IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 18-0281
Filed June 20, 2018
IN THE INTEREST OF X.W. and R.J.,
Minor Children,
A.W., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Cheryl E. Traum,
District Associate Judge.
A mother appeals a permanency order in child-in-need-of-assistance
proceedings placing her two children in the care of the father of one of the children.
AFFIRMED.
Jean Capdevila, Davenport, for appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Mary A. Triick, Assistant Attorney
General, for appellee State.
Steven W. Stickle of Stickle Law Firm, P.L.C., Davenport, guardian ad litem
for minor children.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.
2
BOWER, Judge.
A mother appeals a permanency order in child-in-need-of-assistance
(CINA) proceedings placing both children in the care of the father of one of the
children. We conclude it is in the best interests of both children to be placed with
the father of the younger child. We affirm the decision of the juvenile court.
I. Background Facts & Proceedings
A.W. is the mother of X.W., born in 2008, and Ra.J., born in 2011. The
father of X.W. is L.L. and the father of Ra.J. is Ro.J. The children were removed
from the mother’s care on June 24, 2015, due to concerns she was homeless and
using illegal drugs. The children were placed in Ro.J.’s care. The children were
adjudicated to be in need of assistance under Iowa Code section 232.2(6)(b), (c),
(e), (g), (n), and (o) (2015).
The mother participated in a substance abuse treatment program and
attended visitation with the children. She also participated in Family Safety, Risk,
and Permanency services to improve her parenting skills. On May 5, 2017, the
juvenile court determined the children should be transitioned back into the mother’s
care based on the progress she had made in the case, with continuing supervision
by the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS).1
The children were again removed from the mother’s care on September 11,
2017, due to her use of illegal drugs. The mother had a drug test, which was
positive for opiates. The children were returned to the care of Ro.J. In a
1
Ro.J. appealed the order placing the children in A.W.’s care. We affirmed the
permanency order. See In re R.J., No. 17-0826, 2017 WL 3078122, at *3 (Iowa Ct. App.
July 18, 2017).
3
permanency order, filed on January 31, 2018, the court found, “[T]he mother does
well for a while but then falls back into her old patterns of behaviors.” The court
concluded the permanency goal for Ra.J. should be sole custody with his father,
Ro.J., and X.W. should be placed in a guardianship with Ro.J. The court
determined the children should continue in the care of Ro.J., subject to supervision
by DHS. The mother appeals the permanency order.
II. Standard of Review
Our review in CINA proceedings is de novo. In re J.S., 846 N.W.2d 36, 40
(Iowa 2014). “In reviewing the proceedings, we are not bound by the juvenile
court’s fact findings; however, we do give them weight.” Id. “As in all juvenile
proceedings, our fundamental concern is the best interests of the child.” In re K.N.,
625 N.W.2d 731, 733 (Iowa 2001). Allegations in CINA proceedings must be
proved by clear and convincing evidence. Iowa Code § 232.96(2).
III. Best Interests
The mother claims it is not in the children’s best interests to be placed in the
care of Ro.J. The placement of children in a permanency order should serve their
best interests. In re C.D., 509 N.W.2d 509, 513 (Iowa Ct. App. 1993).
The juvenile court found the mother was not taking recovery from substance
abuse seriously. The court noted she had multiple relapses into substance abuse
and was not honest with service providers. About Ro.J., the court stated:
While he has not been a perfect parent, he has provided the
[children] structure for most of this case. [Ro.J.] is [Ra.J.’s] biological
father and he is the only father figure that [X.W.] has ever known.
The [children] are very bonded to him and to each other.
4
We agree with the juvenile court’s findings. Ro.J. has cared for the children
since June 24, 2015, except for a period of about four months when they were in
the mother’s care. He has provided them with stability and structure, which the
mother did not provide. Although she has received services over a substantial
period of time, the mother is unable to maintain sobriety. As the juvenile court
noted, “[T]he mother does well for a while but then falls back into her old patterns
of behaviors.” We conclude it is in the best interests of the children to be placed
with Ro.J. We affirm the decision of the juvenile court.
AFFIRMED.