In re A.M.M.R.

• Citation: 407 Mont. 5,500 P.3d 1232 (Table)
• Decision Date: 14 December 2021
• Docket Number: DA 21-0135
• Parties: In the MATTER OF: A.M.M.R. and M.L.R.M.R., youths in need of care.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Montana

407 Mont. 5

500 P.3d 1232 (Table)

In the MATTER OF: A.M.M.R. and M.L.R.M.R., youths in need of care.

DA 21-0135

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs: November 3, 2021

Decided: December 14, 2021

For Appellant: Daniel V. Biddulph, Peppertree Law, PLLC, Missoula, Montana (for Father), Shannon Hathaway, Driscoll Hathaway Law Group, Missoula, Montana (for Mother)

For Appellee: Austin Knudsen, Montana Attorney General, Tammy K Plubell, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana, Scott D. Twito, Yellowstone County Attorney, Amanda Tiernan, Scott Pederson, Deputy County Attorneys, Billings, Montana

Justice Jim Rice delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(c), Montana Supreme Court Internal Operating Rules, this case is decided by memorandum opinion and shall not be cited and does not serve as precedent. Its case title, cause number, and disposition shall be included in this Court's quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana Reports.

¶2 K.L.M. (Mother) and T.H.R. (Father) each appeal the Thirteenth Judicial District Court's findings of fact, conclusions of law, and orders terminating their parental rights regarding their daughter, A.M.M.R., and their son, M.L.R.M.R. (collectively "the Children"). Mother argues the District Court erred in its determination that the conduct or condition rendering her unfit to be a parent was unlikely to change within a reasonable time. Father argues the District Court abused its discretion in terminating his parental rights. We affirm the District Court's termination of both parent's parental rights.¹ We address the facts and procedural history relevant to each parent in turn.

Facts and Procedural History Relative to Mother

¶3 A.M.M.R. was born to Mother and Father in December 2012. M.L.R.M.R. was born to Mother and Father in August 2017. In March 2019 the Children were removed from Mother's house by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Child and Family Services Division (Department), after a report of physical neglect due to Mother's ongoing methamphetamine use and inability to provide a safe living environment for the Children.² During the Department's investigation into the neglect allegations, Mother was incarcerated due to drug-related probation violations (Father at this time was already incarcerated, as discussed below). Both children were placed in kinship foster care—A.M.M.R. eventually with her maternal aunt (Aunt), and M.L.R.M.R. eventually with his paternal uncle (Uncle).

¶4 The Children were adjudicated Youth in Need of Care (YINC) on June 6, 2019. On July 2 the Department, pursuant to § 41-3-423(2), MCA, petitioned for a determination that preservation or reunification services need not be provided. On August 7 the Department withdrew the petition and the District Court approved a treatment plan ("Phase I Treatment Plan") for Mother. By that time, Mother had been transferred to Passages inpatient drug treatment center for drug-treatment services; she was released from Passages on November 18. At this point, Mother was only allowed supervised visitation with her children. Despite this, on November 23, 2019, Mother took A.M.M.R. and S.B., along with her niece, on an unsupervised trip to a water park. During the drive to the water park, Mother was apparently rear-ended while slowing her vehicle near an unrelated automobile accident. Despite this initial impact's slow speed, Mother's vehicle then travelled an additional 500 feet, both on and off the road, before crashing—head-on and now at high-speed—into another vehicle. Neither A.M.M.R. nor S.B. were seated in child safety seats, and both were severely injured in the collision. Mother claims she blacked-out after being rear-ended and does not remember anything further about the accident.³

¶5 The high-speed collision resulted in S.B. and A.M.M.R. being transported via aircraft to Utah for emergency care. S.B. would pass away from his injuries soon after arrival in Utah, while A.M.M.R. required extensive life-saving operations and spent 111 days in the hospital. While these operations saved the life of the then seven-year-old A.M.M.R., the accident left her paralyzed from the waist down, and she requires extensive daily care for the foreseeable future, if not the rest of her life. Mother made just two five-day trips to Utah to attend to A.M.M.R., one immediately after the accident and one several weeks later; because of this, she was unable to learn how to properly care for A.M.M.R. After her hospital stay, the Department placed A.M.M.R. in her maternal grandmother's (Grandmother) care; both Grandmother and Aunt have learned how to properly care for A.M.M.R.

