Court Opinion

ID: 9895670
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-08 15:03:35.389982+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:12:32.639551
License: Public Domain

Cite as 2023 Ark. App. 508
                   ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
                                      DIVISION II
                                      No. CV-23-309

 WHITNEY BEAVERS                               Opinion Delivered November 8, 2023

                               APPELLANT
                                               APPEAL FROM THE LOGAN
                                               COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT,
 V.                                            NORTHERN DISTRICT
                                               [NO. 42PJV-21-34]
 ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF
 HUMAN SERVICES AND MINOR      HONORABLE TERRY SULLIVAN,
 CHILDREN                      JUDGE
                     APPELLEES
                               AFFIRMED

                          RAYMOND R. ABRAMSON, Judge

       Whitney Beavers (“Whitney”) appeals the Logan County Circuit Court’s order

terminating her parental rights to her children, Minor Child 1 (MC1, born in August 2013)

and Minor Child 2 (MC2, born in July 2014). On appeal, Whitney argues that the circuit

court erred by finding that any statutory ground pled supported termination or that

termination was in the children’s best interest. We affirm.

       The present case began on October 11, 2021, when the Arkansas Department of

Human Services (DHS) filed a petition for emergency custody and dependency-neglect after

it placed a hold on MC1, MC2, and a third child (MC3, born in July 2008), whose custody
is not at issue in this appeal.1 The affidavit accompanying the petition outlined a history of

abuse allegations dating back to 2016 with each juvenile as an alleged victim and both

Whitney and Wayland Beavers (Wayland),2 the putative father of MC1 and MC2, listed as

alleged abusers. DHS had exercised an emergency hold on the children following a home

visit on October 6.

       The accompanying affidavit went on to describe that DHS had opened a protective-

services case on the family due to a true finding of inadequate supervision on August 11,

2021, when it was reported that then seven-year-old MC2 had gotten out of the home and

traveled several miles on her own to the local Dollar General on more than one occasion.

In September, a new allegation of sexual abuse was made with MC3 as the alleged victim and

Wayland as the alleged abuser. DHS put a protection plan into place prescribing no contact

between Wayland and MC3 and no unsupervised contact with Wayland and his own

children, MC1 and MC2. DHS was contacted on October 5 due to concerns that the

protection plan was not being followed and again on October 6 regarding concerns that the

children were not at school.

       1
        MC3 is the child of Whitney and a different man identified in a separate paternity
action. In a December 13, 2022 order following a permanency-planning hearing, the circuit
court placed permanent custody of MC3 with her father and dismissed both parties from
the case.
       2
        Although the circuit court terminated Wayland Beavers’s parental rights in the same
action, he did not timely appeal the determination and is not a party here.

                                              2
       Following the October 6 home visit, DHS exercised an emergency hold on all three

children. The DHS representative described environmental concerns related to the home

including messiness, a “strong, foul odor,” and a hole in the floor covered by plywood as well

as concerns that MC1 had ingested an alcoholic Jell-O shot that he purportedly obtained

from Whitney’s bedroom closet while she was sleeping. The affidavit stated that the children

were removed from Whitney’s custody “because circumstances or conditions of Whitney

Beavers present an immediate danger to the[ir] health or physical well-being” and observed

that the “[c]aretaker has not, cannot, or will not provide supervision necessary to protect

children from potentially dangerous harm.” On November 30, the court found that

probable cause existed such that the children should remain in DHS custody.

       All three children were adjudicated dependent-neglected in an order entered January

7, 2022. The court’s finding was based on the parents’ stipulation “to dependency-neglect

based on inadequate supervision and environmental issues.” “Specifically,” the circuit court

went on to state that “the allegations in the petition and accompanying affidavit are

substantiated by the proof.” The goal of the case was set as reunification with a concurrent

goal of adoption.

       The court held two review hearings: on March 2, followed by an order of March 10;

and on June 15, followed by an order of June 28. At the March hearing, the court found

that Whitney had “minimally complied with the case plan and orders of the court.

Specifically, the parents need to step up. Both parents appear to have minimal employment.”

The court ordered a hair-follicle test and psychological evaluation for Whitney. At the June

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hearing, the court found that “Whitney Beavers has mostly complied with the case plan and

orders of the Court. Specifically, she is working the case plan and cooperating with the

Department. However, she does not have any appropriate house at this time.”

