IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 14-2159
Filed August 5, 2015
IN THE INTEREST OF B.W.,
Minor Child,
C.W., Mother,
Appellant.
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Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (South) County, Gary R.
Noneman, District Associate Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her child born in
2013. AFFIRMED.
Kimberly A. Auge of Napier, Wolf, Popejoy & Auge, L.L.P., Fort Madison,
for appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kathrine S. Miller-Todd, Assistant
Attorney General, Michael Short, County Attorney, and Clinton R. Boddicker,
Assistant County Attorney, for appellee State.
Kendra Abfalter of the Public Defender’s Office, Burlington, attorney and
guardian ad litem for minor child.
Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Potterfield and McDonald, JJ.
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VAITHESWARAN, P.J.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her child, born in
2013. She contends (1) the record lacks clear and convincing evidence to
support the ground for termination cited by the district court and (2) termination
was not in the child’s best interests.
I. Clear and Convincing Evidence
The district court terminated the mother’s parental rights pursuant to Iowa
Code section 232.116(1)(h) (2013), which requires proof of several elements—
including proof that a child cannot be returned to the parent’s custody. On our de
novo review, we find clear and convincing evidence to support this ground.
The child was removed from the mother’s custody after the mother broke
a large bone in his leg. The mother initially cooperated with services to address
various issues, including difficulty controlling her anger. Although her attendance
at counseling sessions fell off for a period of time, she showed promise in other
areas, and the district court granted her six additional months to work towards
reunification.
At the time of the termination hearing, the mother had secured and
maintained employment for almost a year, obtained stable housing, regularly
attended two supervised visits a week with her child,1 and consistently attended
counseling sessions. The district court acknowledged her “quite frankly
surprising progress in establishing personal stability on several levels.” At the
same time, the court found the mother was “largely no more able or competent to
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She sought and obtained a third weekly visit but failed to attend those visits due to
transportation issues, as well as oversleeping and forgetfulness.
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parent a young child than she was when the case first began.” We concur in this
assessment.
The service provider assigned to supervise visits testified that as recently
as two months before the termination hearing, the mother let her anger get the
better of her. During a visit at her home, she “slam[med] things down around on
the table” and failed to focus on her child, who was eating his lunch. The service
provider was forced to assist the child with his meal. While she acknowledged
the mother had progressed in her ability to accept instruction and apply parenting
techniques and coping skills, she nonetheless opined the child could not be
safely returned to the mother’s care.
The department social worker assigned to the case agreed. She testified
the mother got “frustrated, agitated” during visits and “kind of shut” her out. The
mother’s agitation caused her to lose focus and required redirection by the
service provider. The social worker conceded she could have been the trigger
for the mother’s frustration but noted the mother’s inability to control those “anger
and her frustration levels” would “affect her ability to parent” the child. She also
cited the mother’s limited understanding of the child’s developmental stages “and
safety needs.” In her view, the mother required the support of her worker the
entire time of the visit to be able to safely parent the child.
Because clear and convincing evidence supports the district court’s finding
that the child could not be returned to the mother’s custody, we affirm termination
under section 232.116(1)(h).
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II. Best Interests of the Child
The mother also contends termination was not in the child’s best interests.
See In re P.L., 778 N.W.2d 33, 39 (Iowa 2010). We disagree. The child
sustained a severe injury at the mother’s hands. In the ensuing seventeen
months, the mother failed to develop the skills to manage her anger and safely
parent her child. Accordingly, we conclude termination was in the child’s best
interests.
AFFIRMED.