In re Mariah S.

• Citation: 763 A.2d 71,61 Conn. App. 248
• Decision Date: 26 December 2000
• Docket Number: (AC 20365)
• Court: Appellate Court of Connecticut
• Parties: IN RE MARIAH S

61 Conn. App. 248

763 A.2d 71

IN RE MARIAH S¹

(AC 20365)

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued September 26, 2000.

Officially released December 26, 2000.

Spear, Pellegrino and Hennessy, JS. Raymond J. Rigat, for the appellant (respondent mother).

Mary K. Lenehan, assistant attorney general, with whom, on the brief, were Richard Blumenthal, attorney general, and Susan T. Pearlman, assistant attorney general, for the appellee (petitioner).

Opinion

SPEAR, J.

The respondent mother appeals from the judgment of the trial court terminating her parental rights with respect to her minor child, M.² She claims that the court improperly found that (1) the department of children and families (department) made reasonable efforts at reunification, (2) she failed to achieve a sufficient level of personal rehabilitation and (3) there was no ongoing parent-child relationship. The respondent further claims that her federal and state constitutional rights were violated because (1) the department's efforts at reunification were not reasonable and were especially inadequate considering that the respondent was a dependent child herself, (2) the court improperly concluded that there was no ongoing parent-child relationship prior to finding that the respondent was an unfit parent and (3) counsel for the respondent rendered ineffective assistance. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The court found the following facts. J., a twenty-six year old man, impregnated the respondent when she was twelve. At the time, the respondent, a former foster child, lived in Danbury with her maternal grandmother and two of her grandmother's adult children. M was born on September 4, 1995, when the respondent was thirteen years old.

The respondent initially feared the department due to her own mother's experience in having children removed from her care, but she reluctantly agreed to accept assistance from the intensive family preservation service. The respondent nonetheless made poor caretaking choices for her child. A social worker who repeatedly visited the respondent's home for three months following the child's birth found that the child was not there, that the respondent did not know the name of the child's baby-sitter, that the child remained in the baby-sitter's care for several days at a time or that neither the respondent nor the child was at home and their whereabouts were unknown. In December, 1995, the respondent told the social worker that she was overwhelmed with caring for her child and wished to have the child cared for by a friend.

On January 11, 1996, the commissioner of children and families (commissioner) filed a neglect petition on behalf of the child. Later that month, a social worker visited a home in New Milford where the respondent had placed her child three weeks earlier. After the police arrested an adult male occupant of the New Milford home for a drug-related offense, the child was removed from the home and a ninety-six hour hold was invoked. On March 1, 1996, the court issued an order of temporary custody, finding that the child was in immediate physical danger from her surroundings and that removal was necessary to ensure her safety. The child was then placed in the care of a foster family, where she has been living ever since.

During the ensuing year, David Mantell, a psychologist, conducted a court-ordered evaluation of the respondent and recommended mental health care, a psychiatric evaluation for assessment of depression and medication, and an intensive program of individual psychotherapy. Because the respondent did not follow Mantell's recommendations and made little progress toward reunification, the department took additional steps. On April 10, 1997, the respondent entered into a service agreement with her grandmother and the department that outlined the parties' various responsibilities "in creating conditions that would allow [the respondent] to be considered as a permanent caretaker for [the child]...." The respondent agreed to visit her daughter, to participate in psychotherapy and to show improvement in her "judgment, relationships with men, self-esteem and parenting issues." She also agreed to participate in a psychiatric evaluation and to inform the department if any of the anticipated service providers were unavailable so that the department could offer alternative resources. In addition, the respondent agreed to review her progress in six months.

The respondent did not live up to her obligations. She refused to complete a psychiatric evaluation and to participate in psychotherapy. On March 18, 1998, the court adjudicated the child neglected, following the respondent's nolo contendere plea, and committed the child to the care and custody of the commissioner for a period not to exceed twelve months.

