In the Interest of: A.S.O.

• Citation: 52 S.W.3d 59
• Parties: (Mo.App. W.D. 2001) In the Interest of: A.S.O., Plaintiff, Juvenile Officer, Respondent, v. R.L.O. (Natural Mother), Appellant. WD59344 0
• Decision Date: 24 July 2001
• Court: Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)

52 S.W.3d 59 (Mo.App. W.D. 2001)

In the Interest of: A.S.O., Plaintiff, Juvenile Officer, Respondent, v. R.L.O. (Natural Mother), Appellant.

WD59344

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District

07/24/2001

Appeal From: Circuit Court of Buchanan County, Hon. James Wm. Roberts

Counsel for Appellant: Candace J. Barnes

Counsel for Respondent: Ronald R. Holliday

Opinion Summary:

Judicial officer filed petition to terminate parental rights. The Circuit Court, Buchanan County, James Wm. Roberts, J., terminated parental rights, and mother appealed.

Division holds: 1) The court sufficiently made findings setting forth which conditions led to assumption of jurisdiction and which remained. 2) The court did not require mother to maintain a separate, independent residence as a condition of preserving her parental rights. 3) The court did not comply with section 211.447.4(3) in that it did not make adequate findings on each of the four enumerated factors. 4) The trial court complied with section 211.447.6.

Newton, P.J., and Smart, J., concur.

Harold L. Lowenstein, Judge

R.L.O., natural mother (Mother), appeals from the trial court's termination of her parental rights to A.S.O., her daughter born August 16, 1996. In three of her points on appeal, the mother contends that the trial court erred in terminating her parental rights pursuant to section 211.447.4(3) RSMo 2000.¹ The judgment also relied on section 211.447.2(1). In her fourth point, she argues that the trial court did not make all appropriate findings under section 211.447.6. A.S.O.'s father is not a party to this appeal. Factual and Procedural History

Mary Bembrick, a social services worker for the Buchanan County Division of Family Services, was assigned to A.S.O's case in August of 1997 when the DFS received a child abuse and neglect report alleging that the mother had no food or diapers for A.S.O. On her initial visit, Bembrick found that the mother's apartment was sparely furnished, that the place was infested with mice and cockroaches, and that A.S.O.'s crib was unsafe. Two days later, Bembrick dropped off diapers, clothes and shoes for A.S.O. and initiated parent-aide services because she thought the mother needed help with parenting skills.² Bembrick testified that she frequently took diapers and clothes to A.S.O.

Bembrick initiated several parenting plans aimed at improving the mother's lifestyle. Bembrick also enlisted the services of a family preservation specialist because the mother was "at risk" of losing her child; work with this specialist, too, was largely unsuccessful.³ Bembrick also testified that during the four years she was assigned to the case, the mother failed to maintain steady employment. She also testified that the mother had a drug habit but never completed any of the several drug programs that she began, and although she tested negative in three urinalysis screens for drugs, she refused on several occasions to submit to further voluntary tests.⁴ Bembrick also expressed concerns about lack of diapers, lack of food, a chaotic lifestyle, and the mother's failure to follow through with assistance offered for the family, including housing. During those four years, Bembrick testified that the mother had twenty-three residences.

In Spring of 1998, A.S.O. was taken into foster care (first with her aunt and then with a licensed foster care home because Bembrick "couldn't trust the relatives to let her know what was going on" as they were leaving A.S.O. with her mother and neither A.S.O. nor the relatives informed Bembrick). In July of 1998, the mother lost another job because she was pregnant again. In May 1999, A.S.O. was returned to the mother for an eleven-day trial period in May 1999, because the mother had tested negative in three urinalyses. The trial period ended because: 1) the mother failed to contact Bembrick for a part of the treatment plan; 2) the mother did not answer the door when Bembrick went for a home visit; 3) the mother let the father keep A.S.O. overnight, though there was a warrant out for his arrest; 4) the mother lost her job; 5) the mother had not been living with her mother, though that was part of the treatment plan. Thus, with the exception of the trial period, A.S.O. was in foster care from July 1998, to October 2000, when parental rights were terminated.

Despite the failure of the May 1999 reunification, DFS entered into a social service agreement with the mother on April 20, 2000. The goal was for the mother to provide a safe and stable home environment for a possible reunification with A.S.O. However, the mother failed to comply with this agreement: she did not take scheduled urinalyses; she did not arrange and maintain weekly visits with A.S.O; she did not attend weekly counseling sessions aimed at improving her self-esteem and parenting skills.

