IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 16-0691
Filed August 17, 2016
IN THE INTEREST OF A.H.,
Minor Child,
T.M., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buchanan County, Alan D. Allbee,
Associate Juvenile Judge.
A mother appeals the juvenile court order terminating her parental rights.
AFFIRMED.
Cory R. Gonzales of Law Office of Cory R. Gonzales, Strawberry Point, for
appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Kathrine S. Miller-Todd, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee State.
John J. Sullivan of Sullivan Law Office, Oelwein, guardian ad litem for
minor child.
Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ.
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BOWER, Judge.
A mother appeals the juvenile court order terminating her parental rights.
We determine there is sufficient evidence in the record to support termination of
the mother’s parental rights. Also, termination of the mother’s parental rights is in
the child’s best interests and none of the exceptions found in Iowa Code section
232.116(3) (2015) should be applied. We affirm the termination of the mother’s
parental rights.
I. Background Facts & Proceedings
T.M., mother, and M.M., father, are the parents of A.H., who was born in
2013.1 The child tested positive for methamphetamine at the time of the child’s
birth and was removed from the mother’s care. The mother has a history of
mental health and substance abuse problems. The mother’s parental rights were
initially terminated under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(g), (h), and (l) (2013) on
January 17, 2014. On appeal, we reversed the decision of the juvenile court and
remanded the case. In re A.H., No. 14-1049, 2014 WL 7339457, at *20 (Iowa Ct.
App. Dec. 24, 2014).
The child was not returned to the mother’s care as a result of our decision.
On February 9, 2015, the juvenile court adjudicated the child to be in need of
assistance (CINA) pursuant to section 232.2(6)(c)(2) and (o) (2015). Concerns
arose about the mother’s use of alcohol, marijuana, and methamphetamine. The
mother was participating in services, however, and in August 2015, the juvenile
1
The father’s parental rights were terminated in previous proceedings, and he is not a
party to this appeal.
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court determined she should be given an additional six months of services to
work toward reunification.
In September 2015, the mother again tested positive for marijuana, and a
drug test in October was positive for methamphetamine and marijuana.
Because of these results, the juvenile court ordered the county attorney to file a
petition for termination of parental rights, despite the fact the six-month
continuance was still ongoing.
On December 2, 2015, the State filed a petition for termination of the
mother’s rights. On December 8, 2015, the mother was convicted of obstructing
prosecution and malicious prosecution, and she was sentenced to probation.
The mother tested positive for marijuana in December 2015 and
methamphetamine in January 2016. The juvenile court entered an order on
April 7, 2016, terminating the mother’s parental rights under section
232.116(1)(g), (h), and (l). The court denied the mother’s request for additional
time for reunification. The court concluded it was in the child’s best interests to
terminate the mother’s parental rights. The mother now appeals.
II. Standard of Review
The scope of review in termination cases is de novo. In re D.W., 791
N.W.2d 703, 706 (Iowa 2010). Clear and convincing evidence is needed to
establish the grounds for termination. In re J.E., 723 N.W.2d 793, 798 (Iowa
2006). Where there is clear and convincing evidence, there is no serious or
substantial doubt about the correctness of the conclusion drawn from the
evidence. In re D.D., 653 N.W.2d 359, 361 (Iowa 2002). The paramount
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concern in termination proceedings is the best interests of the child. In re L.L.,
459 N.W.2d 489, 493 (Iowa 1990).
III. Merits
A. The mother claims there is not sufficient evidence in the record to
support termination of her parental rights. The mother’s rights were terminated
under section 232.116(1)(g), (h), and (l). We may affirm on any ground raised
before the juvenile court. In re M.W., 876 N.W.2d 212, 221–22 (Iowa 2016).
We determine the juvenile court properly terminated the mother’s parental
rights under section 232.116(1)(g). This section requires to the court find all of
the following:
(1) The child has been adjudicated a child in need of
assistance pursuant to section 232.96.
(2) The court has terminated parental rights pursuant to
section 232.117 with respect to another child who is a member of
the same family or a court of competent jurisdiction in another state
has entered an order involuntarily terminating parental rights with
respect to another child who is a member of the same family.
(3) There is clear and convincing evidence that the parent
continues to lack the ability or willingness to respond to services
which would correct the situation.
(4) There is clear and convincing evidence that an additional
period of rehabilitation would not correct the situation.
Iowa Code § 232.116(1)(g).
The child in this case was adjudicated CINA. The mother’s parental rights
to two of her other children were terminated in March 2013. See A.H., 2014 WL
7339457, at *1. In the previous termination proceeding the court noted the
mother was dependent upon methamphetamine, marijuana, and alcohol, and
“[s]he ha[d] frequently been able to abstain for months, only to return to drug
use.” Id. The mother continues to exhibit the same problems with substance
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abuse as in the earlier termination proceeding. Furthermore, there was evidence
the mother was confrontational and noncompliant with social workers. We
conclude there is clear and convincing evidence to show the mother lacked the
ability or willingness to respond to services that would correct the situation.
The record shows the mother has had an extended period of time to
address her problems. She has been involved with the Iowa Department of
Human Services for many years. In regard to the child in this case, the mother
was given an additional period of time to work on reunification after we reversed
the earlier termination, but that time was cut short due to the mother’s positive
drug tests. We conclude there is clear and convincing evidence in the record to
show “an additional period of rehabilitation would not correct the situation.” See
Iowa Code § 232.116(1)(g)(4). We determine there is sufficient evidence in the
record to support termination of the mother’s parental rights.
B. The mother claims termination of her parental rights is not in the
child’s best interests. As part of her best interests argument, she claims the
juvenile court should have decided not to terminate her parental rights based on
section 232.116(3)(c). She states termination of her parental rights would be
detrimental to the child due to the closeness of the parent-child relationship.
The juvenile court considered the exceptions found in section 232.116(3)
and determined they should not apply in this case. As the court noted, the
mother’s “mental health and substance abuse issues have prevented her from
being able to conquer her own problems in order to safely raise children.” We
determine termination of the mother’s parental rights is in the child’s best
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interests and none of the exceptions found in section 232.116(3) should be
applied.
We affirm the decision of the juvenile court.
AFFIRMED.