Court Opinion

ID: 9377708
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-08 16:05:33.781408+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:15.758236
License: Public Domain

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA

                                   No. 22-2010
                               Filed March 8, 2023

IN THE INTEREST OF C.B. and H.B.,
Minor Children,

B.J., Mother,
       Appellant.
________________________________________________________________

       Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Floyd County, Karen Kaufman Salic,

District Associate Judge.

       A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. AFFIRMED.

       Danielle M. Ellingson of Eggert, Erb, & Ellingson, PLC, Charles City, for

appellant mother.

       Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Mary A. Triick, Assistant Attorney

General, for appellee State.

       Mark A. Milder of Mark Milder Law Firm, Denver, attorney and guardian ad

litem for minor children.

       Considered by Bower, C.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ.
                                        2

BOWER, Chief Judge.

      A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to H.B., born in

December 2018, and C.B., born in December 2019.1 We affirm.

      The children were removed from the parents’ care due to concerns about

parental drug use (methamphetamine) and mental-health issues (mother was

acting erractically, exhibiting paranoia, expressing the belief that her mother was

not in fact her mother, and reporting people were breaking into her home via secret

passages and could not be seen on surveillance cameras).2           A child-abuse

assessment was conducted and founded for denial of critical care, dangerous

substances.

      The children were adjudicated children in need of assistance (CINA) on

August 19, 2021.      The court made findings the mother had been using

methamphetamine daily, sometimes while supervising the children, and had

inadequately addressed mental-health needs that required removal of the children

from parental care. The children were placed with maternal grandparents. The

mother’s visits with the children were to be supervised, and she was ordered to

participate in family-centered services, drug testing, and recommended mental-

health treatment.   The September 16 dispositional order noted out-of-home

placement was still appropriate “because unresolved substance abuse, mental

1 The father consented to the termination of his parental rights and does not
appeal.
2 The mother has a third, older child with another man. That child was also

removed from the mother’s care at the same time and placed in her father’s care.
The older child is not involved in these proceedings.
                                           3

health and criminal issues, Father’s placement at [a residential correctional facility]

and Mother’s recent obtaining sobriety.”

       The mother made some temporary progress, but in a January 27, 2022

review order the court noted “she has stopped participating in substance abuse

treatment and she hasn’t drug tested since September.” The court continued:

       Inexplicably [the parents] have been having semi-supervised
       visitation, despite the fact they aren’t doing any work toward
       addressing the protective concerns that existed at the beginning of
       the case. This is absolutely unacceptable. Additionally, Mother
       unexpectedly did not call in for the hearing, leaving one to wonder
       what is actually happening with her.

       A February 25 permanency hearing resulted in the court granting the

parents an additional six months to achieve reunification in spite of “very little

progress” being made.

       The mother was subsequently subject to a substance-abuse and mental-

health commitment. The juvenile court entered a permanency review order on

May 5 in which it noted the mother was not participating in mental-health treatment

other than medication management and had yet to obtain a psychological

evaluation. The mother was expressing ideas that “raised some concerns about

her mental health status.”      The court further noted that while the mother’s

substance-abuse committal was closed and she had a negative pre-employment

drug screen, she then missed seven random, monitored drug tests. The mother

was ordered to obtain a psychological evaluation and follow all recommended

mental-health treatment.

       On August 11, a permanency review hearing was held. In its review order,

the court outlined the mother’s claimed progress in employment, drug and mental-
                                          4

health treatment, and visitation and made findings those claims were not credible.

The court concluded: “We are well past the statutory time to establish permanency

for these young children. The termination petition [filed August 8] will need to be

heard and a permanent decision made for the future of these children.”

      A September 26 notation by the family support specialist is indicative of the

concerns about the mother’s mental health:

      Worker met with [the mother] during this time. She was able to state
      that she had got a new phone as her other one was compromised.
      She stated that she continues to work with crisis intervention and is
      talking to an individual for harassment and stalking. When asked
      about this she stated that she has talked to the local law enforcement
      as there is a drone that follows her every day. This worker asked
      about this as this is the first time hearing about this, she stated that
      it has been going on for roughly [five] years. She stated that she had
      been in contact with the sheriff[’s] office and at first, she thought it
      was them watching her, this worker asked her why she thought that.
      She replied that she did not know. She ex[p]lai[n]ed this is part of
      the reason she keeps her self-protection gun on her, this worker
      asked [w]hat that is and she explained. She even asked this worker
      if she wanted to shoot it, this worker declined. [The mother] shared
      that she had got pulled over this last week for speeding, during this
      time the officer saw the gun and questioned it. She stated that he
      had asked her to stop touching it as she was scaring him, at one
      point . . . he took it and put it on the roof of the car until he was done
      talking to her.

      The social worker case manager was also present during this interaction

with the mother and included it in her October 4 permanency report. In addition,

the report noted that while waiting for the mother to arrive at the scheduled

meeting, the case manager spoke with maternal grandparents who provided

information contrary to the mother’s reports of her employment and current

housing situation. The report also noted the mother stated she was attending

therapy every week but she would not provide any further information.
                                        5

       At the beginning of the November 21, 2022 termination proceeding, the

mother asked for a different attorney. After inquiring into the reasons for the

request, the court denied the substitution of counsel, which would require an

additional continuance.3 The court ruled any further continuance was not in the

children’s best interests and informed the mother she could continue with current

counsel or represent herself. The mother chose to have counsel represent her.

