Moore v. ARKANSAS DEPT. OF HUMAN SERVICES, CA 99-441.

• Decision Date: 05 January 2000
• Docket Number: No. CA 99-441.,CA 99-441.
• Citation: 9 S.W.3d 531,69 Ark.App. 1
• Parties: Patsy MOORE v. ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.
• Court: Arkansas Court of Appeals

9 S.W.3d 531

69 Ark.App. 1

Patsy MOORE v. ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.

No. CA 99-441.

Court of Appeals of Arkansas, Division I.

January 5, 2000.

Anne Orsi Smith, Little rock, for appellant.

Kay West Forrest, Little Rock, for appellee.

Susan D. Burk, Little Rock, for appellees K. Garden and A. Shelton, by their attorney ad litem.

JOSEPHINE LINKER HART, Judge.

Appellant Patsy Moore, the mother of K.G. and A.S., appeals the termination of her parental rights. For reversal, she raises three points. She argues that the court erred by finding that the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) made reasonable efforts to prevent the initial removal of her children on October 10, 1995. She also maintains that the court erred by finding at the disposition hearing held on September 25, 1997, that DHS had made reasonable efforts to reunite the family. Finally, she asserts that the court erred by finding at the hearing held on November 20, 1998, that appellee presented clear and convincing evidence to support the termination of her parental rights. We affirm.

On September 17, 1995, K.G, the two-year-old daughter of appellant, was admitted to Children's Hospital with burns covering ten percent of her body and bruises and welts on her back. After DHS was notified of K.G.'s injuries, appellant, then aged sixteen, told police that her daughter's injuries were caused by Andrew Shelton, her adult, live-in boyfriend and the father of A.S., her infant daughter. She said Shelton had placed K.G. in a bath of hot water, threw her down a half-flight of stairs, and whipped her with a purse strap. Shelton was arrested and incarcerated on charges of first-degree battery.

Appellant refused foster-care placement and continued living with A.S. in the apartment that she had shared with Shelton while K.G. remained in the hospital. DHS opened a protective-services case for the family and provided appellant with in-home, intensive family services. After appellant failed to regularly visit KG in the hospital and took no steps to protect her daughters should Shelton be released from jail, DHS petitioned for and obtained emergency custody of both children on October 10, 1995.

Custody of both children was continued with DHS at a probable-cause hearing held on October 16, 1995. At the adjudication hearing held on December 4, 1995, the court again continued the out-of-home placement and adjudicated both children to be dependent-neglected as defined by Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-303(14) (Repl.1998). The court found that: (1) K.C. had suffered serious physical abuse, (2) appellant had failed to protect the children, and (3) inappropriate conditions existed in appellant's home. Thereafter, the court held regular review hearings and, on March 27, 1997, held the permanency-planning hearing mandated by Ark.Code Ann. § 9-27-338 (Repl.1998). Disposition hearings were held on September 25, 1997, and February 19, 1998, for which orders were entered respectively on October 28, 1997, and March 19, 1998.

Two and one-half years after receiving custody of the children, DHS petitioned for termination of parental rights. A hearing on this petition was held on November 20, 1998, and the court entered an order terminating appellant's parental rights on January 11, 1999. Appellant filed her first notice of appeal on January 20, 1999.

Arkansas Rules of Appellate Procedure—Civil 2(c)(3) provides that orders resulting from adjudication and disposition hearings are final appealable orders where an out-of-home placement has been ordered. Although the adjudication hearing was held on December 4, 1995, the court reserved ruling on the issue of whether DHS had made reasonable efforts to prevent the initial removal of the children until May 30, 1996, when the court entered a ruling favorable to DHS. Appellant appealed neither the adjudication order nor the order filed on May 30, 1996. On September 25, 1997, a disposition hearing was held in which the court continued the out-of-home placement, finding that DHS had made reasonable efforts to provide reunification services. Again, appellant did not appeal from the order entered on October 28, 1997.

Although appellant now asserts that the court erred by finding that DHS made reasonable efforts to prevent the initial removal of the children in 1995, she failed to timely appeal from that order. Further, while appellant asserts the court erred by finding at the disposition hearing held on September 25, 1997, that DHS made reasonable efforts to provide reunification services to the family, she also failed to appeal from that order. Appellant's failure to appeal from these final and appealable orders deprives this court of jurisdiction to address her first two issues of appeal, and, therefore, we do not address appellant's first two arguments. Rossi v. Rossi, 319 Ark. 373, 892 S.W.2d 246 (1995); Breckenridge v. Ashley, 55 Ark.App. 242, 934 S.W.2d 536 (1996).

Appellant also asserts that the court erred by finding that clear and convincing evidence supported the termination of her parental rights. Appellant argues that she was making great strides in learning to parent her children and was "right on the cusp" of having her children returned, that professionals working with her did not endorse the termination of her parental rights, and nothing prevented reunification but a lack of action on the part of persons other than herself. We disagree and affirm.

Arkansas Code Annotated section 9-27-341(b)(2)(A) (Repl.1998) provides:

An order forever terminating parental rights shall be based upon a finding by clear and convincing evidence:

(2) Of one (1) or more of the following grounds:

(A) That a juvenile has been adjudicated by the court to be dependent-neglected and has continued out of the home for twelve (12) months, and, despite a meaningful effort by the Department of...