On March 18, 1998, the respondent, her attorney, her court-appointed guardian ad litem and the child's attorney agreed to court-ordered expectations whereby the respondent was required, inter alia, (1) to keep all appointments set by or with the department, (2) to make her whereabouts known, (3) to visit the child as often as the department permitted, (4) to engage in individual counseling, (5) to secure and maintain adequate housing and income, (6) to abstain from substance abuse, (7) to obtain a consistent secondary caretaker, (8) to have no "involvement" with the criminal justice system, (9) to participate in a teen mentor program and (10) to complete a psychological evaluation and follow any subsequent recommendations for treatment. The expectations included a caveat advising the respondent that the "[f]ailure to achieve these goals will increase the chance that a petition may be filed to terminate your parental rights permanently so that your child may be placed in adoption. If you need help in reaching any of these expectations, contact your lawyer and/or [department] worker."

On March 9, 1999, the commissioner filed a petition to terminate the respondent's parental rights. A trial was conducted in October, 1999. The court found by clear and convincing evidence that the department had made reasonable efforts at reunification. The court also found by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent had failed to achieve sufficient personal rehabilitation, within the meaning of General Statutes § 17a-112 (c) (3) (B),³ as would encourage the belief that within a reasonable time, considering the age and needs of the child, she could assume a responsible position in the child's life. The court further found that the respondent did not have an ongoing parent-child relationship with the child, within the meaning of § 17a-112 (c) (3) (D),⁴ and concluded that termination of the respondent's parental rights was in the child's best interest. This appeal followed.

At the outset, we note that "[t]he standard for review on appeal [in a termination of parental rights case] is whether the challenged findings are clearly erroneous.... On appeal, our function is to determine whether the trial court's conclusion was legally correct and factually supported.... We do not examine the record to determine whether the trier of fact could have reached a conclusion other than the one reached ... nor do we retry the case or pass upon the credibility of the witnesses.... Rather, on review by this court every reasonable presumption is made in favor of the trial court's ruling.... In re Alissa N., 56 Conn. App. 203, 207, 742 A.2d 415 (1999), cert. denied, 252 Conn. 932, 746 A.2d 791 (2000).

"Nonconsensual termination proceedings involve a two step process, an adjudicatory phase and a dispositional phase. See Practice Book § 33-1 et seq. In the adjudicatory phase, the trial court determines whether one of the statutory grounds for termination of parental rights exists by clear and convincing evidence.... In re Alissa N., supra, 56 Conn. App. 207. In making the adjudicatory determination, the court is limited to considering events preceding the filing of the termination petition or the latest amendment thereto. In re Tabitha P., 39 Conn. App. 353, 367, 664 A.2d 1168 (1995); see also Practice Book § 33-3 (a).⁵ This limitation is inapplicable in the dispositional phase, in which the trial court can consider all events occurring prior to the date of the dispositional hearing, including those occurring after the filing of the termination petition.... In re Kasheema L., 56 Conn. App. 484, 488, 744 A.2d 441, cert. denied, 252 Conn. 945, 747 A.2d 522 (2000)." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) In re Shane P., 58 Conn. App. 234, 239-40, 753 A.2d 409 (2000). "The dispositional phase ... also must be supported on the basis of clear and convincing evidence." In re Alissa N., supra, 208.

I

The respondent first claims that the court improperly concluded that the department made reasonable efforts at reunification. We disagree.

Before the court may grant a petition to terminate parental rights on the ground of failure to rehabilitate, it must find by clear and convincing evidence that the department has made reasonable efforts to reunite the child with the parent. General Statutes § 17a-112 (c) (1).⁶ Although "[n]either the word reasonable nor the word efforts is ... defined by our legislature or by the federal act from which the requirement was drawn... [r]easonable efforts means doing everything reasonable, not everything possible." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) In re Savanna M., 55 Conn. App. 807, 812-13, 740 A.2d 484 (1999).

The following additional facts are relevant to our resolution of this claim. In March, 1996, after the child was removed from the respondent's custody, the department immediately afforded the respondent visitation at the foster family's home in New Milford, the same town where she had placed the child in the care of her friends earlier that year. The department social worker explained the need for the respondent to keep her weekly appointments to visit the child, but, over time, the...