Com., Cabinet for Health & Family v. T.N.H., No. 2008-SC-000318-DGE.
| Decision Date | 21 January 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. 2008-SC-000318-DGE. |
| Citation | 302 S.W.3d 658 |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES; and J.L.H., a Child, Appellants, v. T.N.H., Mother, and P.N.Y., Father, Appellees. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky |
We granted discretionary review in this case wherein the Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Jefferson Family Court terminating the parental rights of the mother, who was a minor and committed to the Cabinet, because the Cabinet did not present specific evidence of the likelihood that the mother not would develop the necessary skills to successfully parent the child when she reaches majority age. We adjudge that proof that the minor parent will be unable to effectively parent the child when the parent reaches the age of majority is not required under KRS 625.090(2)(e) or (g). Because the Cabinet presented sufficient evidence that it was unlikely that the mother's conduct and ability to effectively parent the child would improve in the immediately foreseeable future, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and reinstate the judgment of the Jefferson Family Court terminating the mother's parental rights.
T.N.H. is the natural mother of a son, J.L.H., born April 13, 2003, when T.N.H. was fourteen years of age. Shortly after the birth, on July 30, 2003, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (the "Cabinet") filed a petition for dependency and neglect, alleging that T.N.H. was neglecting J.L.H. At that time, both mother and son were placed in the custody of a maternal aunt, where they remained until August 28, 2003, when both mother and son were voluntarily committed to the Cabinet's custody. At that point, both mother and son were placed in a foster home, where J.L.H. remained at the time of the termination hearing.
During T.N.H.'s placement at the foster home, she was disruptive and did not participate in the care of J.L.H. She ultimately ran away from the home and was dismissed from school. She was thereafter placed in the Mary Kendall Home in Owensboro where she was provided counseling services for her negative behavior. During her stay at the Mary Kendall Home, although her aggressive behavior and grades improved, she went AWOL three times. Nevertheless, she graduated from the home's treatment program on February 11, 2005, and was then placed in the Home of the Innocents Pregnant Parent Teen Facility ("HOI").
While at HOI, T.N.H. was offered parenting classes and counseling and was admitted into a program which permitted her to attend high school while caring for her son. The program at HOI allowed J.L.H. to go to school with T.N.H. each morning where he would attend daycare while T.N.H. was in class. At night, J.L.H. would stay with his foster parents, and on weekends, mother and son were allowed overnight visits at the maternal aunt's home.
During her time at HOI, despite some sporadic improvement in some areas, T.N.H. failed to participate in the services offered her because she insisted she did not need parenting classes, repeatedly violated curfew, sought negative peer influences, and ran away several times. As to her relationship with J.L.H., T.N.H.'s social worker, James Crawford, testified that there was no apparent bonding between the two and the child continued to call T.N.H. by her first name instead of "mommy." Further, T.N.H. continued to require extensive direction in her parenting of J.L.H. and repeatedly stayed out with friends instead of tending to the needs of J.L.H. T.N.H. last ran away from HOI on April 9, 2005, after only two months in the program.
The evidence established that during the last time T.N.H. was AWOL from HOI, she had no contact with J.L.H., who remained in the same foster home, and did not make any inquiry about his well-being for 107 days. From April 9, 2005 until July 27, 2005, T.N.H. was with her boyfriend and only returned to seek medical assistance from the Cabinet after her boyfriend had physically abused her.
Upon T.N.H.'s return, she was temporarily placed in a foster home because she had lost her placement at HOI due to her extended absence. On August 4, 2005, T.N.H. was placed at Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children ("KBHC") in Glendale, Kentucky where, unfortunately, she continued her previous pattern of running away, fighting with peers, and failing to cooperate with the treatment program. KBHC provided T.N.H. with counseling, independent living skills training, parenting classes, and supervised visits with J.L.H. On February 27, 2006, T.N.H. graduated from the KBHC program. However, at the time of her discharge, T.N.H. had not yet obtained her high school diploma or GED and, according to the testimony of Crawford, had not demonstrated any substantial improvement in her parenting abilities or personal judgment.
