IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA

No. 15-2199

Filed March 9, 2016

IN THE INTEREST OF L.L., M.L., E.L., and S.L.,

Minor Children,

F.L., Father,

Appellant,

C.L., Mother,

Appellant.

________________________________________________________________

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Franklin County, Peter B. Newell, 

District Associate Judge.

A father and mother separately appeal from the orders terminating their 

parental rights. AFFIRMED ON BOTH APPEALS. 

Larry W. Johnson of Walters & Johnson, Iowa Falls, for appellant father of 

S.L.

Barbara J. Westphal of Barbara J. Westphal, Attorney at Law, Belmond, 

for appellant mother.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Kathrine S. Miller-Todd, Assistant 

Attorney General, for appellee State.

Randy D. Johansen of Johansen Law Firm, Sheffield, attorney and 

guardian ad litem for minor children.

Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.
2

MULLINS, Judge.

The mother of four children and the father of S.L. appeal separately from 

the termination of their parental rights. Both parents argue the State failed to 

prove by clear and convincing evidence that reasonable efforts toward 

reunification have been made. The mother also asserts the juvenile court erred 

in (1) determining the children could not be returned safely to her care and 

(2) denying her request for an additional six months to work toward reunification 

with her children. We affirm on both appeals. 

I. Background Facts and Proceedings

The mother has four children involved in this case: L.L., born in 2007; 

M.L., born in 2010; E.L., born in 2012; and S.L., born in 2013.1 The juvenile 

court terminated the mother’s parental rights to these four children pursuant to 

Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(g) (2015). The juvenile court terminated the 

parental rights of the biological father of S.L. pursuant to section 232.116(1)(h).2 

The family has a long history of involvement with the Iowa Department of 

Human Services (DHS). In March 2014, DHS received reports of domestic 

violence between the parents, as well as reports that the children were being 

spanked with belts and hit with shoes, a rolling pin, or other objects. In April 

2014, DHS went to the family’s home and observed that the home did not have 

 

1 The mother has two other children not involved in the present case. In June 2014, the 

juvenile court in Marshall County terminated the mother’s parental rights to an older 

child. The mother also has another child with the father of S.L., born in April 2015. Less 

than two months after the child’s birth, the child was removed from the parents’ care and 

custody due to allegations of domestic violence between the parents and the father’s 

intoxication, and placed in family foster care. 

2 The juvenile court also terminated the parental rights of the biological fathers of L.L., 

M.L., and E.L., or any other purported fathers, under section 232.116(1)(b) 

(abandonment). They do not appeal. 
3

heat, electrical wires were exposed, there was little food in the home, the 

staircase leading to the second floor did not have railings, and the children were 

suffering from untreated head lice. DHS had also learned the parents had been 

caring for the children while intoxicated and L.L. was often missing school. The 

DHS social workers offered to take the mother and her children to a domestic 

violence shelter, but she refused because she did not want to leave her 

belongings. Fearing for the children’s safety, DHS removed the children and 

placed them in family foster care. 

In June 2014, the children were adjudicated children in need of assistance 

(CINA). That same month, the mother completed a mental health evaluation 

after DHS expressed concerns. The provider recommended that the mother 

participate in weekly or biweekly therapy, but the mother only attended two 

sessions in the ten months following the evaluation. The mother completed a 

second mental health evaluation in June 2015, but again only attended two or 

three follow-up sessions.

The juvenile court held dispositional and review hearings in August 2014, 

November 2014, and February 2015, confirming the CINA adjudication and outof-home placements. 

In February 2015, both parents started semisupervised visits with the 

children. The parents consistently attended the twice-weekly, two-hour visits, 

only missing a few times when they were ill or had to work. However, they rarely 

contacted the children outside of their visitation, despite having been given the 

opportunity to do so by the children’s foster parents and having access to a 

phone. 
4

In April, DHS raised concerns about visitation, including a lack of 

supervision of two children during a visit and a report that the mother had 

become upset during a visit and pulled L.L.’s finger. Later that month, the court 

held a permanency hearing, and the State filed a petition for termination of 

parental rights. 

In May, the parents’ visits with the children returned to fully supervised 

due to allegations that the parents had exposed their youngest child, not at issue 

in the present case, to domestic violence. Until that time, the parents had lied to 

DHS, concealing the fact they were still living together. Shortly thereafter, the 

mother obtained separate housing and ended her relationship with the father. 

The juvenile court held a termination hearing on dates in August, October, 

and November 2015. Some progress was noted during the course of the 

hearings, including that the parents had ended their relationship. The mother 

testified she had made significant progress between the August and October 

hearing dates and had recently started attending therapy and taking medication 

for her mental health issues. She was employed and provided some food, 

clothing, and toys for the children at visits. She also had a safe home for the 

children, though it could not accommodate all of them.

3

 The father had recently 

completed substance abuse treatment and testified he would stay clean and 

 

3 At the time of the August hearing date, the mother was living in a one-bedroom 

apartment with two roommates, including her new boyfriend and a female friend. The 

mother allowed both of these individuals to be present during visits with her children 

despite their not having been approved as caretakers for the children. At the time of the 

October hearing date, the mother was living in a two-bedroom apartment with her 

boyfriend, who still had not been approved as a caretaker. 
5

sober. His parenting skills and engagement with his children were improving.4 

He was also employed and able to provide for the children financially. He was 

living in a safe home but shared space with another person whose last name he 

did not know and who had not been approved to care for the children. 

