In the Interest of M. A.
In the Interest of M. A.
Opinion of the Court
The juvenile court terminated the mother’s parental rights to her three children, M. A., D. G., and A. E.
In reviewing a juvenile court’s order terminating parental rights, this Court views the evidence in a light most favorable to the juvenile court’s ruling to determine whether clear and convincing evidence establishes that the natural parent’s rights to custody should be terminated.
Evidently, the children were returned to their mother. Shortly before the mother gave birth to A. E. in April 2004, DFCS received a report that the mother had left her two older children unattended while the mother was using drugs. After A. E. was born, both the mother and A. E. tested positive for methamphetamine. In June 2004, the juvenile court entered an order, finding the children to be deprived and awarding custody to DFCS. The juvenile court also ordered DFCS to pursue a plan to reunify the children with their parents.
DFCS drafted a case plan for the mother that was approved by the juvenile court. The plan required, inter alia, that the mother: obtain a source of income; maintain stable housing; and successfully complete drug and alcohol treatment. The mother signed the plan on May 25, 2004, acknowledging that she understood the plan, would comply with it, and that she knew her parental rights might be terminated if she failed to cooperate.
Approximately eight months later, the juvenile court conducted a review of the mother’s compliance and found that the mother had not substantially complied with the reunification plan, had tested
The mother initially complied with the plan, and in February 2005 a citizen review panel recommended that DFCS continue reunification efforts. However, the mother’s efforts apparently waned. In an order dated April 22, 2005, the juvenile court found that the mother had not substantially complied with the plan, including testing positive for illegal drug use, and noted that she had been arrested earlier that year for possessing marijuana. However, as the mother had just started a drug treatment program, the court ordered that reunification efforts continue.
The court appointed special advocate (CASA) met with the mother on June 1, 2005, at which time the mother said she had not been attending drug treatment due to transportation problems. But according to the DFCS caseworker, DFCS provided transportation for the mother. The mother also told the CASA that she had been attending a different drug treatment program. The CASA called that treatment facility, which had no record of the mother attending. When the CASA issued a report in August 2005, she noted the mother’s continued failure to attend drug treatment and that the mother was currently incarcerated on drug charges. At that point, the CASA suggested that reunification efforts were no longer appropriate. A citizen review panel reached the same conclusion and recommended that DFCS seek termination of the mother’s parental rights so that the children could be placed for adoption. The juvenile court adopted the panel’s recommendation by order dated August 12,2005.
On November 1,2005, DFCS filed a petition seeking to terminate the mother’s parental rights, citing, inter alia, the mother’s “chronic unrehabilitated substance abuse.” A hearing was conducted on February 24, 2006. At the hearing, a DFCS case manager testified that she offered to pursue inpatient drug rehabilitation for the mother, but that the mother refused, saying that she preferred outpatient treatment. However, the mother never completed any outpatient program and continued to test positive for the presence of drugs. The mother testified, conceding that she had only attended outpatient treatment once in 2005 “and a few times in 2004.” According to the mother, she felt inpatient treatment was preferable to outpatient treatment, and she denied having told the DFCS caseworker otherwise.
Jennifer Barnett, a family counselor who counseled the children for approximately six months, also testified. According to Barnett, all three children had been negatively affected by the mother’s drug and alcohol use: M. A., the oldest, has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol
Before a juvenile court may terminate parental rights, the court must first find clear and convincing evidence of parental misconduct or inability.
It is well settled that DFCS has no legal obligation to provide the assistance necessary for a parent to complete reunification goals.
Judgment affirmed.
The juvenile court also terminated the rights of the children’s fathers, none of whom have appealed this ruling.
See In the Interest of B. D., 281 Ga. App. 725 (637 SE2d 123) (2006).
See In the Interest of K. M., 284 Ga. App. 442, 444 (644 SE2d 193) (2007).
(Punctuation omitted.) Id.
See In the Interest of A. H., 278 Ga. App. 192, 195 (1) (628 SE2d 626) (2006); In the Interest of C. K, 242 Ga. App. 269, 271 (529 SE2d 395) (2000); In the Interest of S. J. C., 234 Ga. App. 491, 494-495 (2) (507 SE2d 226) (1998).
See In the Interest of K. A. B., 285 Ga. App. 537 (646 SE2d 736) (2007) (in termination case, appellate court does not “weigh the evidence or resolve credibility issues”).
See In the Interest of A. H., supra at 195-196 (2); In the Interest of T.J., 281 Ga. App. 673, 675 (1) (637 SE2d 75) (2006).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In the Interest of M. A., children
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- Published