After her discharge from KBHC, T.N.H. was placed in the Boys Haven Pre-Independent Living Program in Louisville. As of the date of the termination hearing, T.N.H. remained in that placement and resided in a dormitory there with full-time supervisory staff. At the time of the hearing, T.N.H. had a part-time job and was about to complete the 11th grade.
As for J.L.H., Crawford testified that he was doing very well in his placement with his foster family. According to Crawford, J.L.H. was happy and attached to his foster parents, calling them "mom" and "dad." Crawford testified that the foster parents were willing to adopt J.L.H.
The Cabinet filed its petition for involuntary termination of T.N.H.'s parental rights on November 28, 2005.1 The hearing was held on March 7, 2006. Crawford was the only witness for the Cabinet. T.N.H. and her maternal aunt testified for T.N.H. Thereafter on March 23, 2006, the family court entered its order granting the petition. The family court specifically found: that J.L.H. was an abused or neglected child as defined in KRS 600.020(1) (KRS 625.090(1)(a)2.); that it was in the best interests of J.L.H. that parental rights be terminated (KRS 625.090(l)(b)); that T.N.H. for a period of not less than six months had continuously or repeatedly failed or refused to provide or had been incapable of providing essential parental care for J.L.H. and there was no reasonable expectation of improvement in parental care and protection (KRS 625.090(2)(e)); that T.N.H., for reasons other than poverty alone, had continuously or repeatedly failed to provide or was incapable of providing essential food, clothing, shelter, medical care or education reasonably necessary and available for J.L.H.'s well-being and there was no reasonable expectation of significant improvement in T.N.H.'s conduct in the immediately foreseeable future (KRS 625.090(2)(g)); that T.N.H. had abandoned the child for a period of not less than ninety days (KRS 625.090(2)(a)); and that J.L.H. has been in foster care under the responsibility of the Cabinet for fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months preceding the filing of the petition to terminate parental rights (KRS 625.090(2)(j)).
On appeal, the Court of Appeals vacated the judgment terminating T.N.H.'s parental rights. The Court of Appeals adjudged that, while the Cabinet presented evidence that T.N.H. failed to provide essential care and protection for her son and was incapable of providing for his material and emotional needs (KRS 625.090(2)(e) and (g)), the Cabinet had failed to prove that T.N.H. was incapable of rendering such care in the future pursuant to the "no reasonable expectation of [significant] improvement" language in KRS 625.090(2)(e) and (g). The Court of Appeals opined that, in cases where the mother is a minor, the Cabinet should "present the family court with some testimony, preferably expert testimony, as to the likelihood that when the teen reaches adulthood, the parent cannot effectively parent the child." We subsequently granted the Cabinet's motion for discretionary review.
The grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights in KRS 625.090 relevant to the case at hand provide as follows:
(1) The Circuit Court may involuntarily terminate all parental rights of a parent of a named child, if the Circuit Court finds from the pleadings and by clear and convincing evidence that:
(a) 1. The child has been adjudged to be an abused or neglected child, as defined in KRS 600.020(1), by a court of competent jurisdiction;
2. The child is found to be an abused or neglected child, as defined in KRS 600.020(1), by the Circuit Court in this proceeding; or
3. The parent has been convicted of a criminal charge relating to the physical or sexual abuse or neglect of any child and that physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or emotional injury to the child named in the present termination action is likely to occur if the parental rights are not terminated; and
(b) Termination would be in the best interest of the child.
(2) No termination of parental rights shall be ordered unless the Circuit Court also finds by clear and convincing evidence the existence of one (1) or more of the following grounds:
(a) That the parent has abandoned the child for a period of not less than ninety (90) days;
(e) That the parent, for a period of not less than six (6) months, has continuously or repeatedly failed or refused to provide or has been substantially incapable of providing essential parental care and protection for the child and that there is no reasonable expectation of improvement in parental care and protection, considering the age of the child;
(g) That the parent, for reasons...
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