Supreme Court Clerk
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
In the Matter of the Parental Rights to B.P.
NO. 91925-9
(DOB 7/8/11)
STATE OF WASHINGTON, ENBANC
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL &
HEALTH SERVICES, JU_L_2_8_20_16_
Filed _ _
Respondent,
v.
H.O. (Mother),
Petitioner.
GORDON McCLOUD, I.-Petitioner H.O. asks us to reverse the Court of
Appeals' decision affirming the termination of her parental rights. She argues that
the State failed to prove two prerequisites to termination, one statutory and one
constitutional. The statutory prerequisite is codified at RCW 13.34.180(1)(d); it
requires the State to prove that it has offered and provided "all necessary services,
reasonably available, capable of correcting the parental deficiencies within the
foreseeable future." The constitutional prerequisite is a finding (express or implied)
of parental unfitness. We agree with H.O. that the State failed to prove the first
No. 91925-9
prerequisite by the necessary evidentiary standard (clear, cogent, and convincing
evidence). We therefore reverse the Court of Appeals and reverse the order
terminating H.O. 's parental rights. 1
ISSUE PRESENTED
The mother in this case, H.O., suffered from drug addiction, depression and
other mental health issues, and the effects of long term childhood trauma. The child
in this case, B.P., suffered as well: she was born addicted to methamphetamine,
endured withdrawal, was abandoned by H.O. during infancy, and experienced
multiple disruptions when forming attachments with H.O. and various foster
parents. On the other hand, after several tries, I--I.O. achieved sobriety; benefited
from treatment in a structured environment; and became an attentive and caring
mother to another child, A., in that structured environment. She also engaged in
partially supervised, therapeutic visitation with B.P., and the two began to form what
witnesses at the termination hearing called a social relationship with an emerging
emotional attachment.
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