Court Opinion

ID: 9755106
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:25:18.402613+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:02.742342
License: Public Domain

ON MOTIONS FOR REHEARING AND/OR TRANSFER TO THE SUPREME COURT
PER CURIAM.
Mother moves us to rehear or transfer this case in light of In re C.W., 211 S.W.3d 93 (Mo. banc 2007), wherein the juvenile court terminated a mother’s parental rights based almost exclusively on a 29-month-old mental health evaluation. Id. at 99. The mother received mental health treatment and medication after her evaluation, and the juvenile court specifically found she complied with her mental health counseling requirements between the evaluation and trial. Id. Since the mother so fully complied, and her mental health was the underlying basis for termination, the juvenile court should have gotten an updated mental evaluation. Id.
This case is different. Here, the juvenile court’s mental illness finding was just one of numerous reasons for its decision. Here, Mother steadfastly refused mental health treatment that everyone wanted her to get. Here, Mother repeatedly refused to let the Division update her mental evaluations or keep appointments the Division made to do so. Mother’s intransigence did *171not preclude the juvenile court from reaching its considered judgment, particularly when the record established that Mother needed therapy and medication to improve, she refused to follow through with those, and she failed to improve. Mother’s motions are denied.