Court Opinion

ID: 9671014
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:29:31.837+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:07.699179
License: Public Domain

Caporale, J.,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. There is no question but that Angelita Roman has been demonstrated to have *932been a confused and rebellious child-mother whose living arrangements jeopardized the welfare of her own child. There is also no question, on the other hand, that Ms. Roman has matured a great deal and shows signs of being capable of maturing even more and of becoming an adult able to properly rear her daughter.
She has terminated her relationship with the abusive boyfriend, she has obtained and retained gainful employment, she has begun to have frequent visits with her daughter, and she has an emotional tie with the child. It seems to me that under such circumstances it cannot be said that it has been “clearly and convincingly” shown that Ms. Roman has forfeited her right to raise and nurture her daughter. In re Interest of McKinzie, ante p. 399, 323 N.W.2d 78 (1982); Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 102 S. Ct. 1388, 71 L. Ed. 2d 599 (1982). I recognize that generally it is in the best interests of a child to make a final determination with respect to terminating parental rights as soon as possible. In re Interest of Hastings, 211 Neb. 209, 318 N.W.2d 80 (1982); In re Interest of Levey, 211 Neb. 66, 317 N.W.2d 760 (1982). Yet we must not rush to do so until we are satisfied that reasonable efforts have failed to produce a capable parent. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-209(6) (Reissue 1978).
The evidence in this case establishes that although Ms. Roman is not yet a fully capable parent, she is making progress in becoming one. We ought not terminate the parental relationship at this time. There is, after all, nothing either in this record or in human experience which teaches that all children removed from an imperfect but reasonably capable and loving parent fare better under the nurturing of the state, or are ultimately adopted by stable, loving parents. I would affirm the holding of the District Court remanding the cause to the county court to *933continue the present arrangement for further evaluation of Ms. Roman’s progress.
Krivosha, C.J., and White, J., join in this dissent.