In the Matter of the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of K.P., B.P., and R.P. (Children), and, D.P. (Mother) and R.P. (Father) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.) ( 2017 )


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  • MEMORANDUM DECISION
    Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this
    Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as                                   FILED
    precedent or cited before any court except for the                        Oct 31 2017, 12:30 pm
    purpose of establishing the defense of res
    CLERK
    judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the                           Indiana Supreme Court
    Court of Appeals
    case.                                                                           and Tax Court
    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT,                                        ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
    D.P.                                                           Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
    R. Patrick Magrath                                             Attorney General of Indiana
    Alcorn Sage Schwartz & Magrath, LLP
    Madison, Indiana                                               Abigail R. Recker
    Deputy Attorney General
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT,
    R.P.
    Jennifer A. Joas
    Madison, Indiana
    IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
    In the Matter of the Termination of                            October 31, 2017
    the Parent-Child Relationship of K.P.,                         Court of Appeals Case No.
    B.P., and R.P. (Children),                                     15A01-1704-JT-901
    Appeal from the Dearborn Circuit
    and,                                                   Court
    The Honorable James D.
    D.P. (Mother) and R.P. (Father),                               Humphrey, Judge
    Trial Court Cause No.
    Appellants-Respondents,                                        15C01-1610-JT-17
    15C01-1610-JT-18
    15C01-1610-JT-19
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017       Page 1 of 18
    v.
    The Indiana Department of Child
    Services,
    Appellee-Petitioner.
    Barnes, Judge.
    Case Summary
    [1]    R.P. (“Father”) and D.P. (“Mother”) appeal the termination of their parental
    rights to their children, Ro.P. and B.P. Mother’s also appeals the termination
    of her parental rights to her child K.P. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
    Issues
    [2]    The issues before us are:
    I.       whether there is sufficient evidence to support the
    termination of Mother’s parental rights; and
    II.      whether there is sufficient evidence to support the
    termination of Father’s parental rights.
    Facts
    [3]    Father and Mother were never married, but they had a long-term, live-in
    relationship. Ro.P. was born in 2010, and B.P. was born in 2013. Sometime
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    thereafter, Father and Mother split up. Mother retained custody of the
    children, while Father paid child support and had regular weekly visitation.
    Mother began a relationship with A.P. (“Stepfather”), and K.P. was born in
    2014.
    [4]   On February 5, 2015, the Dearborn County Office of the Department of Child
    Services (“DCS”) filed a petition alleging that Ro.P., B.P., and K.P. were
    children in need of services (“CHINS”). The petition was filed after Stepfather
    overdosed on heroin in the presence of the children. Mother asserted she was
    unaware of Stepfather’s drug usage. The CHINS petition contained no
    allegations regarding Father. At the time this case was initiated, Father had an
    infant daughter with his then-fiancée. No CHINS petition was filed with regard
    to this child.
    [5]   On May 4, 2015, the trial court entered an order finding that the children were
    CHINS. The children were not removed from Mother’s care. The CHINS
    dispositional order required, among other things, that Mother and Stepfather
    enroll and participate in home-based counseling, complete a parenting
    assessment and complete any recommendations resulting from it, complete a
    substance abuse assessment and follow any resulting treatment
    recommendations, submit to random drug screens, and undergo psychological
    evaluations. These requirements did not apply to Father—indeed, Father was
    not referred to any type of program or counseling.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017   Page 3 of 18
    [6]   Mother was resistant to participating in home-based services, contending that
    only Stepfather used drugs and was at fault for the CHINS finding. In October
    2015, DCS caseworker Quinn Webb had difficulty locating Mother and
    eventually learned she was in Kentucky with the children. On November 4,
    2015, Mother tested positive for methamphetamine. DCS thereafter filed a
    petition to modify the CHINS dispositional decree. On December 8, 2015, the
    trial court modified the dispositional decree, removing the children from
    Mother’s care. Eventually, all three children were placed in foster care with
    Ro.P. and B.P.’s paternal aunt.
