e d t o t h e l o s s o f a n u n b o r n c h i l d

. 4

T h e t r i a l c o u r t u l t i m a t e l y c o n d u c t e d t h e t e r m i n a t i o n h e a r i n g o v e r t w o d a y s i n O c t o b e r

a n d N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 9

. T h e c o u r t c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e p e r m a n e n c y p l a n s

w e r e r e a s o n a b l e a n d r e l a t e d t o r e m e d y i n g t h e c o n d i t i o n s t h a t r e q u i r e d t h e c h i l d ’ s r e m o v a l

a n d t h a t D C S p r o v e d b e y o n d a r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t t h a t K i a n n a w a s i n s u b s t a n t i a l

n o n c o m p l i a n c e w i t h t h o s e r e q u i r e m e n t s

. T h e c o u r t f u r t h e r c o n c l u d e d t h a t D C S p r o v e d

b e y o n d a r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t t h a t t h e c o n d i t i o n s r e q u i r i n g t h e c h i l d ’ s r e m o v a l p e r s i s t e d a n d t h a t

K i a n n a w a s m e n t a l l y i n c o m p e t e n t t o c a r e f o r t h e c h i l d a t t h a t t i m e a n d i n t h e n e a r f u t u r e

. A f t e r d e t e r m i n i n g t h a t t e r m i n a t i o n w a s i n t h e b e s t i n t e r e s t s o f K e n t a v i o u s , t h e t r i a l c o u r t

Alt hough dru g use was not a m aj or is sue dur ing the te rminat ion pro cee din gs, the te st imony at tr ia l 4

sho wed tha t K ia nna and the dec eas ed chi ld te st ed pos it ive for coc ai ne and m ar ij uan a fol lowi ng the acc ide nt.

-4-e n t e r e d a n o r d e r f o r e v e r s e v e r i n g K i a n n a ’ s p a r e n t a l r i g h t s

. K i a n n a t i m e l y a p p e a l e d

. 5

I I

. I s s u e s P r e s e n t e d

T h e i s s u e s b e f

o r e t h i s C o u r t

, a s w e p e r c e i v e t h e m , a r e :

( 1 ) w h e t h e r t h i s C o u r t h a s j u r i s d i c t i o n t o r e v i e w a n a l l e g e d e r r o r i n t h e
d e p e n d e n c y a n d n e g l e c t p r o c e e d i n g s c o n c e r n i n g t h i s c h i l d ;

( 2 ) w h e t h e r D C S p r o v i d e d t h e O s a g e N a t i o n w i t h s u f f i c i e n t n o t i c e o f t h e

t e r m i n a t i o n p r o c e e d i n g s u n d e r t h e I n d i a n C h i l d W e l f a r e A c t ;

( 3 ) w h e t h e r D C S m a d e r e a s o n a b l e e f f o r t s t o r e u n i f

y t h e m o t h e r a n d c h i l d ;

a n d

( 4 ) w h e t h e r t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e p e r m a n e n c y p l a n s w e r e r e a s o n a b l y

r e l a t e d t o r e m e d y i n g t h e c o n d i t i o n s t h a t r e q u i r e d t h e c h i l d ’ s r e m o v a l

.

K i a n n a d o e s n o t d i s p u t e w h e t h e r D C S p r o v e d b e y o n d a r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t t h e g r o u n d o f

s u b s t a n t i a l n o n c o m p l i a n c e w i t h t h e t e r m s o f t h e p e r m a n e n c y p l a n s , t h e g r o u n d o f p e r s i s t e n t

c o n d i t i o n s , o r t h e g r o u n d o f m e n t a l i n c o m p e t e n c e

. A l s o , K i a n n a d o e s n o t a r g u e t h a t t h e t r i a l

c o u r t e r r e d w h e n i t d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t e r m i n a t i o n o f h e r p a r e n t a l r i g h t s w a s i n t h e b e s t i n t e r e s t s

o f t h e c h i l d

. T h e s e i s s u e s a r e t h e r e f o r e w a i v e d

. S e e T e n n

. R

. A p p

. P

. 2 7 ( a ) ( 7 ) ; T e n n

. C t

. A p p

. R

. 6 ( a )

, ( b ) ; B e a n v

. B e a n , 4 0 S

. W

. 3 d 5 2

, 5 5

- 5 6 ( T e n n

. C t

. A p p

. 2 0 0 0 ) ( c i t a t i o n s

o m i t t e d )

.

I I I

. S t a n d a r d o f R e v i e w

T h i s C o u r t r e v i e w s a t r i a l c o u r t ’ s f i n d i n g s o f f

a c t d e n o v o u p o n t h e r e c o r d

, a c c o r d i n g

a p r e s u m p t i o n o f c o r r e c t n e s s t o t h e f i n d i n g s u n l e s s a p r e p o n d e r a n c e o f t h e e v i d e n c e i s t o t h e

c o n t r a r y

. T e n n

. R

. A p p

. P

. 1 3 ( d ) ; I n r e V a l e n t i n e , 7 9 S

. W

. 3 d 5 3 9

, 5 4 6 ( T e n n

. 2 0 0 2 ) ( c i t a t i o n

o m i t t e d )

. T h i s C o u r t w i l l n o t r e e v a l u a t e t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n s o f a t r i a l c o u r t b a s e d o n a n

a s s e s s m e n t o f c r e d i b i l i t y u n l e s s c l e a r a n d c o n v i n c i n g e v i d e n c e i s t o t h e c o n t r a r y

. I n r e
M

. L

. D

. , 1 8 2 S

. W

. 3 d 8 9 0

, 8 9 4 ( T e n n

. C t

. A p p

. 2 0 0 5 ) ( c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

. T h i s C o u r t r e v i e w s

t h e r e c o r d d e n o v o w h e r e t h e t r i a l c o u r t h a s n o t m a d e a s p e c i f i c f i n d i n g o f f

a c t

. I n r e
V a l e n t i n e , 7 9 S

. W

. 3 d a t 5 4 6 ( c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

. N o p r e s u m p t i o n o f c o r r e c t n e s s a t t a c h e s t o

a t r i a l c o u r t ’ s c o n c l u s i o n s o f l a w

. T e n n

. R

. A p p

. P

. 1 3 ( d ) ; B o w d e n v

. W a r d

, 2 7 S

. W

. 3 d 9 1 3

,

T he tr ia l cou rt al so te rminat ed the par ent al r i ght s of J ose ph D., a put at ive fa the r, and Unknown 5

Fat her . No f

at her has app eal ed.

