IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 19-0255
Filed July 24, 2019
IN THE INTEREST OF S.K.,
Minor Child,
A.L., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Scott Strait,
District Associate Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. AFFIRMED.
Anne M. Rohling of Rohling Law, PLLC, Council Bluffs, for appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Meredith L. Lamberti, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee State.
Maura C. Goaley, Council Bluffs, attorney and guardian ad litem for minor
child.
Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Blane, S.J.*
*Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2019).
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BLANE, Senior Judge.
The mother, Ashley, did not sufficiently address her substance-abuse
issues to resume care of her child, S.K., and termination of her parental rights is
supported under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(h) (2018).
We review termination proceedings de novo. In re A.B., 815 N.W.2d 764,
773 (Iowa 2012). “Our primary concern . . . has always been the best interests of
the child[ren].” In re L.T., 924 N.W.2d 521, 529 (Iowa 2019). We begin by
considering the statutory grounds. “When the juvenile court terminates parental
rights on more than one statutory ground, we may affirm the juvenile court’s order
on any ground we find supported by the record.” A.B., 815 N.W.2d at 774. The
juvenile court terminated Ashley’s parental rights under paragraphs (b), (e), (g),
(h), and (l) of Iowa Code section 232.116(1). We consider the grounds of section
232.116(1)(h), which allows the court to terminate parental rights if all of the
following factors are met:
(1) The child is three years of age or younger.
(2) The child has been adjudicated a child in need of
assistance pursuant to section 232.96.
(3) The child has been removed from the physical custody of
the child’s parents for at least twelve of the last eighteen months, or
for the last twelve consecutive months and any trial period at home
has been less than thirty days.
(4) There is clear and convincing evidence that at the present
time the child cannot be returned to the custody of the child’s parents
as provided in section 232.102.
Ashley contends the State did not show S.K. cannot be returned to her custody.
S.K. was born in November 2017 and removed from her parents
immediately upon birth when hospital staff observed and reported to the
department of human services (DHS) unusual behavior by the parents. Previously,
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Ashley had her parental rights terminated to four other biological children based
on her unresolved substance-abuse issues.1 Ashley reported she has used
methamphetamine since she was fourteen years old. She tested positive for
methamphetamine while pregnant with S.K. DHS initiated child-in-need-of-
assistance (CINA) proceedings, and S.K. was placed in foster care. During these
CINA proceedings, Ashley completed substance-abuse and mental-health
evaluations but never followed through with or completed treatment. She tested
positive for methamphetamine in May 2018 and missed nine random drug screens
in total. She was dishonest in substance-abuse treatment about her use, reporting
she was sober even though she tested positive or missed tests.
S.K. was born with a significant health issue requiring surgery and
specialized medical care. She vomits frequently and suffers breathing
abnormalities. At times, she has been dangerously underweight, but recently she
has been improving in her physical condition. Cognitively, she shows some signs
of developmental delays but requires further testing and evaluation. She will
require continuing treatment and consistent care.
Although at one point Ashley had overnight visits with S.K., she repeatedly
called the family safety, risk, and permanency (FSRP) worker to end the visits early
because she was unable to console S.K. or put S.K. to sleep or because she had
to work the next morning. The DHS withdrew overnight visits and offered semi-
supervised visits. Once Ashley tested positive for methamphetamine in May 2018,
DHS offered only supervised visits. Generally, though, no safety concerns were
1
S.K.’s purported father’s parental rights were also terminated, and he does not join in
this appeal.
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noted at supervised visits; Ashley was able to provide appropriate care without
prompting. She was also able to purchase appropriate equipment and toys for
S.K.
Ashley has been inconsistently employed during this CINA case—she has
reported obtaining and leaving multiple jobs in restaurants and hotels. She moved
out of her father’s home and rented her own apartment in May 2018, but the
electricity was turned off in September for lack of payment.
In September, the State filed a petition to terminate parental rights.
Following the hearing, the court terminated Ashley’s rights. On our review of the
record, we find the evidence is clear and convincing that S.K. could not be returned
to Ashley’s custody. Although on appeal Ashley contends she has been sober,
she had a positive drug test and missed nine random tests during these
proceedings. She complains she missed the tests because she was working.
Most significantly, she also has not completed any ordered substance-abuse or
mental-health treatment and was not truthful to service providers and DHS about
her use. “[U]nresolved, severe, and chronic drug addiction can render a parent
unfit to raise children” by exposing the children to “hazards [that] are too great.”
A.B., 815 N.W.2d at 776. Ashley has been using methamphetamine since she
was fourteen, and it has caused her to lose her parental rights to her other children;
she still has not addressed her addiction or demonstrated sufficient sobriety to
ensure S.K.’s safety in her care.
In addition, although supervised visitation went well, Ashley was unable to
care for S.K. on her own during multiple unsupervised overnight visitations and
had to ask they be terminated early. Considering S.K.’s medical condition and her
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need for specialized, consistent, and timely care, Ashley is unable to meet those
needs at this time. Although she has obtained her own apartment, Ashley’s
employment has been inconsistent and she has been unable to pay her bills to
provide a habitable home environment for S.K. S.K. is currently placed with a
foster family who is able to meet her needs and see to her medical care. She has
been out of Ashley’s custody almost her entire life. The evidence is clear and
convincing Ashley cannot resume custody of S.K. at this time. The State
established the statutory basis for termination under section 232.116(1)(h), and
accordingly, we affirm termination of Ashley’s parental rights.
AFFIRMED.