    [7]   After the children were removed from her care, Mother frequently tested
    positive for illegal or unprescribed drugs, including buprenorphine, fentanyl,
    cocaine, and methamphetamine. Mother was referred for a substance abuse
    assessment and then completed a recommended one-day outpatient treatment
    program. However, the assessment and recommendation were based on self-
    reporting, and it appears Mother failed to report that she had tested positive for
    methamphetamine. Mother then was referred to an intensive outpatient
    treatment program, which she attended sporadically. On March 1, 2016, the
    trial court held Mother in contempt for Mother’s failure to consistently attend
    the treatment program and for missing several appointments with her
    homebased counselor. She also missed numerous drug screens.
    [8]   On May 23, 2016, Mother was arrested after going with Stepfather to Ohio to
    purchase heroin. She was jailed in Dearborn County until July 14, 2016. After
    her release, she continued missing drug treatment sessions and testing positive
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017   Page 4 of 18
    for buprenorphine and methamphetamine. In September 2016, Mother was
    arrested for maintaining a common nuisance and operating a vehicle while
    intoxicated; the substance she was intoxicated by was heroin. She was in jail
    for these offenses until February 2, 2017.
    [9]   During the CHINS proceedings, Father initially continued visiting regularly
    with the children. Until early 2016, all of the trial court’s review hearing orders
    stated that Father was fully compliant with the CHINS case plan. However, at
    some point law enforcement began investigating Father for child molestation,
    based on an alleged incident that had occurred approximately ten years earlier,
    when Father was fourteen or fifteen years old, and which involved an
    unidentified eight-year-old. This investigation was the reason why the children
    were not placed with Father after their removal from Mother. On March 4,
    2016, Father pled guilty to one count of Class C felony child molesting by
    fondling and was sentenced to a term of eight years suspended to probation. 1
    One of the conditions of Father’s probation stated, “You shall have no contact
    with any person under the age of 16 unless you receive court approval or
    successfully complete a court-approved sex offender treatment program,
    pursuant to IC 35-38-2-2.4. Contact includes face-to-face, telephonic, written,
    1
    It is unclear why Father was convicted of a criminal offense for conduct that allegedly occurred while he
    was a juvenile. Documents related to that prosecution are not readily available on either the Mycase or
    Odyssey case management systems.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017           Page 5 of 18
    electronic, or any indirect contact via third parties.” Ex. 24. The condition did
    not expressly include or exclude Father having contact with his own children.
    [10]   DCS terminated visitation between Father and his children because of the no
    contact order. DCS contacted the prosecutor’s office about removing this
    probation condition, but it was not removed. Shortly after pleading guilty,
    Father violated this condition by having contact with his infant daughter.
    Father did not think this condition applied to contact with his own children.
    On March 28, 2016, Father admitted to violating his probation, and two years
    of his suspended sentence were revoked. As Father was leaving the courtroom
    following this revocation, he committed an act amounting to trafficking with an
    inmate. This led to a second probation violation finding on April 14, 2016, and
    revocation of an additional two years and 180 days of Father’s suspended
    sentence.
    [11]   At a CHINS review hearing on April 13, 2016, Father asked that he not be
    transported to any future hearings because of his incarceration. However,
    Father subsequently told Webb that he wanted to work toward reunification
    with his children. While Father was in the Dearborn County Jail, DCS referred
    him to a local “Father Engagement” program. Tr. p. 27. Father participated in
    this program until he was transferred to a Department of Correction (“DOC”)
    prison—the Plainfield Correctional Facility. This prison does not offer a sex
    offender treatment program. The record is unclear as to Father’s current
    expected release date. At one point during the termination hearing, Father
    testified that it was in June 2018; later, he said it was in June 2019. The
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    “Offender Locator” feature on the DOC’s website lists his “Projected Release
    Date” as June 9, 2018.
    [12]   On October 24, 2016, DCS filed a petition to terminate Father’s parental rights
    to Ro.P. and B.P., and Mother’s parental rights to those two children and K.P.2
    The trial court held fact-finding hearings on January 19 and February 6, 14, and
    28, 2017. At the last hearing, the paternal aunt of Ro.P. and B.P. expressed her
    willingness to adopt those children and K.P. She also testified that she and her
    husband would consider the possibility of future visitation between the children
    and Father and Mother, after consultation with mental health professionals.