       On November 1, the children’s maternal grandmother and her spouse filed a petition

to adopt the children.     Subsequently, on December 27, the maternal grandparents

alternatively sought a guardianship of the children.

       Following a continuance, the circuit court held a permanency-planning hearing on

November 2, memorialized in an order entered December 13. The court found that

       [t]he parents, Whitney Beavers and Wayland Beavers, progress in this case is
       going backwards from previous hearings. Specifically, the Court finds we are
       at 13 months into this case and are not making progress toward reunification.
       There continues to be a drug issue with Whitney Beavers and Wayland
       Beavers. Both parents have tested positive for meth, and both parents deny
       any use of meth or amphetamines. Whitney Beavers has lost her job.

       The parent, Whitney Beavers, had made inappropriate statements to the
       juveniles regarding the return of the juveniles to her custody. The Department
       has discretion to end visits if the parents are inappropriate.

The court found that the goal of the case should be changed to adoption following

termination of parental rights.

       On December 1, DHS filed a petition to terminate Whitney’s and Wayland’s rights

to MC1 and MC2. The petition pled failure to remedy, subsequent factors, and aggravated

circumstances. The termination hearing was held on January 3, 2023, and in an order

entered February 2, the circuit court terminated Whitney’s parental rights, citing all three

grounds. At the hearing, the court received testimony from Whitney, Wayland, and Hannah

                                              4
Wilkinson (Wilkinson), a family service worker at Logan County Division of Children and

Family Services assigned to the Beavers case. Wilkinson testified that Whitney was permitted

unsupervised visits at one time but that supervised visits were ordered again after MC1

reported to his counselor that Whitney had fallen asleep on the couch during the visit and

the kids were outside playing. Wilkinson also testified that Whitney had missed some recent

visits with the children and that, in December, she had not shown for three drug-related

counseling sessions and was thirty minutes late to a fourth, which was therefore marked as

incomplete. Wilkinson testified that Whitney’s March 2022 hair-follicle test came back

positive for methamphetamine and a November 29 test came back positive for

methamphetamine and amphetamine but that she had three negative tests in December.

Wilkinson admitted that Whitney had not been made aware of a DHS drug assessment that

recommended she attend counseling, so it would have been hard for Whitney to accept a

recommendation for drug counseling when she was not made aware of it.

       The court further held that termination was in the best interest of the juveniles on

the basis of its findings that the juveniles are adoptable and that they would likely be

subjected to potential harm if parental rights were not terminated. This appeal followed.

       Termination-of-parental-rights cases are reviewed de novo. E.g., L.W. v. Ark. Dep’t of

Hum. Servs., 2011 Ark. App. 44, at 8, 380 S.W.3d 489, 494. Appellate courts will not reverse

a termination order unless the findings were clearly erroneous, meaning “although there is

evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with a definite and

firm conviction that a mistake has been made.” Id. at 9, 380 S.W.3d at 495. Further,

                                              5
appellate courts give due regard to the circuit court’s ability to assess a witness’s credibility.

Id., 380 S.W.3d at 494.

       In order to terminate parental rights, a circuit court must find by clear and convincing

evidence that at least one ground for termination exists and that termination is in the

juvenile’s best interest. Id. at 9–10, 380 S.W.3d at 494–95. “Clear and convincing evidence

is that degree of proof that will produce in the fact-finder a firm conviction as to the

allegation sought to be established.” Watkins v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2021 Ark. App. 55,

at 4. Because DHS is required to prove only one ground for termination, an appellate court

need not consider whether each of the statutory grounds cited for termination was

independently appropriate. See Martin v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2017 Ark. 115, 515

S.W.3d 599; see also Calloway v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2022 Ark. App. 192, at 10, 644

S.W.3d 262, 267 (“We have repeatedly held that the Department need only prove one

ground for termination, so we must affirm if the evidence supports at least one of the

statutory grounds at issue in this case.”).

       For her first argument on appeal, Whitney argues that DHS failed to prove any of the

statutory grounds pled in the termination petition. The court granted DHS’s termination

petition on the grounds of failure to remedy, subsequent factors, and aggravated

circumstances.    In response, DHS and minor children argue that sufficient evidence

supported the aggravated-circumstances and subsequent-factors grounds. Because DHS and

the minor children do not address the failure-to-remedy ground, we will not address it on

                                                6
appeal.3 Moreover, we need only confirm one of these grounds in order to affirm that the

circuit court properly terminated Whitney’s parental rights.

