Clay v. Texas Dept. of Human Resources, 10-87-222-CV
| Decision Date | 07 April 1988 |
| Docket Number | No. 10-87-222-CV,10-87-222-CV |
| Citation | 748 S.W.2d 598 |
| Parties | Tracie CLAY, Appellant, v. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
This is an appeal by Tracie Clay (mother) from judgment of the trial court terminating the parent-child relationship between her and her three children Kevin Clay II, Patricia Clay and Jeremy Clay, and naming the Texas Department of Human Services as managing conservator of the children (and decreeing the Department permission to place the children for adoption). The attorney ad litem, Honorable Ronald Bunch, appointed by the trial court to represent the best interest of the three children, joined appellant in her appeal.
The Department filed this suit for termination against Tracie Clay (mother) and Kevin Clay, Sr. (father of the children). The trial court dismissed the case against the father because of lack of proper service of citation.
The case was tried before the court which found the parental rights of the mother should be terminated because: (1) she endangered the physical or emotional well-being of the children, and (2) it was in the best interest of the children.
Appellant mother, and the attorney ad litem representing the children, appeal contending:
1. There is no evidence or insufficient evidence to support the trial court's finding that appellant:
(a) Knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the children to remain in conditions or surroundings which endangered the physical or emotional well-being of the children; and
(b) Engaged in conduct which endangered the physical or emotional well-being of the children.
2. There is no evidence or insufficient evidence to support the trial court's finding that termination of parental rights between appellant and her children would be in the best interest of the children.
In December 1983, the Department of Human Services (DHS) received a report of suspected child abuse and neglect at appellant's home in Ennis. Appellant lived there with her husband Kevin Clay, Sr. and their three children Kevin II, Patricia and Jeremy, whose ages at that time were 4, 2 and 1. The DHS caseworker found a burn on Patricia's arm and diaper rash on Jeremy. Both children were taken to a physician for treatment and released. The cause of the burn was never learned, but indications were that it came from contact with the grill of a heater. Appellant was not at home at the time of the incident but expressed the belief the burn might have been caused by her husband. In January 1984, DHS began providing protective day-care for the two older children at a day-care center in Ennis. On January 12, 1984, appellant asked DHS for help because she had been abused by her husband. DHS arranged to have appellant admitted to a shelter for battered women in Fort Worth. The group voluntarily returned home after 8 days. DHS then continued to provide services, arranging for counseling for appellant with Dr. Oller, a psychologist. Dr. Oller saw appellant twice in March 1984. His conclusion was that appellant cared for her children but was having difficulty meeting their needs. He observed no tendency in appellant for violence toward the children. On April 22, 1984, appellant contacted DHS for assistance saying her husband had beaten her and that her children were not safe in his presence. As a result of this, the court named DHS temporary managing conservator and placed the children in foster care. The court ordered each parent to pay child support, to establish a stable work record, to stay sober and drug free, and to submit to counseling. The DHS was ordered to continue its investigation of the couple's parenting skills with the intent to restore the children to them. Shortly thereafter appellant and her husband separated. DHS's last contact with the father was in September 1984, and appellant last saw her husband in April 1985.
During the three years since DHS was granted temporary custody, appellant has paid all child support as ordered and has visited with the children as permitted by the court. When Kevin II was hospitalized for a tonsilectomy appellant stayed at the hospital with him. Appellant attended almost all counseling...
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Coast, In Interest of
... ... The psychologist for the Human Services Center, who had conducted a parenting ... In Texas, Vernon's Codes Annotated, Family ... Page ... Clay v. Texas Dept. of Human Resources, (App. 10 ... ...
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D.L.N., In Interest of
...Ybarra v. Texas Dep't of Human Services, 869 S.W.2d 574, 576 (Tex.App.--Corpus Christi 1993, no writ); Clay v. Texas Dep't of Human Resources, 748 S.W.2d 598, 600-01 (Tex.App.--Waco 1988, no writ). A termination of parental rights is an irrevocable act severing the parent-child relationship......
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In the Interest of D.T.
...mother contacted the Department for help because she was being abused by her husband and the children were not safe in his presence. 748 S.W.2d 598, 599-600 (Tex. App.--Waco 1988, no writ). The children were placed in the temporary custody of TDHR at the mother's request. The mother paid al......
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In re S.G.S.
...be in the best interest of the child. Id. The termination of the mother's parental rights was also overturned in Clay v. Texas Dep't of Human Resources, 748 S.W.2d 598 (Tex.App.-Waco 1988, no writ), a case in which an abusive husband circumvented the mother's efforts to meet her children's ......