J.P. v. Ind. Dep't of Child Servs. (In re B.P.)
| Decision Date | 07 July 2022 |
| Docket Number | Court of Appeals Case No. 22A-JC-44 |
| Parties | In the MATTER OF B.P., S.P., L.P., Mad.P., and Mac.P., Children Alleged to be Children in Need of Services; J.P. (Mother), Appellant-Respondent, v. Indiana Department of Child Services, Appellee-Petitioner. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Attorney for Appellant: Cara Schaefer Wieneke, Wieneke Law Office, LLC, Brooklyn, Indiana
Attorneys for Appellee: Theodore E. Rokita, Attorney General of Indiana, David E. Corey, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana
[1] J.P. ("Mother") appeals the trial court's adjudication of her five children as Children in Need of Services ("CHINS"). Mother raises two issues for our review, but we address a single dispositive issue, namely, whether the trial court erred when it found her children to be CHINS. We reverse.
[2] Mother has five children: B.P., born November 25, 2005; S.P., born December 3, 2008; L.P., born February 28, 2012; and twins Mac.P. and Mad.P., born December 18, 2019 (collectively, the "Children").1 Mother has a history of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and, before she became pregnant with the twins, Mother managed her mental illness through therapy and medication. Mother took Klonopin
, which "ke[pt] her calm." Tr. at 42. During her pregnancy with the twins, however, Mother stopped taking Klonopin because of her concern that it might have a negative impact on the babies’ health. Mother's mental health suffered as a result.
[3] A few months after the twins were born, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and in-person therapy sessions were unavailable to Mother. Mother attempted virtual therapy sessions. Mother was told that she could not get a prescription for Klonopin
. She tried "several different medicines," but "most of [them] made her sleep all day," so she stopped taking them. Id. And Mother stopped attending therapy in approximately January 2021.
[4] In May 2021, Mother was at her home in Shelby County with the Children when the electricity was shut off. Mother called the electric company and was not able to get information about the power outage. Mother left the house and "was heading to the bank to pay" her electric bill when she was involved in an accident. Id. at 7. A short time later, Mother was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving.2 Mother was placed in jail. Mother's eldest child, B.P., who was fifteen years old at the time, was left in charge of the younger children. When none of the Children attended school the next day, a school resource officer went to Mother's house and found the Children there without electricity and without adult supervision. Accordingly, the officer contacted the Department of Child Services ("DCS").
[5] Sarah Lloyd, a family case manager ("FCM") with DCS, contacted Mother, who "refused to give [Lloyd] any information" about the situation and used profane language with her. Id. at 49. Ultimately, Mother told FCM Lloyd that she thought it was fine for the older children to take care of the younger children and for the Children to miss school while Mother was in jail. DCS filed a petition alleging that the Children were CHINS, and the Children were "placed in emergency detention." Id. at 4. Lloyd was able to contact Mother's mother ("Grandmother") in Kentucky, and Grandmother came to stay with the Children at Mother's house. The electricity was turned back on immediately.
[6] During a detention hearing on May 13, Mother used profane language with the trial court, and the DCS attorney stated that her conduct during the hearing led him "to believe that [Mother had] some untreated mental problem[.]" Id. at 20. Per DCS's request, the trial court ordered that the Children would remain under Grandmother's care until Mother could convince the court that she was "mentally stable." Id. at 22. At the time of the hearing, Mother was serving a ten-day sentence in jail for direct contempt in her criminal proceeding. She underwent a mental health assessment in jail on May 20, and the result was a recommendation that Mother receive a full psychological evaluation.
[7] Before Mother was released from jail, DCS instructed Grandmother to take the Children to live with Mother's sister ("Aunt") in Decatur County.3 DCS did not ask the trial court for permission before changing the Children's placement, which required that they change schools. And DCS did not notify Mother of the placement change. When Mother came home and found out about the removal of the Children from their home, she was extremely upset. Mother and Aunt were not on good terms at that time.
[8] Approximately one week later, on June 1, Mother attempted to take the Children from Aunt's home without permission, and Mother was arrested and charged with Level 6 felony intimidation, Class A misdemeanor criminal trespass, and Class B misdemeanor disorderly conduct. In jail following her arrest, Mother allegedly spat on an officer, and she was charged with Level 6 felony battery by bodily waste. Mother was released from jail on July 21.
[9] The trial court held a factfinding hearing on the CHINS petition on July 26. Mother was present, and she was agitated. Mother used a lot of profane language. Mother interrupted the trial court on several occasions, and she told the judge to "shut up" at one point. Id. at 34. The trial court found Mother in contempt of court. Thereafter, Mother stated as follows:
The State owns my kids! They kidnapped my children and I can't speak! I'm supposed to remain calm! I have 5 kids! They are, they are my life! When you take that I have no life left! There's no, there's no penalty you can give me right now to hurt me any further! There's nothing you can do to me beside pull your f***ing gun out and blow my f***ing brains out! Period! And I'm sorry that I can't remain calm at this point!
Id. at 36. Mother then left the hearing, which continued in her absence.
[10] DCS called Grandmother to testify, and she stated:
For the record[, s]he's a wonderful mother and she loves her kids very passionately. And that's a lot of what you see, is the frustration that no matter where she has been with her mental illness she has never once harmed her kids. I have never seen her even spank one of her kids. She is very loving and very affectionate and has always provided a roof over their head[s], food on the table and a place that they could call home and know that they had love there. And no, I mean I, in my estimation that's the definition of a good mother.
Id. at 39. And Grandmother testified further, Id. at 40-41. Grandmother testified that Mother had treated her mental illness in the past with therapy and medication, but that since her pregnancy with the twins, Mother has been unable to get the help she needs or find a medication that works for her. Grandmother stated that Mother needs medication but that she "still functions well without [medication] as long as she's surrounded by her children." Id. at 43.
[11] DCS asked the trial court to take judicial notice of the three pending criminal matters, including the charges of resisting law enforcement and direct contempt in one case; intimidation, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct in another case; and battery by bodily waste in the third case. The court took judicial notice of the pending criminal proceedings.
[12] Family Case Manager ("FCM") Karen Newell testified as follows:
[13] At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court stated as follows:
The Court has had a couple [of] inter[actions] now with [Mother] and it becomes very apparent to me that she's in [a] mental or emotional crisis right now. [She c]learly is unstable or the Court would be very concerned with her having care and custody [of the] children, particularly ones as young as the twins are in this case. The Court will grant the petition that's been filed in this case. I will find the children to be Children in Need of Services. And we'll set the matter for [a] Dispositional Hearing. My hope is in the meantime that her mom might be able to get her to reengage in mental health therapy services or medication that might be needed. If any of that could be, I guess jump started by DCS in the meantime in such a manner that, that again [Grand]mother be able to be the, I guess the liaison between mental health providers that would be outstanding. I don't think that's there any doubt that [Mother] loves her children passionately. She just needs some help right now. So, I'll set it for [a] Dispositional Hearing.
[14] On August 23, the trial court held the dispositional hearing. Mother's counsel advised the court that DCS had just handed them the predispositional report, and Mother's counsel requested a continuance to give them time to read it. The trial court granted that motion and rescheduled the hearing for November 22. At that hearing, FCM Newell testified that Mother had refused to submit to a psychological evaluation without a court order. The court ordered Mother to submit to a psychological...
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