¶6 The Department filed another petition for no reunification services; at the hearing, the District Court heard a substantial amount of testimony regarding the November 23 accident, the extent of A.M.M.R.’s injuries, and the amount of specialized care she will likely need for the remainder of her life. It also heard testimony regarding Mother's inconsistent attendance at therapy sessions with her addiction counselor; Mother's refusal to engage in family therapy sessions with M.L.R.M.R.’s counselor, with Mother asserting it was a "conflict of interest" to meet with her; Mother's inconsistent participation in drug testing; and Mother's failure to update basic contact information with her caseworker. While the District Court denied the Department's petition for no reunification services, it ordered Mother to engage in drug testing, giving an explicit warning to Mother that: "If you do not consistently engage in drug testing ... if the State files a petition to terminate, I will not hesitate to terminate your rights if you've not been drug testing."

¶7 On June 25, 2020, the Department filed to terminate Mother's parental rights relative to the Children.⁴ The District Court held a two-day long termination hearing on February 3 and 10, 2021. Numerous mental health and addiction treatment providers, Department caseworkers, and the Court Appointed Special Advocate testified at the hearing. Their testimony established that Mother continued to be non-compliant with consistently performing drug tests and at various times tested positive for methamphetamine, amphetamines, and THC. A recurrent theme in the providers’ testimony was that Mother would constantly miss appointments and consistently refuse to sign medical releases allowing her various providers to communicate with each other. Several professionals testified that Mother would only work on treatment plan tasks shortly before court hearings, and then quickly cease engaging in these tasks afterwards. Mother testified at the hearing; she indicated that she had restarted randomized drug tests through Ideal Options but did not sign releases with them in time to have any of the testing results available for the hearing.

¶8 Regarding the Children, testimony established that both A.M.M.R. and M.L.R.M.R. are doing very well with their foster placements. A.M.M.R. is receiving the daily care she needs, being taken to all hospital appointments, and is enrolled in a school that is able to meet her needs. M.L.R.M.R. regularly visits with his sister, has made significant progress in addressing some emotional and behavioral issues present when removed from Mother's care, and is displaying the developmental cues expected for a child his age. Both of the Children's foster placements are willing to be permanent placements and adopt the Children. The Children's success at their foster placements is undisputed by either Mother or Father on appeal.

¶9 The District Court entered a pair of findings of fact, conclusions of law, and orders in the matter. The District Court found that clear and convincing evidence established that Mother needs long-term substance abuse and addiction counseling to manage her methamphetamine addiction, she is unlikely to engage successfully in the long-term care she requires, and that her inability to maintain sobriety and provide a safe environment for the Children is unlikely to change within a reasonable time. The District Court also found that Mother is not able to provide A.M.M.R. the specialized healthcare she requires, and both Children need consistency and safety in order to address their own individual special needs. Based on these findings, which the District Court concluded were based on clear and convincing evidence, it terminated Mother's parental rights relative to both Children.

Facts and Procedural History Relative to Father

¶10 At the time A.M.M.R. and M.L.R.M.R. were removed from Mother's house, Father was incarcerated on probation violations, including testing positive for methamphetamine. On June 6, 2019, the Children were adjudicated as YINC. On July 7, 2020, the District Court approved a treatment plan for Father. The Department petitioned to terminate Father's parental rights on January 25, 2021, and a hearing on the petition was held in March 2021. At the hearing, one of Father's previous probation officers testified as to the nature of Father's incarceration. Although the probation officer was not currently assigned to Father's case and had not supervised Father since 2011, he reviewed Father's casefile and testified that Father was scheduled to be released from incarceration in 2024, that Father would have 23 months of supervision after any release, and that Father had previously done poorly on periods of supervision. Father testified, stating he hoped to be paroled as early as June 2021, and that upon being released he planned to attend inpatient drug treatment and then reside at a sober-living house until he could restart work and obtain a permanent residence. Father did not know if the Children would be able to reside with him at those facilities. Additional testimony, substantially the same as testimony discussed above during Mother's termination hearing, established that the Children were doing very...