In re Angelina M.
In re Angelina M.
Opinion
The self-represented respondent mother appeals from the judgment of the trial court terminating her parental rights as to Angelina M., her minor child. 1 She contends that the court improperly concluded that (1) she failed to achieve the requisite degree of personal rehabilitation required by General Statutes § 17a-112 and (2) termination of her parental rights was in the best interest of the child. 2 We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
To prevail on a nonconsensual termination of parental rights, the petitioner, the Commissioner of Children
and Families, must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, one of the seven statutory grounds for termination. See General Statutes § 17a-112 (j) (3). In the present case, the petitioner principally alleged, and the court ultimately concluded, that the respondent failed to achieve a sufficient degree of personal rehabilitation pursuant to § 17a-112 (j) (3) (B).
3
On appeal, that ultimate conclusion presents a question of evidentiary sufficiency. See
In re Shane M.
,
We further conclude that the court's finding that termination of the respondent's parental rights was in the best interest of the child is not clearly erroneous. See
In re Brayden E.-H.
,
and that the respondent cannot provide "a permanent, nurturing, emotionally and physically supportive and stable home" to Angelina. Those findings are substantiated by evidence in the record before us, including the testimony of the respondent's individual therapist, Trinette Conover, the respondent's "parenting education/supervised visitation provider," Sarah Laisi Lavoie, and Kelly Rogers, an expert in clinical and forensic psychology. Because there is ample supporting evidence in the record, and this court is not left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made; see
In re Elijah G.-R.
,
The judgment is affirmed.
The court also terminated the parental rights of Angelina's father, whom we refer to by that designation. As the court noted in its memorandum of decision, the father was defaulted due to his failure to appear at trial. Because he has not appealed from the judgment of the trial court, we refer in this opinion to the respondent mother as the respondent.
We also note that pursuant to Practice Book § 67-13, the attorney for the minor child filed a statement adopting the brief of the petitioner in this appeal.
The respondent also alleges that the court misapplied Connecticut law, claiming that "[i]n making its decision terminating her rights [the] court did not properly follow the applicable provisions of General Statutes §§ 17a-112 (j) (3) (B)(i) and 17a-112 (j) (3) (E)." That claim is belied by the record and, thus, is without merit.
We note that the petitioner also alleged and proved the statutory ground set forth in § 17a-112 (j) (3) (E), which is implicated when a respondent who fails to achieve rehabilitation previously had her "parental rights in another child ... terminated pursuant to a petition filed by the Commissioner of Children and Families ...."
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.