Department of Social & Health Services v. Vega
Department of Social & Health Services v. Vega
Opinion of the Court
¶1 Sylvia Vega and Joshua Smith appeal the trial court orders terminating their parental rights to their son I.J.S. Relying on In re Custody of Smith,
¶2 I.J.S. was born on January 16, 2002. Sylvia Vega is his mother and Joshua Smith is his father. Before I.J.S. was born, Vega and Smith lived together at numerous locations and had an unstable lifestyle. When Vega first met Smith he was in a methadone program, but throughout their approximately four-year relationship Vega and Smith used heroin on a daily basis. They also used other drugs, including cocaine, ecstasy, acid, marijuana, and prescription medications. Throughout their relationship, Vega depended on Smith for emotional and financial support.
¶3 Two days before I.J.S. was born, Smith was arrested for three counts of bank robbery and embezzlement. Smith
f 4 On March 2, 2002, Vega called a crisis help line. Vega said I. J.S.’s father was in prison and she was being evicted. Vega was afraid she would harm herself and wanted someone to come get I.J.S. to take care of him. At the request of Child Protective Services (CPS), police officers went to Vega’s apartment to take I.J.S. into protective custody. According to the officers, “the mother’s home was dirty, there was moldy food in the home and narcotic parephenalia [sic] in the bedroom and the bathroom.”
¶5 On March 5, Vega signed a three month voluntary placement agreement for I.J.S. and a services contract. In the services contract, Vega agreed to obtain mental health counseling at the Community Psychiatric Clinic (CPC), submit to urinalysis (UA), and visit I.J.S. for a minimum of one hour a week. In March and April, Vega visited I.J.S. three times.
¶6 On March 15, 2002, Vega went to CPC for an evaluation. Vega was diagnosed by CPC with major depressive disorder and strong suicide ideation. CPC prescribed an antidepressant, Effexor®. Although the Effexor® helped her, Vega started using drugs again.
¶7 On June 5, Vega signed another three-month voluntary placement agreement for I.J.S. and a services contract with the same requirements (to obtain mental health counseling, submit to urinalyses, and visitation with I.J.S.). On June 7 and 10 Vega tested positive for heroin, cocaine, codeine, and morphine. Vega told the CPS caseworker she was using heroin daily and was also using cocaine and prescription drugs. Vega also told the caseworker she used heroin and ecstasy with Smith prior to her pregnancy and was using heroin, cocaine, marijuana, pills, and alcohol within one month of I.J.S.’s birth.
¶9 On July 2, the State filed a petition for the dependency of I.J.S. The dependency dispositional order for Vega required her to obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation and participate in treatment recommendations, submit to random UAs, obtain mental health services, and attend parenting classes. The order also provided for supervised visitation with I.J.S. The dispositional order for Smith required him to establish paternity after release from prison, provide the caseworker with a release for all services and evaluations received while incarcerated, and contact the case worker every six months. The order stated that visitation and other services would be assessed after Smith established paternity and was released from prison. In the order, Smith expressly reserved the right to set a hearing to address visitation when he was in minimum custody or work release.
¶10 On August 5, TASC evaluated Vega and diagnosed her as heroin, alcohol, and cocaine dependent. Vega entered detox in early September, but left after two days and continued using drugs.
¶11 In early September 2002, Vega and Smith each agreed to entry of orders of dependency. In late September, Vega entered detox again but was discharged in November for failure to participate in the program.
¶12 In December 2002 Vega successfully completed detox and on December 23 she moved into Genesis House, a long-term inpatient residential treatment facility.
¶13 The Genesis House program requires nine months of inpatient treatment followed by outpatient treatment. According to Genesis House staff, Vega needed clinically managed, high intensity care. While at Genesis House, Vega attended parenting classes and had consistent visita
¶14 Vega’s participation in the Genesis House program was inconsistent. She completed phase one and two in early September 2003, but was terminated before completing the program. Genesis House terminated Vega for unsatisfactory participation and not complying with the rules and requirements of the program. The Genesis House discharge report described Vega’s behavioral changes as superficial and her prognosis for long-term recovery as poor.
¶15 On April 3, 2003, the State filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of Vega and Smith. The petition described the parents’ drug history and the circumstances related to I.J.S.’s dependency. Vega was only in the beginning stages of drug treatment and had not obtained mental health services, and Smith was in prison and had not established paternity. The State alleged there was little likelihood either parent could remedy their parental deficiencies in the child’s near future.
