In re A.D.
| Decision Date | 21 February 2023 |
| Docket Number | 06-22-00083-CV |
| Parties | IN THE INTEREST OF A.D., A CHILD |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Submitted: February 17, 2023
On Appeal from the 307th District Court Gregg County, Texas Trial Court No. 2021-696-DR
Before Stevens, C.J., van Cleef and Rambin, JJ.
The Department of Family and Protective Services (the Department) filed a petition to terminate Mother's parental rights to her eight-year-old son, Adam.[1] Following a bench trial, the trial court terminated Mother's parental rights after finding that (1) she constructively abandoned Adam, (2) she failed to comply with the provisions of a court order that specifically established the actions necessary for her to obtain Adam's return, and (3) termination of her parental rights was in Adam's best interests. See Tex Fam. Code Ann. § 161.001(b)(1)(N), (O), (b)(2).
On appeal, Mother questions whether the Department made reasonable efforts to reunite her with Adam[2] and argues that the evidence was factually insufficient to support the trial court's best-interests finding. We conclude that (1) the unchallenged Ground O finding supports the trial court's judgment on statutory grounds, and (2) factually sufficient evidence supports the trial court's best-interests finding. As a result, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
Jessica Galindo, an investigative supervisor for Child Protective Services (CPS), testified that, because of CPS's intervention, Adam was removed from Mother's care when he was six months old, and his grandparents were named as the child's managing conservators. Amber Preston, the Department's conservatorship caseworker, testified that, although Mother was named as a possessory conservator, she did not exercise her rights to visit Adam. According to Galindo, Adam's mental health became problematic, and he accumulated a lengthy "history of aggressive and violent behavior" toward his grandparents. On July 1, 2020, Adam attempted to kill his grandmother. As a result, he was moved to a mental health treatment facility in San Marcos, Texas.
On March 8, 2021, Galindo met with Adam's therapist, who stated that the child was a danger to himself and others, still expressed homicidal ideations, and had not made therapeutic progress. The therapist told Galindo that Adam felt he would kill if he were returned to his grandparents. According to Galindo, Adam's therapist recommended that he be placed into the Department's custody, and "the family" asked for the same. Preston testified that the Department made unsuccessful efforts to determine if Adam could be safely placed with any family member. As a result, the Department filed its petition to terminate parental rights on April 2021.
That same month, Adam was placed with the "Roy Maas Youth Alternative" facility, where he received more specialized treatment. Preston testified that Adam, who was "very, very behind" on his education, was making significant progress in the facility's school. Preston added that Adam had not shown any recent homicidal urges and had only a "moderate" level of incidents. Lesa Maatouk, Adam's Court Appointed Special Advocate, testified that the facility was safe and that Adam was well cared for.
Mother's first family service plan was made by an order of the trial court on June 9, 2021. Preston testified that Mother participated in a home study, took one drug test, and attended two family counseling sessions, but failed to complete any portion of her court-ordered family service plan. Preston said that Mother did not have the ability to manage Adam's "current level of need," was unable to provide medical care for him, and stopped contacting the Department, which Preston said indicated a lack of willingness to build a parent-child relationship. According to Preston, Mother said that she had not seen or talked to Adam since 2017. Even so, Preston decided to go "sort of above and beyond to try to help [Mother] to develop a relationship" with Adam. A second family service plan was ordered in April 2022, and Preston scheduled a therapeutic visit between Adam and Mother, which Mother attended. Preston testified that Mother made one more visit, did not schedule any others, stopped participating, and failed to respond to Adam's therapist's inquiries.
Although duly served and represented by counsel, Mother failed to appear for trial. Preston testified that Mother, who had only visited Adam twice in over a year and had failed to take eight requested drug tests, had not shown a willingness or ability to handle Adam's psychological issues. Considering that and Mother's lack of contact with the child through the years, Preston testified that placing the child with Mother would significantly impair Adam's physical health or emotional development and would put him in danger of "a very, very severe setback."
Maatouk said that Mother had not shown that she could provide a safe, stable environment for Adam and that termination of her parental rights was in Adam's best interests. Both Maatouk and Preston testified that Adam wished to be adopted.