Bembrick testified that the conditions that first led to the assumption of jurisdiction by the juvenile court over A.S.O. existed at time of trial. Specifically, Bembrick testified that these conditions were that that the mother admitted drug involvement, that she was unstable in her home and her life, and that she had no steady employment or stable environment for A.S.O.

Dr. Ron Ruhnke, a psychologist employed by the Family Guidance Center in St. Joseph, conducted a psychological evaluation of the mother. He administered tests which measure symptoms and personality patterns, and he conducted a clinical interview. He concluded that the mother's full-scale IQ was 75, which put her intellectual functioning in the borderline range. He testified that those with test results like hers have a "low fund of general information" and that comprehension, which is a general test of common sense and practical information, is typically also fairly low, as is vocabulary. Among other things, the mother scored high on the anti-social scale, indicating that she may be "pretty irresponsible, may have difficulty conforming to the rules and regulations of society, may be unreliable, impulsive, have difficulty with anger, may not be responsible in terms of fulfilling obligations." The mother also scored high on the histrionic scale, indicating that she may have the need for attention and excitement and that she may tend to overreact and be superficial in her relationships with others. Specifically, she may tend to have angry outbursts and get over them quickly as though nothing happened.

Dr. Ruhnke also testified that the mother scored at least moderately high on the narcissistic scale, which indicates that she may be self-centered, may need attention, and may have difficulty empathizing. The mother also scored moderately high on the self-defeating scale, which indicates that she may do things that get her into trouble, perhaps having unhealthy or destructive relationships.

Dr. Ruhnke was able to make some general conclusions based on the administration of the tests and a clinical interview. He testified that the mother in general would be termed "irresponsible, not dependable, someone who has difficulty acknowledging problems about herself, in fact tends to deny problems." Based on the interview and the testing, Dr. Ruhnke diagnosed the mother as having a mixed-personality disorder, with anti-social, histrionic, narcissistic, and self-defeating features.

Another psychologist, Dr. Kathy Harms, conducted a bonding assessment on A.S.O. in June of 2000. She interviewed the mother, observed A.S.O. and the mother interact, and conducted a Parenting Stress Index (PSI), which is a questionnaire assessing how the person feels about being a parent and how the parent feels about the child. Dr. Harms concluded that A.S.O. was not very bonded or attached to the mother. A.S.O. referred primarily to her foster mother as her "mommy." The mother's answers on the PSI indicated that "she did not feel very competent as a parent and that she was pretty depressed." The mother's answers also indicated that "she did not feel that [A.S.O.] was very reinforcing to her as a parent in terms of giving back love, showing affection, those kinds of things."

The mother testified that since August of 1997, she has worked sixteen different places. She testified that she could not keep a job because in the past she was lazy. At trial time, she had no job. She did not complete tenth grade and has not attained a GED. Her income is $50 every two weeks in child support for her son, Chris (born January 30, 1999), who only resides with her about three nights a week and with friends the other nights because he is "hyper" and "hard" for her to handle. She testified that she gives most of that money to the family with whom she is currently residing. She also receives food stamps of $127 per month. She has never had a driver's license and does not own a car, but she has had traffic violations for driving without a license. She owns a couch, which her mom uses, and the bed she sleeps on. Otherwise, she owns no other furniture. She testified that she is free of drugs now but that she never completed a drug treatment program because "going in there made you want to take [drugs] because you had to stand up there and say what kind of drugs you used" and thus she feared relapsing.Standard of Review

The trial court's decision will be affirmed unless the record contains no substantial evidence to support the decision, the judgment is against the weight of the evidence or the trial court erroneously declared or applied the law, and a reversal will occur only when this court firmly believes the judgment is wrong. In Interest of B.L.B., 834 S.W.2d 795, 799 (Mo. App. 1992); In Interest of M.H., 859 S.W.2d 888, 892 (Mo. App. 1993). Deference is given to the trial court's ability to assess credibility. Id. The evidence in the record will be viewed in the light most favorable to the judgment. M.H., 859 S.W.2d at 892. If clear, cogent and convincing evidence of any one of the statutory grounds supporting the judgment is shown...