-5-9 1 6 ( T e n n

. 2 0 0 0 ) ( c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

.

T e n n e s s e e C o d e A n n o t a t e d s e c t i o n 3 6

- 1

- 1 1 3 o r d i n a r i l y g o v e r n s t h e t e r m i n a t i o n o f

p a r e n t a l r i g h t s

. T h e C o d e p r o v i d e s , i n p e r t i n e n t p a r t :

( c ) T e r m i n a t i o n o f p a r e n t a l o r g u a r d i a n s h i p r i g h t s m u s t b e b a s e d u p o n : ( 1 ) A f i n d i n g b y t h e c o u r t b y c l e a r a n d c o n v i n c i n g e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e

g r o u n d s f

o r t e r m i n a t i o n o f p a r e n t a l o r g u a r d i a n s h i p r i g h t s h a v e b e e n

e s t a b l i s h e d ; a n d ( 2 ) T h a t t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e p a r e n t ’ s o r g u a r d i a n ’ s r i g h t s i s i n t h e b e s t

i n t e r e s t s o f t h e c h i l d

.

T e n n

. C o d e A n n

. § 3 6

- 1

- 1 1 3 ( c ) ( 1 )

, ( 2 ) ( 2 0 1 0 )

. T h i s t w o

- s t e p a n a l y s i s r e q u i r e s a p p e l l a t e

c o u r t s t o c o n s i d e r “ w h e t h e r t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s f i n d i n g s , m a d e u n d e r a c l e a r a n d c o n v i n c i n g

s t a n d a r d

, a r e s u p p o r t e d b y a p r e p o n d e r a n c e o f t h e e v i d e n c e

. ” I n r e F

. R

. R

. , I

I I

, 1 9 3 S

. W

. 3 d

5 2 8

, 5 3 0 ( T e n n

. 2 0 0 6 )

. “ A l t h o u g h t h e ‘ c l e a r a n d c o n v i n c i n g e v i d e n c e ’ s t a n d a r d i s m o r e

e x a c t i n g t h a n t h e ‘ p r e p o n d e r a n c e o f t h e e v i d e n c e ’ s t a n d a r d

, i t d o e s n o t r e q u i r e t h e c e r t a i n t y
d e m a n d e d b y t h e ‘ b e y o n d a r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t ’ s t a n d a r d

. ” I n r e M

. A

. B

. , N o

. W 2 0 0 7

- 0 0 4 5 3

- C O A

- R 3

- P T

, 2 0 0 7 W L 2 3 5 3 1 5 8

, a t * 2 ( T e n n

. C t

. A p p

. A u g

. 2 0

, 2 0 0 7 ) ( c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

. “ C l e a r a n d c o n v i n c i n g e v i d e n c e i s e v i d e n c e t h a t e l i m i n a t e s a n y

s u b s t a n t i a l d o u b t a n d t h a t p r o d u c e s i n t h e f a c t

- f i n d e r ’ s m i n d a f

i r m c o n v i c t i o n a s t o t h e

t r u t h

. ” I d

. ( c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

.

T h e I n d i a n C h i l d W e l f a r e A c t

, 2 5 U

. S

. C

. A

. § 1 9 0 1 e t s e q

. ( “ I C W A ” )

, i m p o s e s a n

a d d i t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t i n t e r m i n a t i o n p r o c e e d i n g s i n v o l v i n g a n I n d i a n c h i l d

. I t p r o v i d e s :

N o t e r m i n a t i o n o f p a r e n t a l r i g h t s m a y b e o r d e r e d i n s u c h p r o c e e d i n g i n

t h e a b s e n c e o f a d e t e r m i n a t i o n , s u p p o r t e d b y e v i d e n c e b e y o n d a r e a s o n a b l e
d o u b t

, i n c l u d i n g t e s t i m o n y o f q u a l i f i e d e x p e r t w i t n e s s e s , t h a t t h e c o n t i n u e d

c u s t o d y o f t h e c h i l d b y t h e p a r e n t o r I n d i a n c u s t o d i a n i s l i k e l y t o r e s u l t i n

s e r i o u s e m o t i o n a l o r p h y s i c a l d a m a g e t o t h e c h i l d

.

2 5 U

. S

. C

. A

. § 1 9 1 2 ( f

) ( W e s t 2 0 0 1 )

. D C S c o n c e d e d a t o r a l a r g u m e n t s t h a t t h e “ b e y o n d a 6

r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t ” s t a n d a r d a p p l i e s t o a l l a s p e c t s o f t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s r u l i n g , i n c l u d i n g t h e

e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f g r o u n d s a n d t h e b e s t

- i n t e r e s t s d e t e r m i n a t i o n

. B e c a u s e D C S d o e s n o t a r g u e

t h a t t h e “ b e y o n d a r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t ” s t a n d a r d a p p l i e s o n l y t o t h e s p e c i f i c f i n d i n g s r e q u i r e d

DCS doe s not ar gue tha t the Exi st ing I ndi an Family Doct ri ne sho uld gov er n the app li cab il it y of the 6

I CWA in thi s case

. See In re K.L.D.R. , M 2008 0089 7COAR3PT , 200 9 W L 113 8130 (T enn . Ct. App. Apr. 27, 2 009) ; In re Mo rga n , No. 0 2A01-9608- CH- 0020 6, 19 97 W L 716 880 (T enn . Ct. App. No v. 19, 199 7).