After hearing this evidence, the trial court terminated Mother's parental rights to Adam.
"In order to terminate parental rights, the trial court must find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the parent has engaged in at least one statutory ground for termination and that termination is in the child's best interest." In re E.J.Z., 547 S.W.3d 339, 343 (Tex. App.- Texarkana 2018, no pet.) (citing Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 161.001; In re E. N.C. , 384 S.W.3d 796, 798 (Tex. 2012)). "Only one predicate finding under Section 161.001[b](1) is necessary to support a judgment of termination when there is also a finding that termination is in the child's best interest." In re M.A., No. 06-22-00011-CV, 2022 WL 4546576, at *4 (Tex. App.- Texarkana Sept. 29, 2022, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (quoting In re L.E.S., 471 S.W.3d 915, 920 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 2015, no pet.)). Here, Mother has failed to challenge the legal or factual sufficiency of the evidence supporting the trial court's Ground O finding.
Instead, Mother questions whether the trial court made reasonable efforts to reunite her with Adam. "A family service plan is designed to reunify a parent with a child who has been removed by the Department." In re I.M., No. 06-21-00002-CV, 2021 WL 1991271, at *11 (Tex. App.-Texarkana May 19, 2021, pet. denied) (mem. op.) (quoting In re J.C., No. 04-17-00828-CV, 2018 WL 1733139, at *3 (Tex. App.-San Antonio Apr. 11, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op.)) (citing Liu v. Dep't of Fam. & Protective Servs., 273 S.W.3d 785, 795 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist] 2008, no pet.); In re A.H., No. 09-19-00167-CV, 2019 WL 4865196, at *4 (Tex. App.- Beaumont Oct. 3, 2019, no pet.) (mem. op.)). "'Implementation of a family service plan by the Department is considered a reasonable effort to return a child' to his parent 'if the parent has been given a reasonable opportunity to comply with the terms of the plan.'" Id. (quoting In re J.C., 2018 WL 1733139, at *3); see In re J.J.W., No. 06-09-00030-CV, 2009 WL 2432634, at *4 (Tex. App.-Texarkana Aug. 11, 2009, pet. denied) (mem. op.); M.C. v. Tex. Dep't of Fam. & Protective Servs., 300 S.W.3d 305, 309-10 (Tex. App.-El Paso 2009, pet. denied) (mem. op.); In re K.M.B., 91 S.W.3d 18, 25 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 2002, no pet.) ( that preparation and administration of service plans by the Department are reasonable efforts to reunite a parent and a child).
Mother was involved in this case since the Department filed its petition in April 2021. In a June 9 order, the trial court found that Mother had reviewed and understood the Department's family service plan, and it ordered her to comply with the plan. In April 2022, the trial court gave Mother another family service plan, which she acknowledged and signed. She attended two therapeutic visits with Adam but then stopped participating. Because Mother had reasonable opportunity before the September 2022 trial to comply with the terms of the Department's family service plans, the Department made reasonable efforts to reunite her with Adam.
The evidence shows that Mother failed to comply with the terms of either family service plan, and on appeal, Mother does not challenge the trial court's Ground O finding, which we conclude supports the trial court's judgment on statutory grounds for termination of parental rights. Accordingly, we overrule Mother's first point of error.
Next, Mother does not challenge the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting the trial court's best-interests finding. Instead, she challenges the best-interests finding on factual sufficiency grounds.
"The natural right existing between parents and their children is of constitutional dimensions." In re E.J.Z. 547 S.W.3d at 343 (quoting Holick v. Smith, 685 S.W.2d 18, 20 (Tex. 1985)). "Indeed, parents have a fundamental right to make decisions concerning 'the care, custody, and control of their children.'" Id. (quoting Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57, 65 (2000)). "Because the termination of parental rights implicates fundamental interests, a higher standard of proof-clear and convincing evidence-is required at trial." Id. (quoting In re A.B., 437 S.W.3d 498, 502 (Tex. 2014)).[3] This Court is required to "engage in an exacting review of the entire record to determine if the evidence is . . . sufficient to support the termination of parental rights." Id. (quoting In re A.B., 437 S.W.3d at 500). "[I]nvoluntary termination st...
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