Nevertheless, a DHS social worker testified that all of the same concerns 

existed as when the CINA case had been opened eighteen months previously, 

including the parents’ history of domestic violence that they never fully 

addressed, the mother’s mental health issues, the father’s substance abuse

problems, and both parents’ parenting skills and supervision of the children. The 

Family Safety, Risk, and Permanency (FSRP) provider testified she had 

remaining concerns regarding the mother’s ability to parent because, although

the mother was no longer ignoring the children during visits, she would get 

frustrated and short-tempered with them. The FSRP provider stated the mother 

often allowed L.L. to act as the caregiver for her younger sisters during visits and 

the children did not listen to their mother or respect her as a parent. The FSRP 

provider also testified she still had safety concerns regarding the father’s 

supervision of the children. She stated the father’s general care for the children

had improved and he was receptive to suggestions on how to parent his children,

but he could not yet independently care for them. Several witnesses testified the 

mother did not have a strong emotional attachment and bond with her children. 

The DHS social workers and the FSRP provider recommended termination of 

both the mother and father’s parental rights. 

 

4 At the time of the termination hearing, the father was participating in services for both 

S.L. and his second child with the mother, who is involved in a separate CINA action. 
6

In December 2015, the court entered an order terminating the parents’

parental rights. The mother and the father of S.L. separately appeal. 

II. Standard of Review

We review termination-of-parental-rights proceedings de novo. In re A.M., 

843 N.W.2d 100, 110 (Iowa 2014). We give weight to the factual determinations 

of the juvenile court, especially with regard to witness credibility, but we are not 

bound by them. In re A.B., 815 N.W.2d 764, 773 (Iowa 2012). Our primary 

consideration is the best interests of the children. Id. at 776.

III. Analysis

A. Reasonable Efforts

Both parents separately argue the State failed to prove by clear and 

convincing evidence that reasonable efforts toward reunification have been 

made. Each contends DHS failed to increase their visitation with the children 

despite their progress and participation in services in the months leading up to 

termination. 

Under our law, the State must make reasonable efforts to reunify the 

family as quickly as possible after children have been removed from their 

parents’ care and custody. Iowa Code § 232.102(7). The reasonable-efforts 

requirement is not, however, viewed as a strict substantive requirement at 

termination. In re C.B., 611 N.W.2d 489, 493 (Iowa 2000). Instead, it impacts 

the State’s burden of proving those elements of termination that require 

reasonable efforts. Id. In determining whether reasonable efforts have been 

made, the court considers “[t]he type, duration, and intensity of services or 
7

support offered or provided to the child and the child’s family.” Iowa Code

§ 232.102(10)(a)(1). 

The State argues neither parent preserved error on their reasonableefforts challenges because neither parent raised the issue of increased visitation 

to the court prior to the termination hearing. The mother claims she preserved 

error on this issue by objecting to DHS’s lack of reasonable efforts throughout the 

termination hearing. The father makes no claim for preservation of the issue. 

Our court has previously stated:

While the State has an obligation to provide reasonable services to 

preserve the family unit, it is the parent’s responsibility “to demand 

other, different, or additional services prior to the termination 

hearing.” Complaints regarding services are properly raised “at 

removal, when the case permanency plan is entered, or at later 

review hearings.” When a parent “fails to request other services at 

the proper time, the parent waives the issue and may not later 

challenge it at the termination proceeding.” Similarly, we will not 

review a reasonable efforts claim unless it is raised prior to the 

termination hearing. 

In re T.S., 868 N.W.2d 425, 442 (Iowa Ct. App. 2015) (citations omitted). 

Furthermore, “voicing complaints regarding the adequacy of services to a social 

worker is not sufficient. A parent must inform the juvenile court of such 

challenge.” In re C.H., 652 N.W.2d 144, 148 (Iowa 2002); see also Iowa Code 

§ 232.99(3) (requiring the court, at any dispositional review or permanency 

hearing, to inquire whether any additional services are needed, and advise the 

parties that failure to request additional services may preclude the party from 

challenging the sufficiency of the services in a termination-of-parental-rights 

proceeding). 
8

The record shows neither parent raised their complaints regarding 

visitation with the juvenile court prior to the termination hearing. Therefore, we 

find neither parent has preserved error on their reasonable-efforts claims for our 

review. 

B. Statutory Grounds

The mother argues the State has not proved by clear and convincing 

evidence that the children could not be returned safely to her care, custody, and 

control at the time of the termination hearing or within a reasonable time.5 The 

juvenile court terminated the mother’s parental rights to her four children under 

Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(g).6 On appeal, the mother challenges the 

grounds for termination under section 232.116(1)(f).7 The mother’s failure to 

 

5 The father does not challenge the statutory grounds for termination on appeal, thus we 

do not address this issue as to the father and affirm the statutory grounds for 

termination. See In re P.L., 778 N.W.2d 33, 40 (Iowa 2010) (stating that when a parent 

does not challenge the existence of statutory grounds, we need not address the issue). 