-6-u n d e r t h e I C W A

, s e e

, e

. g

. , I n r e D a n i e l R

. S

. , 7 0 6 N

. W

. 2 d 2 6 9

, 3 1 9

- 2 1 & n

. 6 2 ( W i s

. 2 0 0 5 ) ;

I n r e A d o p t i o n o f R

. L

. A

. , 1 4 7 P

. 3 d 3 0 6

, 3 1 0 ( O k l a

. C i v

. A p p

. 2 0 0 6 )

, w e w i l l n o t c o n s i d e r t h e
i s s u e

. W e w i l l i n s t e a d a n a l y z e t h e r e c o r d t o d e t e r m i n e , w h e r e a p p l i c a b l e , w h e t h e r D C S

7

p r o v e d b e y o n d a r e a s o n a b l e d o u b t t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t e r m i n a t i o n o f K i a n n a ’ s p a r e n t a l

r i g h t s

.

I V

. A n a l y s i s

A

. D e p e n d e n c y a n d N e g l e c t

K i a n n a a r g u e s t h a t t h e p r i o r f i n d i n g o f d e p e n d e n c y a n d n e g l e c t c o n c e r n i n g K e n t a v i o u s
i s v o i d b e c a u s e t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t d i d n o t a p p o i n t a g u a r d i a n a d l i t e m t o r e p r e s e n t h e r i n t h o s e

p r o c e e d i n g s

. T e n n e s s e e C o d e A n n o t a t e d s e c t i o n 3 7

- 1

- 1 4 9 p r o v i d e s :

( a ) ( 1 ) T h e c o u r t a t a n y s t a g e o f a p r o c e e d i n g u n d e r t h i s p a r t

, o n a p p l i c a t i o n o f

a p a r t y o r o n i t s o w n m o t i o n , s h a l l a p p o i n t a g u a r d i a n a d l i t e m f o r a c h i l d w h o
i s a p a r t y t o t h e p r o c e e d i n g i f s u c h c h i l d h a s n o p a r e n t

, g u a r d i a n o r c u s t o d i a n

a p p e a r i n g o n s u c h c h i l d ’ s b e h a l f o r s u c h p a r e n t ’ s , g u a r d i a n ’ s o r c u s t o d i a n ’ s
i n t e r e s t s c o n f

l i c t w i t h t h e c h i l d ’ s o r i n a n y o t h e r c a s e i n w h i c h t h e i n t e r e s t s o f

t h e c h i l d r e q u i r e a g u a r d i a n

. T h e c o u r t

, i n a n y p r o c e e d i n g u n d e r t h i s p a r t

r e s u l t i n g f

r o m a r e p o r t o f h a r m o r a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n r e p o r t u n d e r § § 3 7

- 1

- 4 0 1

– 3 7

- 1

- 4 1 1

, s h a l l a p p o i n t a g u a r d i a n a d l i t e m f o r t h e c h i l d w h o w a s t h e s u b j e c t

o f t h e r e p o r t

. A p a r t y t o t h e p r o c e e d i n g o r t h e p a r t y ’ s e m p l o y e e o r

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s h a l l n o t b e a p p o i n t e d

.

T e n n

. C o d e A n n

. § 3 7

- 1

- 1 4 9 ( a ) ( 1 ) ( 2 0 1 0 )

. K i a n n a a r g u e s t h a t t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t ’ s a l l e g e d 8

f a i l u r e t o a p p o i n t h e r a g u a r d i a n a d l i t e m v i o l a t e d h e r s t a t e a n d f e d e r a l d u e p r o c e s s r i g h t s

. S h e a c c o r d i n g l y a r g u e s t h a t t h e J a n u a r y 1 1

, 2 0 0 8 a d j u d i c a t i o n o f d e p e n d e n c y a n d n e g l e c t

m u s t b e s e t a s i d e

. S h e f u r t h e r a r g u e s t h a t i f t h i s C o u r t s e t s t h e a d j u d i c a t i o n o f d e p e n d e n c y

a n d n e g l e c t a s i d e , i t m u s t a l s o r e v e r s e t h e t r i a l c o u r t ’ s f i n d i n g o f p e r s i s t e n t c o n d i t i o n s

.

T h i s a r g u m e n t f

a i l s f o r s e v e r a l r e a s o n s

. F i r s t

, w e d o n o t h a v e j u r i s d i c t i o n t o r e v i e w

e r r o r a l l e g e d t o h a v e a r i s e n d u r i n g t h e d e p e n d e n c y a n d n e g l e c t p r o c e e d i n g

. S u b j e c t m a t t e r j u r i s d i c t i o n c o n c e r n s t h i s C o u r t ’ s a u t h o r i t y t o a d j u d i c a t e a m a t t e r a n d c a n n o t b e w a i v e d

. M e i g h a n v

. U

. S

. S

p r i n t C o m m c ’ n s C o

. , 9 2 4 S

. W

. 2 d 6 3 2

, 6 3 9 ( T e n n

. 1 9 9 6 ) ( c i t i n g L a n d e r s

Our opi nio n sh oul d no t b e r ead as fo re cl osi ng thi s a rgum ent in fu tur e c ase s un der th e I CWA. 7

DCS ar gues tha t T enn ess ee Code Annot at ed sec ti on 37- 1- 149( a) (1) doe s not app ly in dep end enc y 8

and negle ct pr oce edi ngs, but th e r eso lut ion of th is app eal doe s no t r equ ir e us to add re ss thi s a rgum ent

.

-7-v

. J

o n e s , 8 7 2 S

. W

. 2 d 6 7 4

, 6 7 5 ( T e n n

. 1 9 9 4 ) )

. W e m u s t c o n s i d e r t h i s i s s u e e v e n i f t h e p a r t i e s
d o n o t r a i s e i t

. T e n n

. R

. A p p

. P

. 1 3 ( b )

. T e n n e s s e e C o d e A n n o t a t e d s e c t i o n 3 7

- 1

- 1 5 9 g o v e r n s

a p p e a l s a r i s i n g o u t o f d e p e n d e n c y a n d n e g l e c t p r o c e e d i n g s a n d p r o v i d e s t h a t “ a n y a p p e a l

f r o m a n y f

i n a l o r d e r o r j u d g m e n t i n a n u n r u l y c h i l d p r o c e e d i n g o r d e p e n d e n t a n d n e g l e c t

p r o c e e d i n g , f

i l e d u n d e r t h i s c h a p t e r , m a y b e m a d e t o t h e c i r c u i t c o u r t

