In Re J.L. Et Al.

• Decision Date: 19 February 2010
• Docket Number: No. 108575.,108575.
• Citation: 338 Ill.Dec. 435,236 Ill.2d 329,924 N.E.2d 961
• Parties: In re J.L. et al., Minors (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Stephanie L., Appellee).
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

236 Ill.2d 329

924 N.E.2d 961

338 Ill.Dec. 435

In re J.L. et al., Minors (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellant, v. Stephanie L., Appellee).

No. 108575.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Feb. 19, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Lisa Madigan, Attorney General, Springfield, and Kevin W. Lyons, State's Attorney, Peoria (Michael A. Scodro, Solicitor General, and Sunil S. Bhave, Assistant Attorney General, Chicago, and Patrick Delfino, Terry A. Mertel, Richard T. Leonard, Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, Ottawa, of counsel), for the People.

Derek G. Asbury, Peoria, for appellee.

Robert F. Harris, Kass A. Plain and Mary Brigid Hayes, Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, Chicago, for amicus curiaeCook County Public Guardian.

Anita Alvaraz, State's Attorney, Chicago (James E. Fitzgerald, Ashley A. Romito, Nancy Kisicki and Nancy Faulls, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for amicus curiaeCook County State's Attorney.

OPINION

Justice FREEMANdelivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

Following an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court of Peoria County found respondent Stephanie L. an unfit parent under section 1(D)(m)(iii) of the Adoption Act(750 ILCS 50/1(D)(m)(iii)(West 2008)).The circuit court subsequently terminated respondent's parental rights to her three children.A divided appellate court reversed and remanded.Nos. 3-08-0941, 3-08-0942, 3-08-0943 cons. (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23).For the reasons set forth below, we reverse the judgment of the appellate court and affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

BACKGROUND

Respondent is the mother of R.G., a female born on February 19, 2001; T.L., a male born on December 2, 2002; and J.L., a male born on August 25, 2004.

On March 14, 2005, the State filed three separate petitions for wardship, one for each child, alleging that the children had been neglected.¹In each petition, the State alleged the children were in an injurious environment because of respondent's mental health problems and criminal history.Specifically, the petitions alleged respondent had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and “has a criminal history of '00 forgery and on August 27, 2003, [respondent] committed a robbery by luring a man to her residence with the promise of sex.”Additionally, the petition for J.L. alleged that he had been neglected as to the care necessary for his well-being, in that he had been diagnosed with nonorganic failure to thrive.On March 15, 2005, the circuit court placed the children in the temporary custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services(DCFS).On December 6, 2005, following an evidentiary hearing, the court found that the children had been neglected.

On January 3, 2006, the circuit court entered a dispositional order finding respondent unfit and making the children wards of the court.Respondent was ordered to undertake the following tasks, among others: (1) cooperate fully and completely with DCFS; (2) submit to a psychological examination arranged by DCFS if requested by her counselor; (3) successfully complete personal counseling, as well as courses in parenting and in domestic violence; (4) obtain and maintain stable housing for her children; and (5) take her psychotropic medications.At the time, respondent was incarcerated, and the circuit court temporarily suspended visitation with her children.DCFS was ordered to supervise all visitation after her release.

On January 11, 2008, the State filed three separate petitions to terminaterespondent's parental rights and appoint a guardian with power to consent to the children's adoption.The petitions alleged that, pursuant to section 1(D)(m)(iii) of the Adoption Act(750 ILCS 50/1(D)(m)(iii)(West 2008)), respondent had “failed to make reasonable progress toward the return of the minor[s] to the parent during any 9 month period after the end of the initial 9 month period[ ] following the adjudication of a neglected, abused or dependent minor, being February 1, 2007[,] to November 1, 2007.”

A fitness hearing was held on August 13, 2008.Testimony at the hearing indicated respondent was incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections(DOC) for approximately six of the nine months between February 1 and November 1, 2007, the relevant nine-month period.²While respondent was in the DOC, she was taking her psychotropic medication.She also completed a four-day anger management class; a prestart program, which involved taking academic courses to prepare her for life outside prison; and eight sessions of parental training.Respondent did not take a domestic violence course.According to the testimony, respondent sent cards and letters to her children “almost monthly.”