¶16 After Smith’s release in August 2003, he was assessed for services and told to establish paternity, obtain a drug and alcohol evaluation and participate in recommended treatment, submit to random UAs, and attend parenting classes. Smith temporarily moved in with his ex-wife and their nine-year-old daughter and obtained a job washing windows in high-rise buildings. Smith established paternity of I.J.S. after the court entered an order requiring him to do so on September 30. Smith also enrolled in parenting classes. Smith said he obtained a drug and alcohol evaluation, but did not provide a copy to the State. Smith’s first UA was positive for alcohol but the subsequent 15 or 16 UAs were negative.
¶17 Against the advice of the Genesis House counselors, Vega resumed her relationship with Smith and relied on him for emotional and financial support.
¶18 When Vega was terminated from Genesis House, the State facilitated her move to Oxford House, a clean and
¶19 The six-day termination trial began at the end of October 2003. At the conclusion of the trial, the court terminated Vega’s and Smith’s parental rights to I.J.S. On January 10, 2003, the court entered findings of fact, conclusions of law, and orders of termination as to Vega and Smith. Vega and Smith appeal the trial court orders terminating their parental rights to I.J.S.
Constitutional Challenge to Termination Statutes
¶20 The parents contend Washington’s termination statutes, RCW 13.34.180 and .190, are unconstitutional and violate substantive due process because the State is not required to prove that the relationship with the parents harms the child or that a dependency guardianship is not a viable alternative. The parents’ contentions are not supported by the statutory scheme or the law.
¶21 A statute is presumed constitutional.
¶22 The Washington and United States Constitutions guarantee that no person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
¶23 The parents rely on In re Custody of Smith to argue that the termination statutes are unconstitutional because the statutes do not require a threshold showing of harm and the statutes impermissibly use a best interest of the child standard. In In re Smith the Washington Supreme Court held that the third party visitation statutes did not establish a compelling state interest and unconstitutionally interfered with parental rights. The Court concluded the statutes did not require the State to show harm and the trial court could grant visitation rights to third parties whenever “ ‘visitation may serve the best interest of the
¶24 In order to terminate the parent-child relationship, the State must prove the six statutory factors set forth in RCW 13.34.180(1) by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence.
|25 The statutory elements of RCW 13.34.180(1) are that:
(a) . . . the child has been found to be a dependent child;
(b) . . . the court has entered a dispositional order pursuant to RCW 13.34.130;
(c) . . . the child has been removed or will, at the time of the hearing, have been removed from the custody of the parent for a period of at least six months pursuant to a finding of dependency;
(d) . . . services ordered under RCW 13.34.136 have been expressly and understandably offered or provided and all necessary services, reasonably available, capable of correcting the parental deficiencies within the foreseeable future have been expressly and understandably offered or provided;
(e) . . . there is little likelihood that conditions will be remedied so that the child can be returned to the parent in the near future [and]
*118 (f) . . . continuation of the parent and child relationship clearly diminishes the child’s prospects for early integration into a stable and permanent home.
Only after the State proves the six statutory factors does the court consider whether, by a preponderance of the evidence, termination is in the best interests of the child. RCW 13.34.190(1)(a).
¶26 Here, there is no dispute that I.J.S. was a dependent child under RCW 13.34.180(1)(a). A dependent child is defined as a child who:
(a) Has been abandoned;
(b) Is abused or neglected ... by a person legally responsible for the care of the child; or
(c) Has no parent, guardian, or custodian capable of adequately caring for the child, such that the child is in circumstances which constitute a danger of substantial damage to the child’s psychological or physical development.[16 ]
¶27 Establishing the child is dependent under RCW 13.34.180(1)(a) and it is unlikely conditions can be remedied so the child can be returned in the near future under RCW 13.34.180(1)(e) is equivalent to finding harm to the child. We conclude that unlike the third party visitation statutes in In re Custody of Smith, the termination statutes are narrowly drawn because the State must prove that the relationship with the parents harms or potentially harms the child before the court can terminate parental rights.
¶28 The parents also argue the termination statutes are unconstitutional because the State is not required to prove that a dependency guardianship is not a viable alternative to termination. When a dependency guardianship petition is filed, the trial court must consider whether guardianship rather than termination is in the child’s best interests.
