Opinion ID: 887491
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: issues

Text: ¶ 46 Whether the District Court abused its discretion in terminating S.B.'s parental rights. ¶ 47 A district court may terminate an individual's parental rights if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the child has been adjudicated a youth in need of care; an appropriate court-approved treatment plan has not been complied with or has been unsuccessful; and the conduct or condition rendering the parent unfit is unlikely to change within a reasonable period of time. Section 41-3-609(1)(f), MCA. ¶ 48 Determining whether the conduct or condition rendering a parent unfit is unlikely to change within a reasonable time requires the court to assess past and present conduct of the parent. In re M.A.E., 1999 MT 341, ¶ 37, 297 Mont. 434, ¶ 37, 991 P.2d 972, ¶ 37 (citing In re C.A.R., 214 Mont. 174, 187, 693 P.2d 1214, 1221 (1984)). We must consider excessive use of intoxicating liquor or of a narcotic or dangerous drug that affects the parent's ability to care and provide for the child. Section 41-3-609(2)(c), MCA. ¶ 49 S.B. contends that the record is clear that she maintained her sobriety from November 26, 2002, to October 8, 2003, and that the only remaining issue on September 26, 2003, was that she needed to arrange for daycare and show DPHHS her budget which she had been working on with her treatment provider. S.B. admits, however, that in October and November 2003, she began to relapse. She argues that, rather than provide her with support services, DPHHS opted to terminate her parental rights based on these relapses and the fact that A.S. had been in foster care for 15 of the last 22 months. S.B. claims that the termination of her parental rights was not justified because DPHHS did not prove that the conduct or condition rendering her unfit was unlikely to change within a reasonable time. ¶ 50 The State asserts that despite S.B.'s successful completion of some aspects of the treatment plan, S.B. did not successfully complete the treatment plan because she continued to use meth and, as a result of her meth addiction, S.B. was facing new criminal charges and numerous probation violations. In fact, her probation officer testified that S.B.'s violations were increasing rather than decreasing. In addition, S.B. failed to steadily maintain employment and, at the time of the termination hearing, S.B. was not employed and had no plan in place for supporting her daughter or herself. ¶ 51 This court will not reweigh conflicting evidence or substitute its judgment regarding the strength of the evidence for that of the district court. In re A.F., 2003 MT 254, ¶ 24, 317 Mont. 367, ¶ 24, 77 P.3d 266, ¶ 24 (citing In re M.T., 2002 MT 174, ¶ 29, 310 Mont. 506, ¶ 29, 51 P.3d 1141, ¶ 29; In re E.K., 2001 MT 279, ¶ 43, 307 Mont. 328, ¶ 43, 37 P.3d 690, ¶ 43). Moreover, pursuant to § 41-3-604(1), MCA, [i]f a child has been in foster care under the physical custody of the state for 15 months of the most recent 22 months, the best interests of the child must be presumed to be served by termination of parental rights. By the time of the termination hearing, A.S. had been in foster care for more than 17 months, but rather than make every effort to maintain her sobriety so that she could once again parent her child, the number of S.B.'s relapses increased. ¶ 52 We hold that the District Court correctly concluded that the conduct or condition rendering S.B. unfit to parent A.S. was unlikely to change within a reasonable time. S.B. had been given every opportunity to maintain her sobriety, but despite all of the resources available to her, her addiction to meth was stronger than her desire to maintain her sobriety and parent her child. Under these circumstances, it was incumbent upon the District Court to consider the best interests of the child and the court correctly concluded that termination of S.B.'s parental rights to A.S. was in A.S.'s best interests. ¶ 53 Affirmed. We Concur: PATRICIA COTTER, BRIAN MORRIS, and JIM RICE, JJ.