       Aggravated circumstances exist when a determination has been made by a court that

there is little likelihood that additional services to the family will result in successful

reunification. Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-341(b)(3)(B)(ix)(a)(3) (Supp. 2023); see also Calloway,

2022 Ark. App. 192, at 10, 644 S.W.3d at 267. This court has held that a parent’s failure

to demonstrate “sufficient parenting skills to regain custody of the children or to be trusted

with a trial placement or unsupervised visitation” supports an aggravated-circumstances

finding. Jones v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2019 Ark. App. 299, at 8, 578 S.W.3d 312, 318.

Continued illegal drug use also supports the termination ground of aggravated

circumstances. See, e.g., Jackson v. Ark, Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2020 Ark. App. 95, at 9, 595

S.W.3d 418, 423 (where parent relapsed and illegal drugs were found in her home during

the case, there was “no clear error in the circuit court’s finding that there was little likelihood

that services . . . would result in a successful reunification”). A finding of aggravated

circumstances does not require DHS to prove that meaningful services were provided, nor is

there any time-based requirement. Lloyd v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2022 Ark. App. 461, at

10, 655 S.W.3d 534, 541.

       3
        Although addressed in the written order, it also appears that the court addressed
only the aggravated-circumstances and subsequent-factors grounds in its comments from the
bench.

                                                7
       In support of her argument that the aggravated-circumstances ground was not proved

by clear and convincing evidence, Whitney argues that the record was not sufficient to

support the finding because she did make some progress and had completed all the services

requested by DHS. However, this alone is not determinative.

       Whitney relies on the Yarborough v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 96 Ark.

App. 247, 254, 240 S.W.3d 626, 631 (2006) for the proposition that “there must be more

than a mere prediction or expectation on the part of the trial court that reunification services

will not result in successful reunification.” In Yarborough, however, this court affirmed a

termination of parental rights due to sufficient evidence that reunification services were

unlikely to succeed when there was a lengthy history of DHS involvement with the family,

who was not reconciled despite the offering of many services. Id.

       In response, DHS and the minor children argue that, despite many services offered

to Whitney, including drug screens, counseling, parenting classes, and a psychological

evaluation, “Whitney failed multiple drug screens; she failed to maintain employment; she

was inconsistent with counseling; she consistently denied her drug addiction; and she lost

the privilege of unsupervised visitation due to her falling asleep at visits.” DHS and the

minor children also cite caselaw to support their position that proof of services is not an

element of the aggravated-circumstances ground and highlight that the “record only

establishes that the Department failed to discuss the recommendations of Whitney’s second

drug and alcohol assessment with Whitney—not that the Department failed to refer her for

treatment” at all.

                                               8
       Though she acknowledges that the provision of services by DHS is not a requirement

for the aggravated-circumstances grounds, Whitney argues that DHS failed to meet its

burden of proof that there was little likelihood that additional services would result in

reunification, stating, “It was speculative that the appropriate family services would not result

in reunification as those services had not been offered and there was nothing upon which to

base whether she would or could successfully benefit from them.” Where the evidence

demonstrated that Whitney was not taking advantage of the counseling available to her,

however, and further denied a drug problem at all, this argument is not persuasive.

       Because Whitney failed to acknowledge her substance-abuse problem at all, DHS and

the minor children argue that additional services would not likely have been beneficial and

that termination was appropriate. Further, they argue that Whitney has waived an argument

as to services that were not received since she never requested them, she denied needing

services for drug treatment, and denied needing services to assist her to find a job. In Peterson,

this court held that an appellant who “failed to request any of the specific services that he

now claims were necessary to remedy the cause of removal . . . waived any services argument

on appeal.” Long v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2023 Ark. App. 372, at 19–20, ___ S.W.3d

___, ___.

       With regard to Whitney’s drug use, the circuit court specifically found the following

at the conclusion of the hearing:

       Mom is adamant that she does not use meth, but as late as November, she was
       testing positive for methamphetamine and there was a hair follicle test, which

                                                9
       I - - where she was positive. So I cannot find her testimony credible regarding
       her drug use or alleged lack of drug use.

       The court went on to state, “Neither parent ha[s] consistent or . . . verifiable

employment. There have been a number of visits missed by the parents . . . with the kids.