¶30 Relying on this court’s recent opinion in In re Dependency of A. C.,
¶31 The trial court in A.C. was “faced with competing petitions for guardianship and termination.”
¶32 If both a dependency guardianship and a termination petition are filed, the trial court must first consider the dependency guardianship as an alternative to termination. But here, the parents admit no party has petitioned for a dependency guardianship for I.J.S. As in K.S.C., “[tjhere is no evidence of any petition to create a dependency guardianship, no evidence of any order creating such a guardianship, and no indication that any hearing relating to one has ever been held.”
¶33 In addition, the record does not support the parents’ argument that a dependency guardianship for I.J.S. was a viable alternative. U.S.’s paternal grandfather was the only person mentioned as a potential guardian. Early on, the State asked the grandfather whether he was willing to consider a dependency guardianship. At first, he said he was willing to do so, but the next day he called and told the caseworker he did not want to assume this responsibility because he was already caring for three other grandchildren with special needs. At trial, the grandfather testified he would be willing to allow Smith or Vega to live in his home and he would supervise their care of I.J.S. but that he did not want to be primarily responsible for I.J.S.
¶34 The parents have not met their burden of proving Washington’s termination statutes are unconstitutional. The State has a compelling interest to prevent harm to children and the dependency and termination statutes allow the State to intervene to protect a child from harm. To
¶35 The balance of this opinion has no precedential value. Accordingly, pursuant to RCW 2.06.040 it will not be published.
Cox, C.J., and Appelwick, J., concur.
Reconsideration denied June 28, 2005.
Review denied at 155 Wn.2d 1021 (2005).
137 Wn.2d 1, 969 P.2d 21 (1998), aff’d sub nom. Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 120 S. Ct. 2054, 147 L. Ed. 2d 49 (2000).
Vega and Smith each filed a separate appeal and the cases were consolidated. Smith adopted that part of Vega’s supplemental brief addressing the constitutional challenge to the termination statutes. Smith and Vega each makes a different argument regarding why the trial court’s findings are not supported by substantial evidence.
Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 97.
State v. Coria, 120 Wn.2d 156, 163, 839 P.2d 890 (1992); Haley v. Med. Disciplinary Bd., 117 Wn.2d 720, 739, 818 P.2d 1062 (1991).
In re Custody of Osborne, 119 Wn. App. 133, 147, 79 P.3d 465 (2003).
Osborne, 119 Wn. App at 147 (citing Island County v. State, 135 Wn.2d 141, 147, 955 P.2d 377 (1997)).
City of Redmond v. Moore, 151 Wn.2d 664, 669, 91 P.3d 875 (2004).
U.S. Const. amends. V, XIV; Wash. Const. art. I, § 3.
Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745,753,102 S. Ct. 1388,71 L. Ed. 2d 599 (1982); In re Custody of Smith, 137 Wn.2d 1, 27, 969 P.2d 21 (1998).
Smith, 137 Wn.2d at 15.
Santosky, 455 U.S. at 766.
In re Welfare of Sumey, 94 Wn.2d 757, 762, 621 P.2d 108 (1980).
Smith, 137 Wn.2d at 7 (quoting RCW 26.10.160(3)).
Smith, 137 Wn.2d at 17.
Sumey, 94 Wn.2d at 762.
RCW 13.34.030(5).
RCW 13.34.231(6).
In re Dependency of A.C., 123 Wn. App. 244, 251, 98 P.3d 89 (2004).
In re Dependency of K.S.C., 137 Wn.2d 918, 931, 976 P.2d 113 (1999).
In re Dependency of AC., 123 Wn. App. 244, 98 P.3d 89 (2004).
AC., 123 Wn. App. at 246.
A. C., 123 Wn. App. at 252 (emphasis added).
A.C., 123 Wn. App. at 251 (emphasis omitted) (quoting RCW 13.34.231(6)).
K.S.C., 137 Wn.2d at 928.
K.S.C., 137 Wn.2d at 930. In the absence of a petition for dependency-guardianship, if the court finds the allegations in RCW 13.34.180 and .190 are not met, the alternative is to continue the child’s dependency and foster placement.
We would reach the same result under an as-applied constitutional challenge because the State met its burden of proving the relationship with Vega and Smith harmed I.J.S. and substantial evidence supports the trial court’s findings.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.