The hearing proceeded with the admission of exhibits and the testimony of the

mother and the case manager. The case manager testified the mother had asked

that the children be genetically tested because the mother had stated “she believes

that there has been too many changes, other than normal aging changes, in the

kids than what normally would occur with age so she doesn’t believe that they are

her children.”    She confirmed the mother had been under a mental-health

committal. She also testified the mother had not responded to requests for drug

screens and was not working. The case manager testified she did not believe the

children could be safely returned to the mother.

       The children’s guardian ad litem agreed grounds for termination of parental

rights existed.

       The court found, “The children cannot safely return to the custody of a

parent today. . . . Mother is clearly struggling with delusions, hallucination and

3 The court noted the appointment of new counsel in September 2022 and the
previous continuances of the scheduled termination trial. The court ruled,
      I’m not going to continue this. I’ve continued it three times already.
      . . . I cannot in good conscience continue this again because next
      time it’s going to happen, you’re going to come in and fire that
      attorney and we’re never going to have this hearing. We’re already
      on your second attorney.
                                          6

thinking errors, and particularly thinking that the children have been ‘switched[,]’

they would be in grave danger if left alone with her.” The court noted the children

were young and “have no ability to self-protect or call for help.” It also found the

children were “placed with relatives who are an adoptive option and have a

connection with extended family members of both parents.” The mother’s parental

rights were terminated pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(e), (h), and (l)

(2022). She appeals.

       The mother objects to the denial of her motions for substitute counsel and

to continue and takes issue with the juvenile court’s findings and conclusions. The

mother contends the children could have been returned to her. She also asserts

her bond with the children should preclude termination.

       “[O]ur review of a district court’s denial of a motion for continuance is for an

abuse of discretion.” In re M.D., 921 N.W.2d 229, 232 (Iowa 2018). “A court

abuses its discretion when ‘the decision is grounded on reasons that are clearly

untenable or unreasonable,’ such as ‘when it is based on an erroneous application

of the law.’” Id. (citation omitted).

       Here, the juvenile court noted the case had already been continued and the

mother’s motions were very late—being made more than thirty-minutes after the

hearing starting time. It found mother’s trial counsel had been providing zealous

representation and allowed the mother the option to proceed self-represented, with

counsel as stand-by, or proceed with counsel. We do not find any abuse of

discretion in denying the mother’s motions. See id. at 233 (noting “[c]ontinuances

may be detrimental to the best interests of children” when the statutory time frame

had been met).
                                         7

      We review terminations de novo, giving weight to the juvenile court’s

findings and conclusions. In re C.B., 611 N.W.2d 489, 492 (Iowa 2000). “The

primary interest in termination proceedings is the best interests of the child.” Id.

When the juvenile court terminates parental rights on more than one statutory

ground, we may affirm the order on any ground we find supported by the record.

In re D.W., 791 N.W.2d 703, 707 (Iowa 2010).

      The mother challenges termination under section 232.116(1)(h),4 claiming

the children could be safely returned to her at the time of the termination

proceeding because she had not had a positive drug test, had recently reengaged

in mental-health treatment, and was going to visits. The record—which we have

truncated above—belies any indication the children could be safely returned to the

mother’s care at the time of the hearing. The mother’s unresolved mental-health

issues pose risks to the children’s physical and emotional safety. Thus, we find

clear and convincing evidence to terminate the mother’s parental rights under

section 232.116(1)(h).

4 The juvenile court may terminate parental rights under this paragraph if it finds
all of the following:
                 (1) The child is three years of age or younger.
                 (2) The child has been adjudicated a child in need of
         assistance pursuant to section 232.96.
                 (3) The child has been removed from the physical custody of
         the child’s parents for at least six months of the last twelve months,
         or for the last six consecutive months and any trial period at home
         has been less than thirty days.
                 (4) There is clear and convincing evidence that the child
         cannot be returned to the custody of the child’s parents as provided
         in section 232.102 at the present time.
“[A]t the present time” means at the time of the termination hearing. See D.W.,
791 N.W.2d at 707.
                                        8

       The mother was granted far more than the statutorily alotted time to address

her mental-health and substance-abuse issues. See C.B., 611 N.W.2d at 495

(“Once the limitation period lapses, termination proceedings must be viewed with

a sense of urgency.”). The children are doing well and are integrated with the

family in a pre-adoptive setting where their physical and emotional needs are met.

See Iowa Code § 232.116(2)(b). Even acknowledging a bond exists between

mother and children, the mother has failed to present “clear and convincing

evidence that the termination would be detrimental to the child at the time due to

the closeness of the parent-child relationship.” See In re A.S., 906 N.W.2d 467,

476 (Iowa 2018) (holding “the parent resisting termination bears the burden to

establish an exception to termination”). We affirm the termination of the mother’s

parental rights.

       AFFIRMED.