Opinion ID: 1811753
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Termination of G.B.B.'s Parental Rights to L.B.

Text: The instant case of termination of parental rights involves G.B.B.'s fourth child, L.B. On April 2, 1999, when L.B. was born, G.B.B. was confined to the psychiatric ward at the Huey P. Long Medical Center. On April 8, 1999, six days after her birth, L.B. was removed from her mother's custody and placed with the State after the trial court issued an order in the Child in Need of Care proceeding. On July 8, 1999, L.B. was adjudicated a child in need of care. [2] Initially, the State's goal was to transfer custody of L.B. to a relative. Because of G.B.B.'s longstanding case history with the State regarding her other three children dating back to the early eighties, the State did not consider reunification to be an option in L.B.'s case. In October 1999, after family placement options proved to be unsuccessful, the State changed its case plan from placement with a relative to adoption. On February 4, 2000, the State filed the instant matter petitioning for the termination of G.B.B.'s parental rights to L.B. The trial of the matter was held on January 16, 2001. The trial court issued a judgment dismissing the State's petition for termination on December 7, 2001. On review, the court of appeal affirmed. The State appeals the judgments of the lower courts. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse those judgments.