NP v. State (In re BP)

• Citation: 2022 WY 128
• Decision Date: 17 October 2022
• Docket Number: S-22-0073
• Parties: IN THE INTEREST OF: BP and CS, minor children, v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Petitioner). NP, Appellant (Respondent),
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Wyoming

2022 WY 128

IN THE INTEREST OF: BP and CS, minor children,

NP, Appellant (Respondent), v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Petitioner).

No. S-22-0073

Supreme Court of Wyoming

October 17, 2022

Appeal from the District Court of Laramie County The Honorable Peter H. Froelicher, Judge

Representing Appellant: Melissa R. Theriault, Woodhouse Roden Ames & Brennan, LLC, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Argument by Ms Theriault.

Representing Appellee: Bridget Hill, Wyoming Attorney General; Misha Westby ^[*],Deputy Attorney General; Christina F. McCabe, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Wendy S. Ross Senior Assistant Attorney General. Argument by Ms. Ross.

Guardian ad Litem: Joseph R. Belcher, Director, Wyoming Office of Guardian ad Litem; Kimberly Skoutary Johnson, Chief Trial and Appellate Counsel.

Before FOX, C.J., and KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, GRAY, and FENN, JJ.

GRAY JUSTICE

[¶1] The Department of Family Services (DFS) recommended changing the permanency plan for minor siblings BP and CS from reunification to adoption. The juvenile court held an evidentiary hearing after which it ordered the permanency plan be changed to adoption. NP (Mother) appeals and we affirm.

ISSUE

[¶2] Did the juvenile court abuse its discretion when it found that DFS made reasonable efforts to reunify Mother with her children and changed the permanency plan from reunification to adoption?

FACTS

[¶3] Mother, CS (age 13), and BP (age 10)^[1] have a long history with child protection agencies, starting in 2008, when a neglect case against Mother was opened in Colorado (CS was less than one year old at the time) and continuing through the present Wyoming case. This case commenced on February 4, 2021, when the Laramie County District Attorney's office filed a petition alleging Mother neglected her children. At that time, Mother was incarcerated in Albany County, Wyoming. Her incarceration resulted from a vehicle pursuit that began in Colorado, when Mother, with her two younger children in her car, allegedly shot at a police officer, and then fled. The pursuit ended in Albany County, Wyoming, where Mother was arrested.^[2] At some point after Mother's arrest, CS and BP were being cared for by one of Mother's friends in Laramie County. An emergency hearing to address custody of CS and BP was held in February 2021. The juvenile court placed the children in the legal and physical custody of DFS for placement in foster care. Approximately a month later, the juvenile court found the children were neglected by Mother.

[¶4] In March 2021, DFS developed a case plan for the family. The case plan identified five areas for Mother to address: sobriety, a healthy support system, health care for the children, mental health, and parenting education. For each of those areas, the plan set forth discrete tasks for Mother to complete. Those tasks included:

• Attending and participating in sobriety groups while incarcerated then obtaining documentation of her attendance and mailing it to DFS monthly; • Working with DFS to obtain written resources, if sobriety groups were unavailable due to COVID-19, and detailing learning in monthly reports to DFS;

• Participating in drug testing after release to demonstrate sobriety;

• Working with DFS to identify supportive people in her life;

• Working with a therapist to identify characteristics of healthy, supportive relationships;

• Establishing primary care physicians, eye doctors, and dentists for CS and BP;

• Participating in individual therapy, beginning by July 1, 2021, and signing a release of information to DFS;

• Attending and participating in family therapy with CS when recommended by CS's therapist;

• Attending and participating in family therapy with BP when recommended by BP's therapist; and

• Working with DFS caseworker to obtain parenting education materials and writing a monthly letter detailing what she learned.

[¶5] In early April 2021, DFS completed and filed a Predisposition Report (PDR). The PDR summarized Mother's history of mental health issues, substance abuse, and law enforcement contacts. The PDR explained that "[w]ithout medication it seems based on [Mother's] history she struggles with maintaining appropriate relationships, maintaining steady employment, substance abuse, . . . and has racing thoughts and manic behaviors." The PDR lists thirty-two law enforcement contacts with Mother between February 2007 and April 2018. Of those, ten related to domestic abuse, child abuse and neglect, or child endangerment. The remaining contacts referenced substance abuse, harassing conduct, and theft.

