In re M.L.H.
| Decision Date | 01 March 2022 |
| Docket Number | 14-21-00563-CV |
| Parties | IN THE INTEREST OF M.L.H., A.E.H. AND N.E.H., CHILDREN |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
On Appeal from the County Court at Law Austin County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 2020L-7541
Panel consists of Justices Jewell, Zimmerer, and Hassan.
Appellant H.K. (Mother) appeals the trial court's final order terminating her parental rights to M.L.H. (Martin), A.E.H (Anna), and N.E.H. (Nancy), [1] and appointing the Department of Family and Protective Services as sole managing conservator of the children. Mother contends the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the trial court's predicate findings for termination on endangerment, and factually insufficient to support the trial court's predicate finding that Mother failed to comply with a Family Service Plan. Mother further contends the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the best-interest finding, and the trial court abused its discretion by appointing the Department as managing conservator of the children. We affirm.
The Department filed an original petition to terminate Mother's parental rights on January 15, 2020. According to the removal affidavit attached to the petition, on November 23, 2019, it was reported to the Department that Mother's boyfriend had accidentally shot himself in the stomach while cleaning his gun in the home with Mother and the children. All three children were present in the home at the time of the shooting.
On the day of the report an investigator contacted Mother at her home where she and the children lived. The investigator confirmed that the boyfriend (Dustin) did indeed shoot himself while cleaning a gun in the presence of the children. Mother, the boyfriend, and the three children were living in one bedroom of a home owned by Wendy Perez. Thick blankets were draped over the doorway to the bedroom to retain heat in the room.
Two days later a law enforcement officer called the investigator. The officer was at Mother's home and expressed concern with the "amount of items" in the home and the use of only one space heater for warmth. Nancy was wearing only a diaper and her feet were purple. Mother reported that Nancy had "circulation issues." Mother reported that she would take Nancy to see a doctor.
Perez who was described as the Godmother to the children, also called the investigator and expressed concern about the children. Perez reported that Mother only bathed the children and changed their diapers when instructed. Perez provided diapers to Mother and fed the children because Mother only fed the children when she was hungry.
The investigator also spoke with Dustin about the shooting incident. Dustin admitted that he was "cycling bullets" through the gun when it accidentally discharged. When asked about a safer way to clean the gun Dustin responded that "he did not think of it." Dustin also admitted to an earlier incident in which he fired a weapon inside the home. He asserted that it was accidental, and the children were not in the home at that time.
One day after the interviews another report came into the Department alleging neglectful supervision of Martin, and sexual abuse of Nancy and Anna. The report alleged that Martin fell off a piece of furniture in the home cutting his foot on a piece of glass. It was also reported that Anna had a bruise on her cheek that appeared in the shape of knuckles.
The investigator visited Mother's home approximately one month later. At that visit Martin carried a pair of scissors from the kitchen and gave them to the investigator. Mother explained that she had forgotten to lock the kitchen door earlier. Mother told the investigator that she had broken up with her boyfriend but he would continue to pay Mother's electric and phone bills.
Several weeks later Perez reported that Mother attempted to jump out of Perez's moving vehicle because Mother was upset Perez would not pay her phone bill. Mother did exit the vehicle when Perez stopped at a stop sign, leaving Anna in the car with Perez. Perez reported Mother had expressed suicidal thoughts to her.
At a Family Team Meeting, it was determined that Mother was overwhelmed with her children and had a very limited support system. Concerns were also expressed about Mother's mental health and noncompliance with prescribed medications. Mother left the meeting at one point but returned stating she did not have help and had to bathe her children by herself every day. Mother left the meeting a second time when her comments expressing suicidal ideation were discussed.
The Department conducted a search for a safe placement for the children but was unable to find one. While a Department worker was watching the children, the worker discovered that Anna had a "bad diaper rash to the point there were blisters forming." When asked how often Mother changed Anna's diaper her answers were inconsistent. Due to Mother's unaddressed mental health concerns and "lack of basic, general care of the children" the Department requested emergency removal.
The pretrial removal affidavit also listed Mother's history with the Department dating back to January 19, 2017. The history reported (1) Mother's admission of methamphetamine use during pregnancy; (2) abuse of Martin that was documented by Martin's father on social media; (3) Mother's inability to care for Martin while pregnant with her second child; (4) a lack of stable housing and prenatal care while Mother was pregnant with her second child; and (5) a report of domestic violence in the home for which law enforcement was called. The first four intake reports were disposed of as "ruled out"; the final report was disposed of as "unable to determine."
Patricia Penner of the Sealy Pregnancy Center (the Center) testified that the Center helps mothers from pregnancy through the first three years of a child's life. Penner testified that Mother came to the Center when she was pregnant with Martin and registered for services. The Center provided prenatal and parental classes in addition to diapers, wipes, and other needs of the baby. After initially registering, Mother did not come back to the Center until the day before Martin was born. The Center provided Mother with a car seat and additional items needed for the baby.
Penner and other counselors at the Center took notes each time they had contact with Mother. Those notes were admitted into evidence and detailed the following relevant contacts:
Penner testified that she had observed a pattern of Mother being abused by the men she lived with, describing three times Mother reported physical abuse to her.
Penner counseled Mother on a "life plan" to help Mother get out of the cycle of domestic violence. The plan was developed to aid Mother in becoming independent so she would not have to rely on men for the support of her children. The plan was a detailed step-by-step guide designed to aid Mother in finding work, completing her education, and obtaining daycare so she could obtain employment. A plan update on the first page of the plan noted:
Update: 2021- We have tried to re-visit this document several times, however [Mother] seems dis-interested in making the necessary changes to get her life back on track. She is more interested in finding a male partner to finance her and her children's li[ves]. She indicated that she is incapable of living on her own and taking care of normal day-to-day business necessary to manage a family household. My concern has and continues to be that every man who enters her life has a violent temperament and she requires the children to call him "Daddy" which is highly unhealthy and confusing for the children.
Jennifer Heitshusen, a volunteer at the Center, was assigned to help Mother after the children were removed by the Department. Initially, Heitshusen was helping Mother regain custody of her children. At Mother's first meeting with Heitshusen Mother "verbalized understanding as to what she needed to do at the Sealy Pregnancy Resource Center to work towards getting her...
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