6 Termination of parental rights under paragraph (g) requires the court to find the State 

proved all of the following:

(1) The child has been adjudicated a child in need of assistance 

pursuant to section 232.96.

(2) The court has terminated parental rights pursuant to section 

232.117 with respect to another child who is a member of the same 

family . . . .

(3) There is clear and convincing evidence that the parent 

continues to lack the ability or willingness to respond to services which 

would correct the situation.

(4) There is clear and convincing evidence that an additional 

period of rehabilitation would not correct the situation.

Iowa Code § 232.116(1)(g).

7

Termination of parental rights under paragraph (f) requires the court to find the State 

proved all of the following: 

(1) The child is four years of age or older.

(2) The child has been adjudicated a child in need of assistance 

pursuant to section 232.96.

(3) The child has been removed from the physical custody of the 

child's parents for at least twelve of the last eighteen months, or for the 

last twelve consecutive months and any trial period at home has been 

less than thirty days.
9

challenge section 232.116(1)(g) waives any claim of error related to that ground.

See Hyler v. Garner, 548 N.W.2d 864, 870 (Iowa 1996) (“[O]ur review is confined 

to those propositions relied upon by the appellant for reversal on appeal.”).

Therefore, we affirm the termination on statutory grounds under section 

232.116(1)(g). 

C. Additional Six Months

The mother also argues she has shown significant progress and the 

juvenile court should have granted her an additional six months to work toward 

reunification with her children. 

Under Iowa Code section 232.104(2)(b), a court may authorize a sixmonth extension of time if it determines “the need for removal of the child from 

the child’s home will no longer exist at the end of the additional six-month 

period.” 

We recognize the mother made great strides in the last few months 

leading up to the termination, particularly between the August and October 

termination hearings. She had secured safe housing and employment, 

addressed her mental health needs, and terminated her relationship with S.L.’s

father. However, we cannot ignore the reality that the children were out of the 

mother’s care and custody for over eighteen months. Over a year after DHS had 

opened the case before us, the mother had another child removed from her care 

due to her violent relationship with S.L.’s father and his intoxication. Until that 

 

(4) There is clear and convincing evidence that at the present time 

the child cannot be returned to the custody of the child's parents as 

provided in section 232.102.

Iowa Code § 232.116(1)(f). 
10

time, the mother had lied about her relationship with S.L.’s father and failed to 

take advantage of services other than visitation. Although the mother completed 

mental health evaluations prior to the termination hearing, she did not follow 

through on counseling and treatment until after the first day of the termination 

hearing in August 2015. Several witnesses testified at the hearing that the 

mother had not developed a bond with her children and the children did not 

respect her. The mother became frustrated and irritated during visits with the 

children and never demonstrated she could parent all of her children 

independently. Instead, she relied on L.L. to parent her younger sisters. We find 

the mother’s efforts and improvements came too little and too late. See In re 

C.B., 611 N.W.2d at 495 (“[The mother]’s efforts are simply too late. The 

changes in the two or three months before the termination hearing, in light of the 

preceding eighteen months, are insufficient. . . . A parent cannot wait until the 

eve of termination, after the statutory time periods for reunification have expired, 

to begin to express an interest in parenting.”). 

It is well established that once the statutory time frames for termination 

have been satisfied, the case must be viewed with a sense of urgency. In re 

C.B., 611 N.W.2d at 495; see also In re P.L., 778 N.W.2d at 41 (“It is well-settled 

law that we cannot deprive a child of permanency after the State has proved a 

ground for termination under section 232.116(1) by hoping someday a parent will 

learn to be a parent and be able to provide a stable home for the child.”). We 

cannot ask these children to continuously wait for their mother to become a 

stable parent. In re D.W., 791 N.W.2d 703, 707 (Iowa 2010); see also In re A.B., 

815 N.W.2d at 778 (“It is simply not in the best interests of children to continue to 
11

keep them in temporary foster homes while the natural parents get their lives 

together.” (quoting In re C.K., 558 N.W.2d 170, 175 (Iowa 1997))). “[A]t some 

point, the rights and needs of the children rise above the rights and needs of the 

parent.” In re C.S., 776 N.W.2d 297, 300 (Iowa Ct. App. 2009). Our review of 

the record does not persuade us that circumstances would be such that the need 

for removal would no longer exist at the end of six months. See Iowa Code 

§ 232.104(2)(b). Accordingly, we affirm the juvenile court’s denial of the mother’s 

request for an additional six months. 

IV. Conclusion

Upon our de novo review of the record, we affirm the termination of the 

mother’s parental rights on statutory grounds under Iowa Code section 

232.116(1)(g). We further find neither parent has preserved error on their 

reasonable-efforts claims. Finally, based upon the mother’s delay in participating 

in services and her inability to parent her children independently, we agree with 

the juvenile court’s denial of the mother’s request for an additional six months to 

work toward reunification with her children. 

AFFIRMED ON BOTH APPEALS.