    [13]   On March 23, 2017, the trial court entered an order with findings terminating
    Father and Mother’s parental rights to Ro.P. and B.P. and Mother’s parental
    rights to K.P. The trial court specifically found, “There is a reasonable
    probability that continuation of the parent-child relationship poses a threat to
    the well-being of the child . . . .” Father’s App. p. 26. It did not find that the
    conditions leading to the children’s removal would not be remedied. Father
    and Mother now appeal.
    Analysis
    [14]   Both parents challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the
    termination of their parental rights. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United
    2
    DCS also sought and obtained termination of Stepfather’s parental rights to K.P. Stepfather does not
    appeal that determination.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017         Page 7 of 18
    States Constitution protects the traditional right of parents to establish a home
    and raise their children. In re I.A., 
    934 N.E.2d 1127
    , 1132 (Ind. 2010). “A
    parent’s interest in the care, custody, and control of his or her children is
    ‘perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests.’” 
    Id. (quoting Troxel
    v.
    Granville, 
    530 U.S. 57
    , 65, 
    120 S. Ct. 2054
    (2000)). “Indeed the parent-child
    relationship is ‘one of the most valued relationships in our culture.’” 
    Id. (quoting Neal
    v. DeKalb County Div. of Family & Children, 
    796 N.E.2d 280
    , 285
    (Ind. 2003)). We recognize that parental interests are not absolute and must be
    subordinated to the child’s interests when determining the proper disposition of
    a petition to terminate parental rights. 
    Id. Thus, “‘[p]arental
    rights may be
    terminated when the parents are unable or unwilling to meet their parental
    responsibilities.’” 
    Id. (quoting In
    re D.D., 
    804 N.E.2d 258
    , 265 (Ind. Ct. App.
    2004), trans. denied). Courts need not wait until a child is irreversibly influenced
    by a deficient lifestyle such that his or her physical, mental, and social growth is
    permanently impaired before terminating the parent-child relationship. Castro
    v. State Office of Family & Children, 
    842 N.E.2d 367
    , 372 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006),
    trans. denied. “Rather, when the evidence shows that the emotional and
    physical development of a child in need of services is threatened, termination of
    the parent-child relationship is appropriate.” 
    Id. [15] When
    reviewing the termination of parental rights, we do not reweigh the
    evidence or judge witness credibility. In re 
    I.A., 934 N.E.2d at 1132
    . We
    consider only the evidence and reasonable inferences that are most favorable to
    the judgment. 
    Id. We must
    also give “due regard” to the trial court’s unique
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    opportunity to judge the credibility of the witnesses. 
    Id. (quoting In
    d. Trial
    Rule 52(A)). Here, the trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions
    thereon in granting DCS’s petition to terminate Father and Mother’s parental
    rights. When reviewing findings of fact and conclusions thereon entered in a
    case involving a termination of parental rights, we apply a two-tiered standard
    of review. First, we determine whether the evidence supports the findings, and
    second, we determine whether the findings support the judgment. 
    Id. We will
    set aside the trial court’s judgment only if it is clearly erroneous. 
    Id. A judgment
    is clearly erroneous if the findings do not support the trial court’s
    conclusions or the conclusions do not support the judgment. 
    Id. [16] Indiana
    Code Section 31-35-2-8(a) provides that, “if the court finds that the
    allegations in a petition described in [Indiana Code Section 31-35-2-4] are true,
    the court shall terminate the parent-child relationship.” Indiana Code Section
    31-35-2-4(b)(2) provides that a petition to terminate a parent-child relationship
    involving a child in need of services must allege, in part:
    (B) that one (1) of the following is true:
    (i) There is a reasonable probability that the conditions
    that resulted in the child’s removal or the reasons for
    placement outside the home of the parents will not be
    remedied.
    (ii) There is a reasonable probability that the continuation
    of the parent-child relationship poses a threat to the well-
    being of the child.
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    (iii) The child has, on two (2) separate occasions, been
    adjudicated a child in need of services;
    (C) that termination is in the best interests of the child; and
    (D) that there is a satisfactory plan for the care and treatment of
    the child.
    DCS must establish these allegations by clear and convincing evidence. Egly v.