And I find that despite the offer of appropriate family services, the parents have manifested

an . . . incapacity or indifference to rehabilitate their circumstances.”

       In addition to drug use and unstable employment, this court has held that the

inability to demonstrate sufficient parenting skills to regain custody of the children or to be

trusted with a trial placement or unsupervised visitation can support an aggravated-

circumstances finding. See, e.g., Jones, 2019 Ark. App. 299, at 8, 578 S.W.3d at 318. We

have also held repeatedly that the circuit court is in the best position to determine the

credibility of the witnesses and make factual determinations. See, e.g., L.W., 2011 Ark. App.

44, at 8, 380 S.W.3d at 494. The court’s finding regarding Whitneys’ continued drug use

was a factual determination that we decline to disturb on appeal. Morton v. Ark. Dep’t of

Hum. Servs., 2015 Ark. App. 388, at 8, 465 S.W.3d 871, 876. In light of the circuit court’s

factual findings in support, we cannot say that the court’s termination on the basis of

aggravated circumstances was clearly erroneous. Because we hold that the circuit court

properly terminated parental rights on the ground of aggravated circumstances, we need not

address the remaining grounds. Helm v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2016 Ark. App. 418, 501

S.W.3d 398.

                                               10
       For her final point on appeal, Whitney argues that the evidence was insufficient to

prove that termination was in the juveniles’ best interest. In considering the best-interest

finding, the circuit court must consider the likelihood that the juvenile will be adopted and

the potential harm that could be caused to the juvenile if returned to the parent. Kloss v.

Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2019 Ark. App. 389, at 7, 585 S.W.3d 725, 729–30. However,

unlike statutory termination grounds, potential harm and adoptability are only factors for

the circuit court to consider rather than essential elements of proof, and each factor need

not be established by clear and convincing evidence. L.W., 2011 Ark. App. 44, at 11, 380

S.W.3d at 496.

       Whitney does not challenge the adoptability factor with regard to either child but

argues instead that adoptability alone should not be the basis for a termination of parental

rights. Because she does not challenge adoptability, however, this court is not required to

address this issue on appeal. See, e.g., Easter v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2019 Ark. App. 441,

at 8, 587 S.W.3d 604, 608.

       We move, then, to the second prong in the best-interest determination: potential

harm. L.W., 2011 Ark. App. 44, at 11, 380 S.W.3d at 496. In predicting potential harm, a

circuit court is not required to identify actual harm. See Gonzalez v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs.,

2018 Ark. App. 425, at 12, 555 S.W.3d 915, 921. Whitney argues that the court’s “potential-

harm conclusion was contrary to the great weight of evidence, and [that] it was error to deny

Whitney’s request for more time.” Whitney cites Rhine v. Arkansas Department of Human

Services, 2011 Ark. App. 649, at 10, 386 S.W.3d 577, 583, for the assertion that “flawless

                                               11
compliance” is not required; and Mason v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 2022 Ark.

App. 124, at 17–18, 642 S.W.3d 260, 270, for the assertion that “[a]s long as there is a reason

to believe that a positive, nurturing parent-child relationship exists, the law favors

preservation, not severance, of natural familial bonds.” However, we have consistently held

that continued drug use demonstrates potential harm sufficient to support a best-interest

finding in a termination-of-parental-rights case. Lloyd, 2022 Ark. App. 461, at 15, 655

S.W.3d at 544 (“Additionally, a parent’s continued illegal drug use and instability are

sufficient to demonstrate a risk of potential harm to the children.”).

       Under these facts, including the continuous denial of a drug addiction despite

positive drug tests, it was not clearly erroneous for the court to conclude that Whitney’s past

behavior and relapse from unsupervised to supervised visitation demonstrated potential

future harm to the children. See Cox v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 2015 Ark. App. 202, at 10,

462 S.W.3d 670, 676 (“This court has held that past behavior is correctly viewed as a

predictor of potential harm.”). See also Jones, 2019 Ark. App. 299, at 8, 578 S.W.3d at 318.

We cannot say that the circuit court’s determination was clearly erroneous; therefore, we

must affirm.

       Affirmed.

       KLAPPENBACH and THYER, JJ., agree.

       Tabitha McNulty, Arkansas Commission for Parent Counsel, for appellant.

       Ellen K. Howard, Ark. Dep’t of Human Services, Office of Chief Counsel, for appellee.

       Dana McClain, attorney ad litem for minor children.

                                              12