. . . . ” T e n n

. C o d e A n n

. § 3 7

- 1

- 1 5 9 ( a ) ( 2 0 1 0 )

. “ I t i s c l e a r f r o m t h e s t a t u t e t h a t a p p e a l s f r o m a j u v e n i l e c o u r t ’ s f i n a l

o r d e r o r j u d g m e n t i n a u n r u l y c h i l d o r d e p e n d e n c y a n d n e g l e c t p r o c e e d i n g a r e t o b e m a d e t o

c i r c u i t c o u r t

. ” I

n r e D

. Y

. H

. , 2 2 6 S

. W

. 3 d 3 2 7

, 3 2 9 ( T e n n

. 2 0 0 7 )

. A s w e h a v e e x p l a i n e d :

I n d e p e n d e n t

- n e g l e c t c a s e s , t h e p a r t i e s d i s s a t i s f i e d w i t h a j u v e n i l e c o u r t ’ s f i n a l

d e c i s i o n m u s t a p p e a l t o t h e c i r c u i t c o u r t

. R a t h e r t h a n r e l y i n g o n t h e j u v e n i l e

c o u r t ’ s r e c o r d

, t h e c i r c u i t c o u r t m u s t t r y t h e c a s e d e n o v o b y h e a r i n g a l l t h e

w i t n e s s e s a g a i n a n d b y r e n d e r i n g a n i n d e p e n d e n t d e c i s i o n b a s e d o n t h e

e v i d e n c e r e c e i v e d i n t h e c i r c u i t c o u r t p r o c e e d i n g

. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d

, a p p e a l s
i n t e r m i n a t i o n c a s e s a r e a p p e a l e d d i r e c t l y t o t h i s c o u r t a n d a r e g o v e r n e d b y t h e

T e n n e s s e e R u l e s o f A p p e l l a t e P r o c e d u r e

.

In re M. J.B.

, 140 S.W .3d 643, 651 (T enn

. Ct. App. 2004 ) (footnotes omitted). Only afte r the circ uit court
has rende red judgme nt is an adjudication of depende ncy and neg lect appea lable to this Court. Tenn.

Code Ann. § 37-1-159( c), (g ); Tenn. R. App. P. 3; In re D.Y .H., 226 S.W .3d at 329 (citations omitted). Thus, this Court’s appellate jurisdiction does not extend to matters on direc t appea l from juvenile court in depende ncy and neg lect case s, see In re D.Y .H., 226 S.W .3d at 329-32; State, Dep’ t of Children’s Servs. v. Owens

, 129 S.W .3d 50, 54-55 (Tenn. 2004), and an at tack on the juvenile

court’s finding of depende ncy and neg lec t is not proper in an appea l solely conce rning the

termination of Kianna ’s par ental rig hts.

Second, the rec ord does not demonstrate that the juvenile court failed to appoint a g uardia n ad l i t em in the depende ncy and neg lect proce eding s, even if this issue was proper ly befor e u s

. Be cause this is an ap p ea l fr o m the termination of Kianna’ s pare ntal rig hts, the rec ord does not
contain the majority of paper s, transcr ipts, court order s, et cete ra filed in the depende ncy and neg lect

proce eding s. This is consistent with Rule 8A of the Tenne ssee Rules of Appellate Procedur e, which provides:

(c) Content and Prepar ation of the Record. I n addition to the paper s excluded from

the rec ord pursuant to Rule 24(a)

, any p o rt i o n of a juvenile court file of a child depende ncy , delinquency or status case that has n o t b ee n p roper ly admitted into

evidenc e at the termination of pare ntal rig hts trial shall be excluded from the rec ord.

Tenn. R. App. P. 8A(c ). Assuming arg uendo that this issue could have been raised, it was the duty

of the appellant to include the materia ls nece ssary to support her arg ument on appea l. Marra v. Bank of New Y ork

, 310 S.W .3d 329, 335 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009) (citations omitted). The failure to do so require s us to presume that the rec ord wholly s upports the trial court’s judgme nt

. Jones v.

-8-LeMoyne -Owen College

, 308 S.W .3d 894, 902 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009). Wit hout an evidentiar y basis

to support the arg ument that the juvenile court failed to appoint Kianna a g uardia n ad litem, it cannot
be sustained.

Additionally

, this Court has held that a termination of pare ntal rig hts should not be reve rsed

for an alleg ed depriva tion of due proce ss dur ing the previous depende ncy and neg lect proce eding s if the parent is aff

orded full proce dural protection during the t ermination proceedin gs

. In re S.Y

., 121 S.W .3d 358, 365 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003) (citation omitted). Kianna has pointed to no proce dural

infirmities prior to or during the termination hear ing, nor has she prese nted an arg ument supported by authority demonstrating proce dural err or. The rec ord shows that Kianna was appointed both an attorney ad litem and a g uardia n ad litem; she rec eived notice of the termination proce eding s throug h

service of proce ss at the home of her foster pare nt on October 11, 2008 ; she testified on her own behalf with the benef

it and prese nce of counsel at the November 19, 2009 hear ing; and she at all

times dur ing the termination proce eding s rec eived a ssistance of c ounsel. This is sufficient in our 9

view to demonstrate that Kianna rec eived full proce dural protec tion during the termination

proce eding s. See id. We there fore hold that any violation of Kianna’ s due proce ss rig hts rela ted to
the alleg ed failure to appoint a g uardia n ad litem during the depende ncy and neg lect proce eding s was

reme died by the proce dural protec tions aff orded during the termination proce eding s. Id. at 366. Her

arg ument on this iss ue is without merit.