    Blackford County Dep’t of Pub. Welfare, 
    592 N.E.2d 1232
    , 1234 (Ind. 1992).
    I. Mother
    [17]   The evidence as to Mother and Father is quite different, and we will analyze
    them separately. Here, the trial court found that continuation of the parent-
    child relationship posed a threat to the children, and Mother appeals that
    finding. When considering whether there is sufficient evidence to support such
    a finding, trial courts must “consider a parent’s habitual pattern of conduct to
    determine whether there is a substantial probability of future neglect or
    deprivation.” Bester v. Lake Cty. Office of Family & Children, 
    839 N.E.2d 143
    , 152
    (Ind. 2005). “At the same time, however, a trial court should judge a parent’s
    fitness to care for his child as of the time of the termination proceeding, taking
    into consideration evidence of changed conditions.” 
    Id. [18] The
    children were removed from Mother’s care after she took them to
    Kentucky, then returned to Indiana, and tested positive for methamphetamine.
    Over the next year, Mother repeatedly tested positive for various illegal or
    unprescribed drugs. She also missed a large number of drug screens and was
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    held in contempt for failing to participate in intensive outpatient treatment. She
    had three drug-related arrests during that time frame as well. She was in jail for
    the last two arrests until shortly before the second of the four termination
    hearings. Evidently, Mother finally admitted to Webb shortly before that
    hearing that she had a problem and wanted to address it, and had enrolled in a
    treatment program.
    [19]   However, the trial court was entitled to look at Mother’s pattern of conduct and
    determine it was unlikely she could or would remedy her drug problem in the
    near future. That problem had led to the children being taken away from her,
    and she lost the means to care for them through her criminal acts. The trial
    court was not required to accept that Mother’s last-minute change of heart
    would be permanent. There was sufficient evidence that continuation of the
    parent-child relationship posed a threat to the children’s well-being. See In re
    A.K., 
    924 N.E.2d 212
    , 221 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010) (holding there was sufficient
    evidence continuation of parent-child relationship posed a threat based on
    parent’s inability to remain drug free, manage mental illness, and maintain
    stable housing), trans. dismissed; In re D.L., 
    814 N.E.2d 1022
    , 1030 (Ind. Ct.
    App. 2004) (holding there was sufficient evidence continuation of parent-child
    relationship posed a threat where it was unlikely parent would remedy her drug
    problem), trans. denied.
    [20]   This same evidence supports the conclusion that termination of Mother’s
    parental rights is in her children’s best interests. See In re 
    A.K., 924 N.E.2d at 221
    . “A parent’s historical inability to provide adequate housing, stability and
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017   Page 11 of 18
    supervision coupled with a current inability to provide the same will support a
    finding that termination of the parent-child relationship is in the child’s best
    interests.” 
    Castro, 842 N.E.2d at 374
    . The law allows for termination of
    parental rights when parties are unable or unwilling to meet their responsibility
    as parents. 
    Id. There is
    sufficient evidence that such is the case here with
    respect to Mother.
    II. Father
    [21]   The evidence with respect to termination of Father’s parental rights is more
    challenging. The CHINS allegations were strictly focused upon Mother and
    Stepfather’s alleged drug abuse; no allegations were made against Father.
    Father continued visiting regularly with and paying support for the children
    during the CHINS proceedings, at least until such time as the investigation into
    a decade-old allegation of child molesting when Father was a teenager became
    public knowledge. The CHINS dispositional decree required nothing of Father.
    There has never been any evidence or claim that Father acted improperly
    toward any of his children, or harmed them, or neglected them in any way.
    Although Father, immediately after his incarceration, expressed a wish not to
    be present for any future CHINS hearings, he later told Webb that he eventually
    wanted to be reunified with his children. Father participated in a DCS-referred
    “Father Engagement” program in the Dearborn County Jail until his transfer to
    prison, where it does not appear that program was available. At the time of the
    termination hearings, the children were in the custody of their paternal aunt,
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017   Page 12 of 18
    who intended to seek adoption of all of them and to permit contact between
    Father and the children in the future.
