IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 16-0703
Filed July 27, 2016
IN THE INTEREST OF B.G.R.,
Minor Child,
J.C., Father,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Gary P.
Strausser, District Associate Judge.
A father appeals from the order terminating his parental rights.
AFFIRMED.
Mark J. Neary of Neary Law Office, Muscatine, for appellant father.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Mary A. Triick, Assistant Attorney
General, for appellee State.
Timothy K. Wink of Schweitzer & Wink Law Firm, Columbus Junction,
attorney and guardian ad litem for minor child.
Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ.
2
MULLINS, Judge.
A father appeals from a juvenile court’s order terminating his parental
rights to his daughter, born in March 2015.1 The father argues the State failed to
prove the statutory grounds for termination under Iowa Code section
232.116(1)(h) by clear and convincing evidence. He further contends the
juvenile court should have granted him an additional six months to work toward
reunification. We affirm.
We review termination-of-parental-rights proceedings de novo. In re
M.W., 876 N.W.2d 212, 219 (Iowa 2016). “We are not bound by the juvenile
court’s findings of fact, but we do give them weight, especially in assessing the
credibility of witnesses.” Id. (quoting In re A.M., 843 N.W.2d 100, 110 (Iowa
2014)). “We will uphold an order terminating parental rights when there is clear
and convincing evidence” of the statutory grounds for termination. In re D.W.,
791 N.W.2d 703, 706 (Iowa 2010). Our primary consideration is the best
interests of the child. See In re J.E., 723 N.W.2d 793, 798 (Iowa 2006).
The child was removed from the mother’s care at birth after testing
positive for methamphetamine, marijuana, and tramadol. The child was
adjudicated a child in need of assistance based in part on the father’s significant
alcohol abuse and anger management issues, as well as his demonstrated
history of allowing individuals under the influence of drugs to care for his older
child.
1
The mother consented to termination, and the juvenile court terminated her parental
rights pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(a), (b), (e), (h), and (l) (2015). The
mother does not appeal.
3
Following adjudication, the father made limited progress. He participated
in anger-management therapy and substance-abuse treatment and received two
fully unsupervised visits with his daughter. On both occasions, the father allowed
and even encouraged unapproved individuals to have contact with his child,
despite having been admonished by the juvenile court after the first instance.
Following these visits, the father relapsed and tested positive for
methamphetamine but repeatedly denied any recent use of the drug. He also
showed up for a supervised visit with the child while apparently under the
influence of methamphetamine. Additionally, the father and the child’s mother
were both arrested for violating a no-contact order after the mother was found at
the father’s home. The record clearly demonstrates the father continues to
struggle with substance abuse and anger-management issues. The child has
never lived with her father, having lived with foster parents since birth. She is
thriving in their care and deserves permanency.
We have carefully reviewed the record, the briefs of the parties, and the
juvenile court’s lengthy, fact-intensive, and thorough ruling. Upon our de novo
review, we agree with the juvenile court’s conclusion that the State proved the
grounds for termination under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(h) by clear and
convincing evidence. We further find the court did not err in denying the father
an additional six-month period to work toward reunification with the child.
Accordingly, we affirm without further opinion pursuant to Iowa Court Rule
21.26(1)(a), (b), (d), and (e).
AFFIRMED.
In the Interest of B.G.R., Minor Child, J.C., Father
Combined Opinion