[¶6] The PDR also summarized Mother's history of contact with child protection agencies. Those contacts began in November 2008, when Mother was referred to Colorado Child Protective Services for methamphetamine use, exposing eleven-month-old CS to drugs, and using Tylenol and Benadryl to sedate CS, causing him to sleep up to twenty hours per day. From 2008 to the present, there were approximately twenty-three child welfare reports related to Mother's substance abuse, abuse and neglect of the children, domestic violence, criminal behavior, and mental health. Some of those reports resulted in the removal of CS and BP from Mother's care. In Colorado, CS was removed from Mother's care in 2008. CS and BP were removed again in 2012 and remained in the custody of Colorado Child Protective Services through 2013, when the children were placed in a permanent guardianship.^[3] In November 2016, a review hearing was held in Colorado to consider a change of permanency plan to termination and adoption. At that hearing, the Colorado court placed the children with another friend of Mother's in Wyoming.^[4] The children moved to Wyoming. Subsequently, two cases were opened. All four children were in foster care from November 2016 through November 2017, and again from March 2018 through early 2020. Both times, Mother substantially complied with her case plan and all four children were returned to her care.

[¶7] When the case at issue here was opened, DFS recommended a permanency plan of adoption. This recommendation stemmed from Mother's current criminal charges and her history with law enforcement and child protective services. After a disposition hearing in May 2021, the juvenile court rejected DFS' recommendation, ordered a permanency plan of reunification, and adopted the recommendations of the case plan.

[¶8] Multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings were held in March, June, July, and October 2021. At these meetings, DFS noted Mother made progress on aspects of her case plan. Mother's comments at MDT meetings were often "erratic and hard to follow." At each of these meetings, DFS and the Guardian ad Litem recommended the permanency plan be changed to adoption. Mother disagreed, each time recommending the plan remain reunification.

[¶9] Mother completed an Addiction Severity Index (ASI) evaluation in March 2021. The ASI recommended Mother complete a psychiatric evaluation and receive treatment for substance abuse. Mother was placed on a waiting list for an inpatient substance abuse treatment facility.

[¶10] In May 2021, Mother was found incompetent to proceed to trial in the criminal case. She was admitted to the Wyoming State Hospital for inpatient psychiatric treatment to restore competency.^[5] Mother engaged in some mental health treatment and therapy groups while at the Wyoming State Hospital.

[¶11] At the November 2021 permanency hearing, Mother's DFS caseworker testified that Mother had completed the parenting education materials DFS had sent her, and she continued to participate in therapy at the Wyoming State Hospital. She also testified that Mother's incarceration was an obstacle to completion of the remaining tasks. Mother had not completed inpatient sobriety treatment, established a healthy family support system, or found primary care providers for her children. She had not participated in family therapy with the children-the children's therapists had recommended against it. Mother's caseworker explained, "the amount of time that she will spend incarcerated is a big unknown right now . . ." and testified Mother's current status of "being detained in Albany [County] and then placed [in] the state hospital" is a barrier to achieving reunification. Mother's caseworker also expressed reservations about Mother's ability to manage her mental health and medications when not incarcerated. She was concerned with the family's extensive history with child protection services. At the time of the hearing, CS had spent approximately forty-three months in foster care, and BP approximately thirty-four months. She testified that she did not believe Mother could provide a safe home for the children and that adoption was in the children's best interests.

[¶12] Both CS and BP testified that they wish to be adopted and would prefer not to see their mother.^[6]

[¶13] Mother's only witness was Dr. Anthony Delmonte, her psychiatrist at the Wyoming State Hospital. Dr. Delmonte testified that Mother was compliant with her medication treatment and was attending individual and group therapies. He testified that initially it was "difficult to have a conversation with" Mother, but by the time of the hearing, he could have productive conversations with her. Dr. Delmonte also testified that Mother would likely need to stay on her medication, and she may require treatment for the rest of her life. At the end of the hearing, the juvenile court took the matter under advisement.

[¶14] On November 29, 2021, the juvenile court issued its oral ruling and subsequently issued a written order changing the permanency plan to adoption and relieving DFS from further reunification efforts. Mother timely appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶15] "We review the juvenile...