B. Notice

T h e next question befor e this Court is whether DCS provided the Osag e Nation with

sufficie nt notice of the te rmination proce eding s under the I CW A, which pr ovides:

I n any involuntary proce eding in a State court, wher e the court knows or has rea son

to know that an I ndian child is involved, the party seeking the foster car e place ment

o f, or termination of pare ntal rig hts to, an I ndian child shall notify the pa r en t o r Indian custodian and the Indian child’s tribe, by registered mail with return rece ipt

r eq u es ted, of the pending proce eding s and of their rig ht of intervention. I f t h e identity or location of the pare nt or I ndian custodian and the tr i b e ca n n o t be

deter mined, such notice shall be g iven to the Secre tary in like manner , wh o shall

have fiftee n day s afte r re ceipt to provide the requisite notice to the pare nt or I ndian

custodian and the tribe. No foster care placeme nt or termination of parental rights

procee ding shall be held until at l east ten days after rec eipt of notice by the parent

or Indian custodian and the tribe or the Secre tary : Prov i d ed

, T hat the pare nt or

T he re cor d not onl y demonst ra te s tha t a guardi an ad li te m was app oin te d to re pre sen t K ia nna in the 9

te rminat ion pro cee din g, but it al so cas ts doub t on her uns uppo rt ed ass er ti on re gardi ng the fa il ure to app oin t

a guar dia n ad li te m

in th e de pen den cy and neglec t proc eed ing. T he rec ord sho ws t hat DCS fi le d a m oti on for the a p p o i n t me n t o f a n at tor ney ad li te m and guardi an ad li te m for K ia nna

. T he cou rt soo n the re af te r

app oin te d K ia nna cou nse l and la te r con ti nue d the cas e over the obj ect ion of DCS to m ake a “r eap poi ntment”

of K ia nna ’s guardi an a d l it em.

-9-I ndian custodian or the tribe shall, upon reque st, be g rante d up to twe nty additional

day s to prepar e for

such proc eeding

.

25 U.S.C.A. § 1912(a) (West 2001) (empha sis added). K ianna’ s attorney arg ued for the first time

at oral arg uments that the rec ord does not demonstrate th at t h e Os age Nation rec eived notice by

reg istered mail with re turn rec eipt reque sted of the pe nding te rmination proce eding s. 1 0

Gene rally

, this Court will not consider an arg ument raised for the first time at ora l arg uments.
See Tenn. R. App. P. 27(a) (7); Tenn. Ct. App. R. 6(a)

, (b); Ussery v. City of Columbia

, 316 S.W .3d 570, 580 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009) ( citations omitt ed). The I CW A, howeve r, provides:

Any I ndian child who i s the subject of any action for foster car e place ment or termination of parental rights under State law, any pare nt or I ndian custodi an from

whose custody such child was remove d, and the I ndian child’s tribe may petition any

court of competent jurisdiction to invalidate such action upon a showing that such

action violated a

ny provision of sections 1911, 1912, and 1913 of this ti tle.

25 U. S

. C

. A. § 1 9 1 4 (West 2001). Courts in other states have taken the position that this statute provides for revie w of cer tain violations of the I CW A for the first time on appea l, even if not raised

in the t rial court. E.g.

, In re M .F. , 206 P.3d 57, 61 (Kan. Ct. App. 2009), rev’ d on other grounds

, 225 P.3d 1177 (Ka

n. 2010). Additionally

, at least one state supreme court has conclude d that inadequa te notice of termination proce eding s divests a trial court of jurisdiction to terminate pare ntal rig hts; thus, an appellate court must consider the question even if the parties d o n o t raise it. In re

N.A.H.

, 418 N.W.2d 310, 311 (S.D. 1988). The California Cour t o f Appea ls, while reje cting the

sug g estion that failure to proper ly notify the I ndian tribe divests a trial court of jurisdiction, has held

that “‘[b]ecause the notice require ment [of the I CW A] is intended, in part, to protec t the interests of

I ndian tribes, it cannot be waived by the par ents’ fa ilure to raise it.’” In re Antoinette S. , 129 Cal. Rptr. 2d 15, 21-23 (Cal. Ct. App. 2002) (quoting In re Marinna J

., 109 Cal. Rptr. 2d 267, 269 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001)). Without addre ssing whe ther sufficie nt notice under the I CW A is a jurisdictional

prer equisite, we conclude that Kianna’ s failure to raise the notice issue at trial should not prec lude

consideration of the issue on appeal i n l i gh t of the potential for collater al attack in a subsequent

proce eding

. We a lso f

ind g ood cause to c onsider this question despite the absenc e of an arg ument supported by

authority in the appellant’ s brief. Te nn. R. App. P. 2; Tenn. Ct. App. R. 1(b).

The purpose of t h e I C W A’ s notice require ment is to ensure that I ndian tribes rec eive adequate notice of proce eding s conce rning I ndian children, including in cer tain case s an opportunity

to aid the cour t ’s evalua tion of the child’s I ndian heritag e. As the Wis consin Supreme Court has explained:

One of the purposes of the notice require ment is to enable an I ndian tribe to

K ia nna ’s app el la te cou nse l did not ser ve as tr ia l cou nse l and

, thu s, was not r e s p o n s i b le for the 1 0

fa il ure to ra is e t his is sue bel ow.

-10-participa te in deter mining whether the child involved in the proce eding is an "I ndian

child." See In r e Je

f f r ey A

., 103 Cal. App. 4th 1103, 127 Cal. Rptr. 2d 314, 317 (2002). A tribe cannot participa te in deter mining tribal membership unless the tribe

is awa re of the proce eding

. The notice require ment rec og nizes that I ndian tribes have

an interest in I ndian child welfa re proce eding s apar

t from the parties and t hat the

information supplied by the parties reg arding the "I ndian child" status of the child

may be incomplete. In re M.C.P.

, 153 Vt. 275, 571 A.2d 627, 633 (1989). Thus, the

I CW A cre ates the notice require ment and uses the "r eason to know" threshold as the

basis for whe n notice is requir ed.

In re Arianna R.G.

, 657 N.W.2d 363, 368 (Wisc. 2003) (footnote omitted). Thus, the absenc e in the

rec ord of a return rec eipt demonstrating strict compliance with the I CW A’s notice mandate should

not divest a court of jurisdiction or prec lude considera tion of a t er m i n at i on petition wher e it is undisputed that the proper I ndian tribe re ceive d actua l notice and pa rticipated in the pr ocee dings.

See In r e B

. J. E.

, 422 N.W.2d 597, 600 (S.D. 1988) (finding actua l notice sufficie nt to satisfy the

notice require ment of the I CW A) ; In re T.M.