    [22]   The only roadblock to Father’s reunification with his children is, of course, his
    conviction for Class C felony child molesting, the probation condition
    absolutely prohibiting him from having any contact with anyone under sixteen
    years old, and his violation of that term and resulting incarceration—followed
    immediately by his second probation violation for trafficking with an inmate.
    This is, admittedly, a substantial roadblock. But, we cannot conclude that these
    circumstances by themselves establish that continuation of the parent-child
    relationship between Father and his children poses a threat to their well-being.
    [23]   We first note, there are certain criminal convictions that will prima facie
    support a finding that there is a reasonable probability that continuation of the
    parent-child relationship poses a threat to the well-being of the child. Ind. Code
    § 31-35-3-8. One such conviction is child molesting, but only if the victim was
    the person’s biological or adoptive child, or the child of a spouse of that person.
    I.C. § 31-35-3-4(1)(G), (2). Clearly, Father’s offense did not fall under this
    category. Thus, the mere fact of Father’s conviction did not support
    termination of his parental rights.
    [24]   Moreover, the offense of which Father was convicted was committed many
    years before his oldest child was even conceived. There is no evidence or claim
    that this offense was part of a pattern of criminal conduct against younger
    children, or that Father has engaged in any such conduct since that time, when
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017   Page 13 of 18
    he was fourteen or fifteen years old. This weighs considerably against a finding
    that continuation of the parent-child relationship posed a threat to Father’s
    children’s well-being. See In re G.Y., 
    904 N.E.2d 1257
    , 1262 (Ind. 2009)
    (holding that mother’s serious criminal history, which entirely predated child’s
    conception, was not enough by itself or in conjunction with other trial court
    findings—including mother’s incarceration at time of termination hearing,
    child’s bonding with foster parents, and child’s need for permanency and
    stability—to support termination of her parental rights).
    [25]   Father’s two violations of probation did occur much closer in time to the
    termination hearing. The first violation occurred when Father visited his infant
    daughter, who was not the subject of a CHINS proceeding, very soon after he
    pled guilty to child molesting. Father believed the probation condition against
    contact with children did not apply to his children; he was mistaken, and there
    is no absolute prohibition upon imposing such a probation condition upon a
    parent of young children who is convicted of a sex offense. See Stott v. State, 
    822 N.E.2d 176
    , 180 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005), trans. denied.3 However, this particular
    3
    The general statutory basis for such a probation condition is found in Indiana Code Section 35-38-2-2.4,
    which states:
    As a condition of probation, the court may require a sex offender (as defined in IC 11-8-8-
    4.5) to:
    (1) participate in a treatment program for sex offenders approved by the court; and
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017          Page 14 of 18
    condition was one of a long boilerplate list of “Special Probation Conditions for
    Adult Sex Offenders” that Father had to agree to as part of his plea bargain.
    Ex. 24. DCS asked the prosecutor to modify this condition so Father could
    visit with his children, which indicates DCS did not think visitation with Father
    was a threat to his children’s well-being. The prosecutor refused this request,
    for reasons we are not privy to, but there remains the possibility the court that
    imposed the condition may remove or modify it in the future. It is true that
    Father is not currently participating in a sex offender treatment program, which
    might facilitate removal or modification of this condition, but that is because
    the prison where he is located does not offer such treatment, not because he is
    refusing to do so.4 In any event, we do not believe the existence of this
    probation condition provides a sufficient basis for the termination of Father’s
    parental rights. See 
    Bester, 839 N.E.2d at 153
    (holding that determination by
    Illinois authorities that children could not be placed with father due to his
    (2) avoid contact with any person who is less than sixteen (16) years of age unless the
    probationer:
    (A) receives the court’s approval; or
    (B) successfully completes the treatment program referred to in subdivision (1).
    4
    Indeed, it is unclear that any DOC facility offers such a program. See http://www.in.gov/idoc/2799.htm
    (listing programs offered at DOC facilities) (last visited Oct. 12, 2017).
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017            Page 15 of 18
    criminal history was irrelevant in deciding whether to terminate his parental
    rights).
