Opinion ID: 2844043
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: [¶2] L.D. was born on May 8, 2013, premature and severely drug-affected due to the mother’s use of opiates during the pregnancy. The mother had multiple positive drug screens during her pregnancy, and L.D. tested positive for morphine at birth. The father has a severe and long-standing drug addiction. When L.D. was born, the father, who denied paternity, was on probation as a result of a conviction for unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs (Class B), 17-A M.R.S. 2 § 1103(1-A)(A) (2014). Both parents fell asleep while feeding and caring for L.D. at the hospital. [¶3] A preliminary protection order was issued on May 23, 2013. L.D. was discharged from the hospital and placed with her mother’s cousin on May 29, 2013, and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) started an investigation into the paternity of the child. Less than a month later, L.D. was placed in a foster home with nonrelative foster parents. [¶4] In July 2013, the father was arrested for violating his probation and was incarcerated until January 2014. While the father was incarcerated, on October 8, 2013, the same day that paternity testing results established that he was the father of the child, the court entered a jeopardy order as to the father finding that he had a substance abuse issue, numerous criminal convictions, and was unable to protect L.D. from the mother’s substance abuse.1 [¶5] When the father was released from custody, he attended visits with L.D. and participated in reunification efforts. However, the father again began to use drugs with the mother soon thereafter, and his visits with L.D. became inconsistent. In March 2014 the father was admitted to a methadone clinic and admitted to using heroin. He continued with the methadone clinic for about one 1 The court entered a jeopardy order as to the mother on August 26, 2013. 3 month, missed some drug screens, and in April 2014 tested positive for opiates twice. [¶6] On April 10, 2014, both parents attended a daylong evaluation of L.D., but they appeared to be under the influence of drugs and disinterested in the evaluation process. In the late morning, the father received a phone call and both parents left the evaluation and did not return for the scheduled afternoon session. The next day, the father was arrested for violating his probation. His probation was revoked on April 18, 2014, and he was sentenced to eighteen months in custody.2 [¶7] In June 2014, while the father was incarcerated, DHHS filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of both parents. In September 2014, while still serving his sentence, the father entered a pre-release center and was able to participate in supervised visits with L.D. again. On November 17-18, 2014, the court held a hearing on the petition. The mother failed to appear, but the father, who was still serving his sentence at the time of the hearing, did appear. At the time of the hearing the father was doing very well. Since being at the pre-release center, all of the father’s drug tests were negative and he was fully participating in all classes and services offered to him. 2 The father’s probation was revoked for (1) failure to refrain from the use or possession of illegal drugs, (2) failure to report, and (3) failure to refrain from new criminal conduct (theft). 4 [¶8] At the termination hearing the father requested that L.D. be placed with his brother and the brother’s wife. The brother and his wife joined in the request. The brother had served in the military for fourteen years, and at the time of the hearing he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree with a double major in secondary education and special education. The brother’s wife was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in accounting. They have two children of their own and, because one of those children has some challenges, the brother’s family already utilizes many of the same or similar services that L.D. is receiving. [¶9] The brother was at the hospital soon after L.D. was born in May 2013, but was told that his involvement had to be limited until DNA testing was completed on the father, which did not occur until October 2013. By that time, L.D. had already been placed in a nonrelative foster home. The brother and his wife sought visitation with L.D., and underwent background checks at the request of DHHS. At the termination hearing, the brother testified that he had believed L.D. was living with the mother’s family until the father informed him otherwise just after the petition for termination of parental rights was filed. After the petition was filed in June 2014, the brother and his wife continued to actively seek contact with L.D., but their schedules made it difficult to arrange visits. In September 2014, DHHS completed a study on the family and found the brother’s home to be appropriate for L.D. In October 2014, DHHS brought L.D. to the brother’s home 5 to meet them. From the time of the home visit until the hearing, the brother’s wife attended several weekly supervised visits with L.D. At the time of the hearing, the brother and his wife had completed the foster parent licensing application, but DHHS was still reviewing it. [¶10] L.D., who was eighteen months old at the time of the hearing, had been with the same foster family for her entire life except for the first six weeks. After birth, she suffered from tremors, shaking, uncontrolled crying, and “screeching.”3 She was also developmentally delayed, and although the delays have improved, she still has significant needs. At the time of the hearing she had made significant progress with her gross motor delays, but she continued to have fine motor delays, as well as speech, language, and cognitive delays. She also continued to screech and “stiffen.”4 L.D. has bonded with her foster family, and they have been exceptional foster parents and strong advocates for her. She needs structure and routine, which they provide, and their home is safe and appropriate. The foster parents are the only family L.D. has ever known and she is an integral part of their family. They have two daughters of their own and another foster child who is younger than L.D. The foster parents would like to adopt her. 3 At the hearing the foster mother described L.D.’s screeching: “[I]t’s not like a normal child when she would want something and you scream. It’s a very ear-piercing—just goes right through you screech. High pitched screaming.” 4 At the hearing the foster mother explained that L.D. “stiffens her legs right out straight and stiffens her arms up in a bent position or down in a locked position. And it’s—she doesn’t relax.” 6 [¶11] On December 12, 2014, the court terminated the parental rights of both parents and determined that it was not in L.D.’s best interest to change her current placement. Only the father appeals.