, 628 N.W.2d 570, 575 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001) (same)

. This is espec ially true wher e the pare nt did not file an answe r deny ing that DCS provided the I ndian

tribe with sufficie nt notice, the pare nt did not raise the question of notice at any time befor e the trial

court, the I ndian tribe did not move to intervene in the proce eding s, and DCS did not anticipate having to prove strict c ompliance with the notice provisions.

The Osag e Nation indisputably rec eived actua l notice of the termination proce eding s in this

case . DCS alleg ed in its second ame nded petition to terminate Kia nna’s pa renta l rig hts:

24. The Osag e Nation Tribe, was contac ted, pursuant to applicable provisions of

the I ndian Child Welfare Act, which they responde d, that they did not intend

to exercise jurisdiction in this cause until pare ntal rig hts hav e b ee n terminated, and that they would fac ilitate the adoption proce ss and exercise jurisdiction after the outcome of the termination of par ental rig hts hearing

.

The petiti on cites a letter attached as an ex hibit to the original petit ion from R ebec ca Fish, Osag e Nation Adoption Specialist, stating that the “Osa g e Na t i o n i s very interested in taking custody of Kentavious, once the pare ntal rig hts fo r b o t h t h e mother and the fathe r have been terminated.”

Kianna did not file an answe r disputing this alleg ation, nor did she ra ise the issue of notice befor e the trial court. I n addition, the prior order s of the juvenile court, the unref uted trial testimony

, and

the perma nency plans confirm that the Osag e Nation rec eived notice of the proce eding s conce rning

the child and participa ted in discussions reg arding pot en t i al p l ace ment of the child following the

termination proce eding s. The juvenile court ref ere e’s finding s and rec omme n d a ti ons conce rning the

third perma

nency plan stated, for example, tha t Re becc a Fish, case manag er for the Osag e Nation, participa ted via telephone in a hear ing conducte d Marc h 17, 2009. There is no evidenc e, on the other hand, sug g esting the Osag e Nation did not rec eive adequate notice of the termination proce eding s. The sole inade quacy

in the rec ord cited by

Kianna’ s counsel at or al ar g uments was that the r ecor d

does not contain a return rec eipt conclusively demonstrating that the Osag e Nation rec eived notice

-11-as descr ibed in the I CW A. The absenc e of said evidenc e, howeve r, is not co n t rol ling under the

unique circ umstances of this case wh er e t he rec ord clea rly shows that DCS provided the Osag e Nation with a ctual notice and the Osag e Nation communicated with DCS conce rning the adoption

o f the child following termination. We there fore hold that DCS provided sufficie nt notice to the Osag e Na tion under the fa cts. Kianna ’s ar g ument on this iss ue is not well-take n.

C. Reasonabl

e Efforts

Kianna next arg ues that DCS failed to make rea sonable eff orts to reme dy the conditions that require d her child’s remova l. The decision to pursue a termination of par en t al ri gh ts on the 1 1

g rounds of persistenc e of conditions and su b s t an tial noncompliance g ener ally invokes DCS’s
statutory duty to make rea sonable eff orts to fac ilitate the safe return of a child to the child’s home.

In re R.L.F. , 278 S.W .3d 305, 315 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008) (citing Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-166( b), -166(a )(2)

, -166(g )(2) ); see also In re Tiff any B.

, 228 S.W .3d 148, 151, 160 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007) (vac ating a finding of abandonme nt, substantial noncompliance

, and persistence of conditions for

failure to make rea sonable eff orts). This statutory d u t y i ncludes an obliga tion to exercise 1 2

“‘r easona ble car e and diligenc e

. . . to provide service s rela ted to meeting the needs of the child and

the family

. ’” In re R. L.F.

, 278 S.W .3d at 316 (empha sis omitted) (citing Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-166( g )(1) ). Courts evalua te the rea sonablene ss of DCS’s eff orts i n consideration of the following fac tors:

(1) the rea sons for separ ating the pare nts from their children, (2) the pare nts’ phy sical

and mental abilities, (3) the resour ces available to the pare nts, (4) the pare nts’ eff orts

to reme dy the conditions that require d the remova l of the children, (5) the resour ces available to the Depa

rtment

, (6) the duration and extent of the pare nts’ eff orts to
addre ss the problems that cause d the children’ s remova l, and (7) the closene ss of the

fi t betwee n the conditions that led to the initial remova l of the children, the require ments of the per

manenc y plan, and the D epar

tment’s eff

orts.

In re Tiff any B

., 228 S.W .3d at 158-59 (footnote omitted) (citing In re Giorgianna H

., 205 S.W .3d. 508, 519 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006))

.

The Gene ral Assembly never theless did not place the burden to reunify pare nt and child on DCS’s shoulders alone. See State, Dep’ t of Children’s Servs. v. Estes

, 284 S.W .3d 790, 801 (Tenn.

Ct. App. 2008 ) (citation omitted). Reunification “is a two-wa y street, and neither law nor policy

re q u i res the Depa

rtment to acc omplish reunific ation on its own without the assistance o f t h e

K ia nna doe s not ar gue tha t DCS fa il ed to m ake re aso nab le ef for ts to pla ce K ent avious in a ti m el y 1 1

m ann er

.

DCS d o e s n o t ar gue tha t it was exc use d fr om m aking re aso nab le ef for ts to re uni fy K ia nna and 1 2

K ent avious bec aus e the per m ane ncy pla ns did not con ta in the goal of re uni fi cat ion

, nor doe s it ar gue tha t it s

re qui re m ent to m ake re aso nab le ef for ts was li m it ed t o pl aci ng the chi ld in a t imely m ann er

.

-12-pare nts.” In re Tiff any B.

, 228 S.W .3d at 159 (citations omitted). “Pare nts share the responsibility

for addre ssing the conditions that led to the remova l of their children from their custody .” Id. “The y

must also make rea sonable eff orts to reha

bilitate themselves once service s have been made available

to them.” Id. (citations omitted).

Kianna points to the m ental evaluation she re ceive d at the Univer sity of Tenne ssee Center

of Ex cellenc e, Boling Center for Deve lopmental Disabilities (“B oling Center” ) as setting the

baseline l ev el of trea tment DCS was require d to provide her under the fac ts. The trea tment team responsible for K ia

n n a ’ s e v a lu a

tion diag nosed her with a conduct disorder and a depre ssive disorder.

