In the Interest of B.S., M.S., and R.S., Minor Children, L.G., Mother ( 2015 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 15-1565
Filed December 9, 2015
IN THE INTEREST OF B.S., M.S., AND R.S.,
Minor Children,
L.G., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Craig M.
Dreismeier, District Associate Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her children.
AFFIRMED.
Roberta J. Megel of the State Public Defender, Council Bluffs, for
appellant mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Kathrine S. Miller-Todd, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee State.
Vanessa E. Strazdas of Strazdas Law, Council Bluffs, attorney and
guardian ad litem for minor children.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Vaitheswaran and Bower, JJ.
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VAITHESWARAN, Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her three
children, born in 2008, 2012, and 2013. She contends the State failed to prove
four of the five grounds for termination cited by the district court. Although we
could affirm the termination decision on the unchallenged ground, we elect to
address two of the challenged grounds. See In re S.R., 600 N.W.2d 63, 64 (Iowa
Ct. App. 1999) (stating we may affirm if there is clear and convincing evidence to
support any ground cited by the district court).
Our de novo review of the record reveals the following pertinent facts.
The Department of Human Services became involved with the mother in 2012,
when her second child was born with marijuana in her system. The mother
moved to Nebraska and did not participate in services offered by the Iowa
department.
The mother apparently returned to Iowa, where she gave birth to a third
child with marijuana in her system. The child’s grandmother took in the children,
mother, and mother’s boyfriend. The mother admitted to recent marijuana use
and agreed to participate in reunification services. She did not.
In 2014, a department worker fielded a complaint that the mother left her
youngest child unattended in a vehicle and used illegal drugs. The child had
severe diaper rash. The department sought removal of the children based on the
youngest child’s health, the mother’s drug use, and her homelessness.
The children were removed and placed with their maternal grandmother.
The mother later moved into the same home and, with the department’s
knowledge, helped to care for the children. She failed to undergo regular drug
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testing or provide the department with a substance abuse evaluation, as
requested.
Towards the end of 2014, the mother assaulted the grandmother. Police
were called, and the grandmother asked the mother to leave her home. The
mother moved to her boyfriend’s home in Nebraska. The department
characterized her visits with the children as “sporadic.”
At the termination hearing, the mother acknowledged the home she
shared with her boyfriend was unsuitable for the children. When asked if the
children could be returned to her as of the date of the termination hearing, she
responded, “unfortunately, I do not feel like they could be returned to me today
because I just started working. I do not have my own place.”
The district court terminated the mother’s parental rights pursuant to Iowa
Code sections 232.116(1)(e), (f), (h), (i), and (l) (2015). Paragraphs (f) and (h)
require proof of several elements including proof that the children cannot be
returned to the mother’s custody. The mother essentially admitted these
grounds. We affirm the termination of the mother’s parental rights pursuant to
Iowa code sections 232.116(1)(f) and (h), together with the unchallenged ground,
(I).
AFFIRMED.