Elijah R., In re
| Decision Date | 04 February 1993 |
| Citation | 620 A.2d 282 |
| Parties | In re ELIJAH R. |
| Court | Maine Supreme Court |
N. Paul Gauvreau, Gauvreau & Blackburn, Lewiston, for appellant.
Lou Ann Clifford, Asst. Atty. Gen., Dept. of Human Services, Portland, for appellee.
Before WATHEN, C.J., and ROBERTS, GLASSMAN, CLIFFORD, COLLINS and RUDMAN, JJ.
Robin R., mother of Elijah R., 1 appeals from the order entered in the District Court (Lewiston, Beliveau, J.) terminating her parental rights pursuant to 22 M.R.S.A. § 4055 (1992). Robin contends that the record does not support, by clear and convincing evidence, the court's findings that she is unable to protect Elijah from jeopardy, that she is unwilling or unable to take responsibility for Elijah, that she failed to make a good faith effort to rehabilitate or reunify with her son, and that termination of her parental rights is in the best interest of Elijah. Robin also argues that the court erred in admitting over objection her medical records from the Augusta Mental Health Institute (AMHI) and the testimony of Elijah's pediatrician regarding the relationship between Elijah and his foster mother. We disagree and affirm the judgment.
Elijah R. was born on November 30, 1990. Prior to and after his birth his mother, Robin R., was an involuntary patient at AMHI undergoing treatment for paranoid schizophrenia. On December 3, 1990, the Maine Department of Human Services (Department) filed a petition for a child protection order pursuant to 22 M.R.S.A. §§ 4034 & 4036 (1992). The petition alleged that Elijah was in jeopardy due to Robin's abuse of alcohol and drugs, her psychiatric illness, and her refusal to take her anti-psychotic medication. The petition was granted the same day it was filed and the Department was granted temporary custody of Elijah. Elijah was placed in a foster home where he still resides. The District Court (Lewiston, Gorman, J.) entered a final protection order on March 6, 1991. The order provided that Robin was to follow recommendations of substance abuse and mental health counselors, maintain sobriety, take her medication, attend scheduled visits with Elijah, and demonstrate the ability to maintain a stable lifestyle.
Robin was initially allowed supervised visits with Elijah three times a week during periods when she was not hospitalized. Visits were reduced to once a week in November 1991 after the Department decided to discontinue reunification efforts due to Robin's failure to comply with treatment plans of mental health and substance abuse counselors and to maintain sobriety. Robin has a long history of mental illness and substance abuse. She has been diagnosed as a chronic paranoid schizophrenic and has been hospitalized for these problems over the past year in various institutions including AMHI, Jackson Brook Institute and St. Mary's detoxification unit. Although Robin completed a two-week program for substance abuse rehabilitation in early 1991, she has continued to drink, missed appointments with service providers, and has not complied with recommendations to enter a long-term rehabilitation program and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings regularly.
On February 4, 1992, the Department filed a petition for termination of parental rights. The hearing on that petition was consolidated with a judicial review of the child protection order and heard on June 29, 1992. An order terminating Robin's parental rights to Elijah was entered on July 22, 1992.
The District Court may order the termination of parental rights if it finds by clear and convincing evidence both that termination is in the best interest of the child and any one of the following:
(i) The parent is unwilling or unable to protect the child from jeopardy and these circumstances are unlikely to change within a time which is reasonably calculated to meet the child's needs;
(ii) The parent has been unwilling or unable to take responsibility for the child within a time which is reasonably calculated to meet the child's needs;
(iii) The child has been abandoned; or
(iv) The parent has failed to make a good faith effort to rehabilitate and reunify with the child pursuant to section 4041.
22 M.R.S.A. § 4055(1)(B)(2)(a) & (b) (1992). In this case, the court found by clear and convincing evidence elements (i), (ii), and (iv) above, and that the best interest of Elijah favored the termination of Robin's parental rights.
We affirm an order terminating parental rights if a review of the entire record results in a determination that the District Court rationally could have found clear and convincing evidence to support its factual conclusions with regard to any one of the alternative bases for terminating parental rights. In re Peter M, 602 A.2d 1161, 1163 (Me.1992). The clear and convincing standard is met if the District Court could reasonably have been persuaded that the required factual findings were proved to be highly probable. In re Jennifer M., 610 A.2d 270, 272 (Me.1992).
Robin first argues that there is insufficient evidence that she was unable or unwilling to protect Elijah from jeopardy within a reasonable time-frame. She specifically asserts that she had demonstrated progress in addressing her substance and alcohol abuse problems and that she was deprived of a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate her ability to protect Elijah from jeopardy in a reasonable time-frame by the Department's premature termination of her reunification plan in November 1991. She further argues that her psychiatrist's refusal to prescribe medication denied her the opportunity to control her mental condition.
Contrary to Robin's contention, there is no evidence that she was making substantial progress in dealing with her substance abuse problems. Robin was assigned to a new substance abuse counselor in November 1991, the same month that the Department decided to terminate her reunification plan. The counselor testified that since that date she had seen Robin five times, that each time Robin reported that she had continued drinking, and that Robin had missed five appointments with her. After Robin arrived for an early morning appointment while intoxicated, the counselor referred her to a long-term rehabilitation program. Although Robin said that she was willing to attend, she failed to keep at least three appointments regarding admission to such a program.
During this period Robin's psychiatrist refused (and continues to refuse) to prescribe medication for her mental illness because the medication is dangerous when used with alcohol. Robin's continued abuse of alcohol has therefore precluded effective treatment of her mental illness. Robin was admitted to St. Mary's hospital for psychiatric problems and discharged against medical advice on March 4, 1992. Shortly thereafter she was admitted to AMHI....
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