However, respondent stopped taking her psychotropic medication when she was released from the DOC at the beginning of August 2007.One of her caseworkers, Nicole Friend, testified that at the time respondent was first released, she was able to participate in conversations regarding her children, but as time passed, she appeared to lack retention skills.“[C]onversations appeared to be going no where [ sic] with her.”Friend testified that, to her knowledge, respondent did not receive any kind of treatment or medication from the time she was released from prison until the end of the nine-month period.

J.L., the youngest of respondent's children, was described in the testimony as “medically complex.”He has tracheomalacia,³ which affects his swallowing.He also has tubes in his ears, and he has severe clubfeet.J.L. needs occupational and physical therapy, as well as assistance with eating.

According to the testimony at the fitness hearing, respondent's visits with her children after she was released from prison did not go well.One of these visits took place on August 17, 2007, at a McDonald's restaurant.There was a cake, and respondent brought “a larger kitchen knife that was not just a butter knife” to cut the cake.Respondent then left the knife on the table with the point outward, apparently unaware of the danger this posed with her children running around the table.The supervising caseworker, Nicole Friend, eventually moved the knife to a safer location and spoke to respondent about it later.While the children were playing on the McDonald's playground, Friend advised respondent not to play too roughly with J.L. and not to let him climb stairs.Friend was concerned because J.L. was “ very clumsy” and unsteady, partly because of his clubfoot condition.According to Friend, respondent did not acknowledge these concerns and instead let J.L. climb the stairs.

A second visit, also supervised by Friend, took place on September 20, 2007.At one point during the visit, Friend noticed the children “were all running around wildly almost.”When J.L. began to have difficulty breathing as a result of his medical conditions, his foster mother, who was present during the visit, asked respondent to settle him down and try to get him to stop running.According to Friend, respondent answered: “We're just playing.”Friend then intervened and told respondent to settle J.L. down or Friend would end the visit.Respondent put her hands on her hips and said, “Fine.We're just playing.”

A third visit took place on October 10, 2007, at the home of J.L.'s foster parents.At the start of the visit, J.L. and T.L. were in the house and R.G. was on her way home from school.Friend testified that respondent attempted to play with J.L. by tickling him and asking him to sit on her lap, but J.L. ignored her and “kept covering his ears and hiding his face.”Respondent then turned her attention to T.L. and asked him to sit on her lap.T.L. declined and came over to Friend and asked if he could go outside.Shortly thereafter, R.G. came home from school.According to Friend, R.G. had “a really good day at school and had gotten four smiley faces and was trying to tell us all about it.”However, respondent did not acknowledge what R.G. was saying and instead urged R.G. to come and play with her and talk to her.Friend stated that respondent“attempted to pull [R.G.] towards her[,] not acknowledging what [R.G.] was telling us about her day.”

At the conclusion of the fitness hearing, the circuit court found the State had proved by clear and convincing evidence that respondent failed to make reasonable progress toward the return of her children from foster care.The court commended respondent for taking parenting classes, completing an anger management course, participating in “some type of job counseling,” and maintaining contact with her children while she was in prison.However, the court expressed concern that respondent had serious mental health problems, yet she stopped taking her medication after she was released from prison.According to the court, respondent's visits with her children did not go well “because she stopped taking her medication.”

On October 27 and 28, 2008, the circuit court conducted a best-interests hearing.At the conclusion of the hearing, the court found it was in the children's best interests to terminate respondent's parental rights.The court entered best-interests orders dated October 28, 2008, terminating respondent's parental rights as to each child and naming the guardianship administrator of DCFS as guardian with the power to consent to adoption.

Respondent appealed, and a divided appellate court reversed and remanded.The majority concluded that because respondent was incarcerated for six months of the relevant nine-month period, she“was effectively given three months out of nine to demonstrate reasonable progress regarding most of her tasks.”Nos. 3-08-0941, 3-08-0942, 3-08-0943 cons. (unpublished order under Supreme Court Rule 23).According to the majority, “respondent was not given an adequate opportunity to demonstrate whether she could make progress,” and a remand for additional evidence was necessary.Nos. 3-08-0941, 3-08-0942,...