    [26]   Immediately after the hearing revoking Father’s probation for visiting with his
    daughter, while leaving the hearing and being transported to jail, he committed
    a second probation violation, trafficking with an inmate. Obviously, this was a
    grave error, and it had the effect of extending Father’s incarceration. It is
    unclear whether his earliest release date at the moment is in June 2018 or June
    2019, as there is conflicting evidence in the record and on the DOC website. In
    either case, the time period between the termination hearing(s) and Father’s
    expected release—one-and-a-half or two-and-a-half years in the future—is not
    so extreme as to necessarily warrant termination of his parental rights. See H.G.
    v. Indiana Dep’t of Child Servs., 
    959 N.E.2d 272
    , 282 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011)
    (reversing termination of mother and father’s parental rights where they were
    incarcerated and earliest expected release dates were twenty-eight and thirty-
    three months after termination hearing, respectively), trans. denied.
    [27]   A final factor we note here is that Father’s children were in foster care with
    their paternal aunt at the time of the termination hearing and that she planned
    on adopting them if the termination was finalized. 5 The aunt had custody of
    the children for approximately nine of the months preceding the termination
    5
    The aunt also had foster care of K.P., Mother’s child by Stepfather, and expressed her willingness to adopt
    K.P. as well even though she was not related to K.P.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017          Page 16 of 18
    hearings, after their removal from Mother in November 2015.6 Adoption by the
    aunt included the possibility of Father continuing to have a relationship with
    his children in the future. When a child is in relative placement and the
    permanency plan is for adoption into that home where he or she has already
    been living for a considerable length of time, prolonging the adoption is
    unlikely to negatively affect the child. See In re Involuntary Termination of Parent-
    Child Relationship of R.S., 
    56 N.E.3d 625
    , 630 (Ind. 2016).7 In other words, even
    if Father eventually fails to regain custody of his children, they will remain in
    the care of their aunt as they already would have been for years by that point.
    [28]   The termination of one’s parental rights is “‘intended as a last resort, available
    only when all other reasonable efforts have failed.’” 
    Id. (quoting In
    re V.A., 
    51 N.E.3d 1140
    , 1151-52 (Ind. 2016)). Here, virtually no efforts have been made
    with respect to Father. DCS initially had no concerns about him as a parent
    and, so, did not offer or require him to participate in any services. Even after
    Father’s conviction, DCS attempted to convince the prosecutor to allow him to
    continue having contact with his children, to no avail. Father was participating
    in a DCS-referred “Father Engagement” program at the jail where he initially
    was housed, but it was not offered at the DOC facility to which he was
    6
    The aunt had custody of the children for six months in 2016, then allowed them to be placed in another
    foster home temporarily because of financial issues related to obtaining her own foster care license, then
    regained custody of the children at the beginning of December 2016 when those issues were resolved.
    7
    The child in R.S. had been in relative placement for “years” prior to termination. Here, the time period
    involved when the children were removed from Mother’s custody was only fifteen months, but the paternal
    aunt had custody of the children for a majority of that time.
    Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision| 15A01-1704-JT-901| October 31, 2017           Page 17 of 18
    transferred. Also, shortly after that transfer, DCS filed its petition to terminate
    Father’s parental rights and simultaneously ceased any attempts to refer Father
    to additional services. Father had expressed his wish to eventually reunify with
    his children and wanted to know what he could do to accomplish that goal, but
    was barely given any opportunity to do so. The type of program that would
    appear to most expeditiously facilitate Father’s reunion with his children—a sex
    offender program—is not available at the prison where he is incarcerated,
    which is a circumstance beyond his control.
    [29]   In light of all the facts and circumstances, we conclude DCS failed to prove by
    clear and convincing evidence that continuation of the parent-child relationship
    posed a threat to the well-being of Father’s children. As such, we must reverse
    the termination of Father’s parental rights to his children Ro.P. and B.P.
    Conclusion
    [30]   There is sufficient evidence to support the termination of Mother’s parental
    rights to Ro.P., B.P., and K.P. However, there is insufficient evidence to
    support the termination of Father’s parental rights to Ro.P. and B.P. We affirm
    the termination of Mother’s parental rights but reverse the termination of
    Father’s parental rights.
    [31]   Affirmed in part and reversed in part.
    May, J., and Bradford, J., concur.
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