I t also assig ned her a g lobal functioning assessment of forty

. I n light of these and other diag noses, the trea tment team made the following rec ommendations:

Kianna could benef

it from psy chother apy

. This h a s b e e n r e c o mmended in the
past but has not been succe ssfully implemented due to a varie ty of fac tors, primarily

that she is on fre quent runaw ay thus avoiding developmen t o f any thera peutic

rela tionship. Her running awa y is the major obstacle to ge tting tre atment. For this

rea son we recommend placeme nt in a secu re residential treatment facility that will

have a chance at brea

king her cy cle of running awa y . I n addition to running a way , other disruptive behavior s, impulse control and ang er manag ement should be a targ et
of the be havior plan in re sidential treatment.

Psy chother apy should be a major co mponent of the trea tment prog ram. Cognitive behavior al interventions to addre ss past traumas and losses may allow her

to develop coping m ec h anis ms bey ond running awa y

. I t is anticipated that this

thera py will contin u e fo llowing completion of the residential portion of her

trea tment.

The residential trea

tment prog ram s h o u ld a ls o in c lu d e d [s ic ] in te r v e n ti o n s a nd

preve ntion of substance abuse. She is at very high risk for development of substance abuse pr oblems althoug h she denie s curr ent problems in this area

.

On ce she is in a stable place ment, considera tion should be g iv en t o medication as part of her trea tment. I ndications for medications should be evalua ted

afte r her place ment stability has been established. Antidepre ssant medications may be of be nefit.

Attention should be prov ided for her educational succe ss. Due to her

extensive absenc es and periods of non-atte n d ance she may have missed basic

conce pts despite indications she is intellectually capa ble. I nclusion in a school g roup

or team may streng then her chanc es for s u cc essful attendanc e by appea ling to her

need f or belong ing to a

g roup.

Simi larly

, inclusion in a pro-soc ial, adult su p ervised community activity

-13-g roup might help her fee l like she belong ed to a g roup. I dentifica tion of an

appropr iate group will be difficult g iven her resistanc e, her lack of stated i ntere sts,
and her life experienc es that ar e ver y differ ent from most of her peer s.

Recommenda tions about the custody of her child are bey ond the scope of this

evalua tion but in light of her extensive running awa y and other maladaptive coping

,

we can note that her curr ent ability to be an eff ective pare nt is lacking

. Major g ains

in multipl e are as of her life would be neede d prior to development of g ood pare nting

s k i l l s

. Gi ven the perva sive nature of her problems, her prog nosis in this are a i s

g uarde d. The neede d maturity may take may months to y ear s to develop depending

on the ex tent of her resistanc e to chang e. I n the m eant i m e t h e b est interests of the baby (per manenc y , attachme nt, nurturanc e, socialization, et c.) should be actively pursued a nd not kept "on hold" waiting an unce rtain outcome.

Kianna contends that DCS did not prove bey ond a rea sonable doubt that it made rea sonable

efforts to reunite her with Kentavious because she di d not rec eive psy chiatric trea tment in a l o ck

down fac ility

. She points to the testimony of Dr. J err y Heston, child psy chiatrist at the Boling Center, that Kianna’ s running awa y “see med to be the g rea t limit ing step in terms of g etting her the help that she neede d.” Kianna conclude s that DCS’s failure to provide trea tment at a secur e residential facility n ee d ed t o preve nt her from running awa y was unreasona

ble. DCS responds to

the contra ry that it made rea sonable eff orts to assist Kianna. DCS submits that it was unable to place

Kianna in a l evel- four, lock-down fac ility beca use she had not been adjudicate d delinquent, an

asser tion it supported with testimony at trial. DCS explains that it place d Kianna in multipl e level- 1 3

three place ments, attempted to provide her counseling and individual thera py throug h Omnivisions,

at t empted to provide her pare nting classes, attempted to ensure that she rema ined in school, and attempted to pro v i d e h er with ever y opportunity to pare nt her child while in foster car e. DCS

submits that it indeed provided Kianna many of these service s but could not phy sically restra in her

in order to preve nt her constant running awa y

. Thus, DCS submi ts that any failure to exercise

rea sonable eff

orts lies with Kianna, who consistently frustra ted DCS’s attempts to provide service s desig ned to re unite her w ith the child.

T he t e s t i mo ny o f DCS employees was somewhat inc ons is te nt on thi s is sue

. Oci e Duckwort h, a 1 3

sup er visor at DCS, te st if i ed tha t the highes t le vel of con fi nement DCS cou ld pro vide to K ia nna as a dep end ent and neglec te d chi ld was a le vel- two pla cement, al tho ugh he ini ti al ly sugg est ed tha t DCS pla ced

K ia nna in a level- thr ee pla cement. Mr

. Duckwort h exp la ine d tha t a level- thr ee pla cement pro vides a chil d

in DCS’s car e wit h int ens e cou nse li ng, w h e re as a le vel- fou r fa ci li ty pro hib it s the chi ld fr om le aving the

fa ci li ty. Mr

. Duckwort h te st if ie d tha t K ia nna did not re cei ve le vel- thr ee car e bec aus e she did not exh ibi t the

cer ta in beh avior s tha t qua li fy a chi ld for le vel -t h r e e a n d l evel- fou r pla cements

. Ebon y Ma nni ng, a DCS employee i n t he f

ost er ca re dep ar tment, t est if ie d on the ot her han d t hat DCS pl ace d K ia nna in at le ast two
le vel- thr ee pla cements as the cas e pro gress ed. For exa m ple

, DCS pla ced K ia nna at Sar a’ s Pla ce, a le vel- thr ee fa ci li ty wit h an on- si te th er api st , wher e s he esc ape d by kicking out a window. DCS al so p la ced K ia nna in

the le vel- thr ee fos te r home of V ane ssa T homas, wher e she esc ape d aft er j um pin g out of the fos te r pare nt’ s

m oving car

. Ms

. Ma nni ng did not sugg est

, however

, tha t DCS had aut hor it y to pla ce K ia nna in a le vel- fou r, loc k- down f

aci li ty.

