IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 16-1410
Filed October 26, 2016
IN THE INTEREST OF C.L.,
Minor Child,
S.L., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Louise M. Jacobs,
District Associate Judge.
A mother appeals from the order terminating her parental rights.
AFFIRMED.
Jacob L. Mason of JL Mason Law, P.L.L.C., Ankeny, for appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Kathryn K. Lang, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee State.
Nicole Garbis Nolan of the Youth Law Center, Des Moines, attorney and
guardian ad litem for minor child.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Tabor and Mullins, JJ.
2
MULLINS, Judge.
A mother appeals the juvenile court’s order terminating her parental rights
to her child, C.L., born in 2011.1 She does not deny the State has proven the
statutory grounds for termination by clear and convincing evidence. Instead, she
argues termination was not in the child’s best interests, the court should have
granted her an additional six months to work toward reunification, and an
exception to termination exists because the child is in his maternal aunt’s care.
We review termination-of-parental-rights proceedings de novo. In re
M.W., 876 N.W.2d 212, 219 (Iowa 2016). We have carefully reviewed the
record, the briefs of the parties, and the juvenile court’s thorough ruling. At the
time of the termination hearing, the mother was in federal custody on a parole
violation and facing new federal criminal charges for possession with intent to
distribute methamphetamine. The mother’s continued incarceration, unresolved
substance-abuse issues, and inability to make any sustained progress
demonstrate she will not be able to care for the child within six months. See
Iowa Code § 232.104(2)(b) (2015) (providing that in order to extend a child’s
placement for an additional six months, the juvenile court must find the need for
removal will no longer exist at the end of the six-month period).
Furthermore, after reviewing the record in its entirety, we agree with the
juvenile court that any exception to termination should not be applied in this case.
See In re C.K., 558 N.W.2d 170, 174 (Iowa 1997) (“An appropriate determination
to terminate a parent-child relationship is not to be countermanded by the ability
1
The juvenile court also terminated the parental rights to any known or unknown
putative father of C.L. No appeal has been filed on behalf of any putative father.
3
and willingness of a family relative to take the child.”). The child has lived with
his maternal aunt for the majority of his life, and his aunt is willing and able to
meet the child’s needs.2 A guardianship as requested by the mother would not
likely accomplish stability and permanency for the child. Termination of the
mother’s parental rights is in the child’s best interests.
Accordingly, we affirm the juvenile court’s order without further opinion
pursuant to Iowa Court Rule 21.26(1)(a), (d), and (e).
AFFIRMED.
2
The mother has a younger child who has also been adjudicated a child in need of
assistance and placed in the maternal aunt’s care.