Opinion ID: 1314674
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: results of second improvement period

Text: A hearing marking the conclusion of the second improvement period was scheduled for June 17, 1988. Due to the nonappearance of the appellant, the hearing was continued to July 26, 1988. [9] At the July 26, 1988 hearing, Ms. Laudermilt again testified regarding the appellant's lack of cooperation and apparent inability to control her emotional outbursts. Specifically, Ms. Laudermilt testified that the appellant had been provided with counselling during home visitation regarding necessary care for Carlita. Ms. Laudermilt stated that the home visits continued until approximately December 1987, when things became more anxious ... for the appellant. Ms. Laudermilt described more screaming and hollering during home visits. [The appellant] was with Bobby [Robert B.] in the evenings and would fight and physically assault him. Ms. Laudermilt also explained that the appellant declined to participate in parenting classes offered through Dr. Hewitt, Dr. Maceiko, or Northern Panhandle Behavioral Health Center. Ms. Laudermilt testified that in approximately March 1988, she accompanied the appellant to a mothers' group organized for children and family services, but that the appellant left during the session and refused to return for future sessions. Ms. Laudermilt described typical home visits as consisting of very little physical or verbal contact between the child and the parents. Most contact which was accomplished had been initiated by the D.H.S. workers rather than the parents. With regard to cooperation with suggestions of the D.H.S., Ms. Laudermilt testified that she had seen a decline in improvement on [the appellant's] part for the fact that there is no cooperation there. Ms. Laudermilt provided examples of several attempts at visitation where the parents had overslept or had been up late watching television the night before and failed to appear for the scheduled visits. Ms. Laudermilt explained that the parents had sufficient prior notice of scheduled visits and still failed to appear. Ms. Laudermilt testified that the appellant had only visited with her children twice from January 1988 through July 1988. With regard to visitation, Ms. Laudermilt explained: Whenever we go at 9:00 o'clock [sic] 9:30, they would not be out of bed. When it was in the afternoon, say like 1:00 o'clock [sic], they would be there, and that usually was the times where Tina would become irrational and start screaming and hollering at Bobby or the kids or myself or the other worker or all of us, and the children would be taken from the home at that point, and Bobby would supervise or walk with us to the car to take the kids to the car. When asked what precipitated the appellant's outbursts, Ms. Laudermilt explained that it could be small or inconsequential things (e.g. it could be the fact that Carlita would not eat the rest of her cereal, that she would start becoming angry, and as things continued to go on, she would become more angry.) Due to lack of time to present remaining witnesses during the July 26, 1988, hearing, the matter was continued to August 1, 1988. During the August 1, 1988, hearing, Bea Lahita testified that she began working with the appellant and Robert B. in January 1985 as a homemaker attempting to teach them cooking and budgeting skills. Ms. Lahita reported that she had experienced problems with the appellant or Robert B. calling her late at night once or twice a week with complaints of fighting with one another. Ms. Lahita also testified that she had attempted to schedule counselling for the appellant and Robert B., but that they had refused to participate. Ms. Lahita further stated that the appellant had refused to take medication which had been prescribed to control her anger. [10] Jamie Wharton, an outreach worker at the Florence Crittenton Home, also testified at the August 1, 1988, hearing regarding her involvement with the parties. The D.H.S. referred the parties to the Florence Crittenton Home for assistance in parenting skills, teaching basic skills such as interaction, diapering, feeding, and temperature taking. Ms. Wharton testified that the workers attempted home visits two to three times per month for such instruction. Although the parties cooperated with the workers immediately after Daniel's birth to receive assistance with his medical problems prior to his removal from the home, cooperation decreased significantly thereafter. From January 1985 through August 1988, the workers continued to attempt visitation with the parties in order to provide homemaker services, but frequently found no one at home. At the conclusion of the August 1, 1988, hearing, the lower court indicated that it would render a decision after reading the files and the psychological evaluations. The court also ordered counsel for each party to submit a written argument stating their respective positions as to disposition of the matter. The court further stated that the matter would be taken under advisement pending the filing of written arguments. On January 30, 1989, the lower court entered an order terminating the appellant's parental rights to Carlita. The court found that the appellant was guilty of abuse and neglect of Carlita and that there was no reasonable likelihood that the conditions of abuse and neglect could be substantially corrected in the near future. [11] The court held that the appellant had failed to comply with the family case plan, had failed to appropriately participate in visitation, suffered from erratic behavior and outbursts of anger, and had a history of causing physical abuse to her infant children. Due to a delay in producing transcripts, the appeal period was extended for an additional four months by order dated September 25, 1989, and the final order from which the appellant now appeals was re-entered on January 24, 1990. The petition for appeal was filed on October 3, 1990, over eight months after the re-entry of the termination order. This Court accepted the appeal on December 5, 1990, and expedited oral argument to February 5, 1991.