Opinion ID: 2400724
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: proceedings and findings

Text: [¶ 2] Upon the filing of a child protection petition by the Department of Human Services, the District Court ( Mullen, J. ) issued a preliminary protection order on November 5, 1999, granting custody of Michelle to the Department. Before the mother was notified of the petition and order, she left the area with Michelle. In early December 1999, the Department located the mother and Michelle in Florida. The Department took Michelle into custody and served the petition and order on the mother. Three months later, the mother consented to the issuance of a final jeopardy order. The District Court ( Gorman, J. ) ordered services aimed at reunifying the mother and Michelle. The Department filed the petition for termination of parental rights within two months of the jeopardy order, and the termination hearing was held in September 2000. At the time of the termination proceeding, Michelle was six years old. [¶ 3] In its detailed findings of fact following the termination hearing, the trial court found that the Department had provided counseling for the mother and made home visits prior to filing the child protection petition. The reason for the Department's intervention was the mother's disclosure in August 1999 that she struck Michelle and left a bruise on her back. The mother also admitted that she put her arm through a window and cut it in Michelle's presence. Also in August 1999, the police found Michelle wandering in a park by herself early in the morning. The court further found that the mother and her boyfriend had been arrested for assault, stemming from an incident of domestic violence, and were later arrested for violating bail conditions. The court noted that the basis of the consent jeopardy order was the mother's mental condition, her involvement with domestic violence, and her inability to care for Michelle because of Michelle's special needs. [¶ 4] The court found that the mother had previously received mental health services, but she had not participated in these services efficiently. The court found that she has a history of forming relationships with violent men. In 1994, several years before the child protection proceedings, the mother had participated in criminal activities with a male partner. The court also found that the mother had experimented with illegal drugs and had abused alcohol when she was first pregnant with Michelle. The mother was abused by Michelle's father, and after Michelle was born, the mother had relationships with two other abusive men. [¶ 5] Michelle's mother participated in an extensive psychological evaluation after the child protection petition was filed. The evaluation team's findings and recommendations, which the trial court found reliable, were that because of her mental condition and Michelle's special needs, the mother was not able to care for Michelle. The team diagnosed the mother as having a narcissistic personality and post-traumatic stress disorder. The evaluation team found that the mother was more concerned about her own feelings of loss of Michelle, than she was about Michelle's feelings. The team further found that the mother lacks empathy and has little insight. The team was also concerned about substance abuse. The court found that the mother was arrested in March 2000 for operating under the influence of intoxicating beverages. [¶ 6] The same evaluation team also evaluated Michelle. It noted that she was developmentally delayed when first placed in the foster home, and she was assaultive toward other children. At the time of Michelle's evaluation in February 2000, she had been in the foster home for three months, and she showed significant improvement. The team recommended various services for Michelle and that she be placed in a permanent therapeutic home with support services. The trial court emphasized that it gave great weight to the team's recommendations. The court noted that Michelle remained in the original foster home until August 2000, when she was placed in a pre-adoptive home. [¶ 7] At the close of the termination hearing the court said: This is not an easy case. It's not going to be an easy case to decide, particularly with the clear and convincing standard. [¶ 8] In its written decision, the court stated: The best interest factor takes precedence over the fault factors under existing law. [2] The court found that Michelle was now in a stable environment and has bonded with her foster parents who intend to adopt her. It stated that although Michelle knows her mother, because of the mother's condition it is detrimental to Michelle if she continues to have contact with her mother. [¶ 9] The court went on to find that the mother is willing but unable to protect Michelle from jeopardy because of her mental condition, and that she is unable to take responsibility for Michelle within a time reasonably calculated to meet Michelle's needs. It also found that the mother failed to make a good faith effort to rehabilitate in that she had been tardy in her therapy appointments and had not sufficiently progressed in therapy. The court concluded by stating: Considering and weighing the mother's existing mental condition against the special needs of this child, the weight of the evidence as to best interest tilts substantially towards and in favor of Michelle and her best interests to be cared for in a stable and nurturing environment which the mother cannot provide now or in the near future.