-14-The trial court did not make a finding on rea sonable eff orts. We must there fore revie w the

issue de novo

. Having revie wed the rec ord, we co nclude that DCS made rea sonable eff orts to reunify Kianna and Kentavious. Although it might have been pref era ble to place Kianna in a lockdown facility

, the unrebutted testimony was that DCS could not place her in such a fa ci l i t y

. T his testimony

, in addition to the testimony conce rning DCS’s many attempts to provide service s, proves bey ond a rea sonable dou

b t th a t D CS made rea sonable eff orts throug hout these proce eding s to reunite

the y oung mother with her child. Whil e Kianna arg ues that DCS could have “ea sily ” ref err ed Kianna

to a secur e residential trea tment fac ility

, she has provided no leg al or fac tual support for her

arg ument. Fur

ther, she has provided no leg al or fac tual support to demonstrate that DCS had a duty

to pu rs u e a finding of delinquency

, that the facts supported a finding of delinquency

, or t hat DC S

could have simply deeme d Kianna delinquent. I n sum, Kianna failed to demonstrate that DCS leg ally could have committed her to a loc k-down fa cility

.

We hold, in the alternative, t hat t he alleg ed fa ilure t o place Kianna in a lock-down fac ility

is not a basis for re versa l on the g round of menta l incompetence

. As we explained in State, Dep’ t of Children’s Servs. v. M.R.N.

, No. M2006-01705-COA- R3-PT, 2007 WL 120038 (Tenn. Ct. App.

J an.17, 2007), rea sonable eff orts g ener ally are not require d when terminating on the basis of mental incompetenc e:

This Court has held that “the Depa rtment’s obliga tion to make rea sonable eff orts to

prese rve, repa ir, or restore a pare nt-child rela tionsh i p i s n o t implicated in ever y termination proce eding .” In re C.M.M.

, 2004 Tenn. App. L EXI S 160, at *28, 2004

WL 438326. “T ermination proceeding s based on the grounds in Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113( g )(4) -(8) usually will not require the Department t o demonstrate that it

has made rea sonable eff

orts to r eunite a child with his or her pare nts.” Id

. at *28, n. 26. We note t hat one of t he grounds upon which the trial court re l i ed t o t erminate

Mother’s rig hts in this case , specific ally that Mother is mentally incompetent to car e for the children, falls within this class of proce eding s. See T en n

. C ode Ann. § 36-1-113( g )(8) (B )(i) ( 2003).

M.R.N.

, 2007 WL 120038, at *12; but see In re Keishe a l N. E

. , N o

. M2009-02527-COA- R3-PT, 2010

WL 2176104, at *8 & n.8 (Tenn. Ct. App. M ay 28, 2010) (finding that termination on the ground

of mental incompetenc e absent rea son able eff orts is permissible only wher e the proof shows that

eff orts to addre ss the pare nt’s mental health issues would be in vain). Thus, DCS’s failure to place

Kianna in a lock-down trea tment fac ility is not cause for rever sing the termination of her pare ntal rig hts, bec au s e Ki an n a has not challeng ed the trial court’s conclusion that she is prese ntly so impaired and is so likely to rema in so that it is unlikely she will be able to assume or resume the car e of and r esponsibility

for the c hild in the near f uture.

D. Reasonable and Related

Kianna arg ues as a final matter that this Court should reve rse the finding of substantial noncompliance beca

use the terms of her p er m anenc y plans wer e not rea sonable and rela ted to

-15-reme dy ing the conditions that require d her child’s remova l. Kianna primarily question s DC S ’s

decision not to place any require ments on her in the initial perma nency plan. She h as ci t ed no authority

, howeve r, t o sug g est that DCS must include g oals and requireme nts desig ned to reme dy

the conditions leading to remova l wher e reunific ation is not a g oal, nor has she offe red an arg ument supported by authority to demonstrate that DCS had a responsibility initially to pursue reunific ation irrespe ctive of the child’s best interests. Additionally

, she has n o t ar gu ed that termination on the

g round of substantial noncompliance is impermissib le wher e reunific ation is not a g oal of the

perma nency plans. On the narr ow issue raised, we conclude that the second plan prudently require d

Kianna to obtain a mental health assessment and follow its rec ommendations, enroll in and complete

pare nting classes, an d conti nue her high school educa tion. Eac h of these require ments was

rea sonable and rela ted to addre ssing the conce rns t h at require d Kentavious’s remova l in the first instance. Thus, K ianna’ s arg ument on this iss ue is without merit.

E. St atutor y Requirem ents

As previously noted, Kianna has not prese nted an arg ument supported by autho ri t y o r citations to the rec ord challengi n g t h e sufficie ncy of the evidenc e supporting g rounds for

termination. Additionally

, she has not c halleng ed the trial cour t’s evalua tion of Kentavious’s best

interests. Although Kianna has waived these issues, we note out of an abundanc e of caution that the

rec ord supports the trial court’s conclusion that DCS proved bey ond a rea sonable doubt the g rounds

of persistenc e of conditions, substantial noncompliance with the s econd perma nency plan, and

mental incompetenc e. We further note that the rec ord, including the expert testimony of Dr. Heston,

demonstrates bey ond a rea sonable doubt tha t c ontinuation of the re lationship between K ianna a nd

Kentavious is likely to result in serious emotional or phy sical damag e to the child, which is implicit

in the tr i al co u rt’s decision. We there fore aff irm the decision of the trial court to terminate 1 4

Kianna’ s pare ntal rig hts.

V. Conclusion

For the fore g oing rea sons, the decision of the trial court is aff irmed. Costs of this appea l are assessed to the a

ppellant, Kianna

M., for whic h execution may issue if nec essar

y

.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ D A V I D R

. F A R M E R

, J U D G E

K ia nna doe s not ar gue on app eal tha t DCS fa il ed to pro ve it s cas e wit h qua li fi ed exp er t wit nes ses

. 1 4

See gen era ll

y I n re M .F. , 225 P.3d 117 7 ( K an. 2010 ) ( add re ssi ng the exp er t wi tne ss re qui re m ent ).

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