State in Interest of J.P.

• Decision Date: 09 December 2021
• Docket Number: 20210185-CA
• Citation: 502 P.3d 1247
• Parties: STATE of Utah, IN the INTEREST OF J.P. and T.P., Persons Under Eighteen Years of Age. T.L., Appellant, v. State of Utah, Appellee.
• Court: Utah Court of Appeals

502 P.3d 1247

STATE of Utah, IN the INTEREST OF J.P. and T.P., Persons Under Eighteen Years of Age.T.L., Appellant,

v.State of Utah, Appellee.

No. 20210185-CA

Court of Appeals of Utah.

Filed December 9, 2021

Colleen K. Coebergh, Rawlins, WY, Attorney for Appellant

Sean D. Reyes, John M. Peterson, and Carol L. C. Verdoia, Salt Lake City, UT, Attorneys for Appellee

Martha Pierce, Salt Lake City, Guardian ad Litem

Judge Ryan M. Harris authored this Opinion, in which Judges Gregory K. Orme and Jill M. Pohlman concurred.

Opinion

HARRIS, Judge:

¶1 After a two-day evidentiary hearing, the juvenile court terminated T.L.’s (Mother) parental rights regarding her two children, J.P. and T.P. (collectively, the Children). Mother now appeals, asserting that the court erred by concluding that termination of her parental rights was strictly necessary and in the Children's best interest. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶2 While married to her husband (Father), Mother had two children: J.P., a son born in 2013, and T.P., a daughter born in 2016. Mother described J.P. as "difficult to manage because he is autistic," and stated that he has a history of "aggressive and violent behavior," which he sometimes expressed toward T.P. Mother's marriage was "good at first," but Father eventually became violent and abusive toward both Mother and J.P., and was arrested on one occasion for domestic violence. In 2018, Mother went to live with her parents, taking the Children with her.

¶3 A few months later, J.P. sustained a black eye after Mother's father (Grandfather) threw a laundry basket at him. Grandfather "has a history of dangerous behavior" and was once arrested and convicted of attempted aggravated assault after discharging a firearm in the presence of the Children during a family dispute. After investigating the laundry basket incident, the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) made a supported finding of physical abuse against Grandfather and asked Mother to stop living with her parents; DCFS recommended that she stay at a women's shelter with the Children, and Mother complied.

¶4 During the stay at the shelter, DCFS again became involved after other residents of the shelter reported that Mother was physically abusing the Children and throwing their meals in the trash as a form of punishment. Following an investigation of these incidents, DCFS made a supported finding of physical abuse against Mother and took the Children into protective custody. The juvenile court later determined that the Children were abused and neglected, and set reunification with Mother as the primary permanency goal.

¶5 The Children were initially placed together with the same foster family. During this time, the foster parents reported that J.P. was "physically aggressive, daily, toward[ ]" T.P. But in some ways, the Children did better in their new environment: T.P. was "excelling" and J.P. showed improvement after weekly therapy, although he continued to sometimes "act[ ] out aggressively."

¶6 During this same time period, Mother worked toward reunification by attending therapy and parenting courses, and by securing employment. In recognition of this progress, some nine months after their removal the Children were returned to Mother's custody for a trial home placement. But Mother still lived with her family, including Grandfather, and for various reasons the home placement failed; this time, DCFS removed the Children "due to concerns of environmental neglect, ongoing insufficient hygiene ..., and suspicion of sexual reactiveness."

¶7 Following the failure of the trial home placement, the State and a guardian ad litem (the GAL) appointed to represent the Children's interests asked the juvenile court to change the permanency goal from reunification to adoption. The court granted that request and terminated reunification services; shortly thereafter, the State filed a petition to terminate Mother's parental rights to the Children.¹

¶8 Meanwhile, J.P. was continuing to act aggressively toward T.P. and others, and DCFS eventually found it necessary to separate the Children, and place them with different foster families, in order to protect T.P. Some time later, Mother expressed "concern" about the separation to the juvenile court, but the court allowed it, crediting the GAL's account that J.P.’s behavior improved after the Children were separated.

¶9 The case proceeded to trial on the State's petition to terminate Mother's parental rights. During trial, the State called eight witnesses in support of its case, including Mother, all the foster parents, certain DCFS caseworkers, and a peer parent advisor. In addition, the GAL addressed the court and proffered certain statements made by the Children. During closing argument, Mother's attorney did not contest the fact that statutory grounds existed for termination of Mother's parental rights, and acknowledged that "maybe returning the [Children] to [Mother's familial] home was not the best idea." Mother's attorney also recognized that J.P. had, at times, been violent and aggressive toward T.P., and agreed with the State that "these kids could not be together" in foster care. But Mother's attorney argued that, nevertheless, termination of Mother's parental rights was not in the Children's best interest, which he argued could best be served by returning them, together, to Mother's care. However, at no point did counsel argue, as an alternative to termination, that the court should grant permanent custody and guardianship to relatives or foster families.

¶10 After trial, the court issued a detailed written ruling terminating Mother's parental rights. The court found that six statutory grounds for termination existed, including abuse and neglect. And the court concluded that it was in the Children's best interest for Mother's parental rights to be terminated.

¶11 As part of its best-interest analysis, the court considered whether termination of Mother's parental rights was "strictly necessary," and it assessed whether other feasible options, short of termination, existed that would adequately address the situation, but ultimately concluded that termination was strictly necessary. The court noted that, at trial, it had been presented with only two options: terminating Mother's parental rights, or returning the Children to Mother's care. Nonetheless, the court proceeded to consider other potential options; in particular, the court examined at length whether a permanent guardianship with a relative or with a foster family would be appropriate. With regard to a kinship placement, the court noted that the only known relatives were Mother's family members, including Grandfather, who all lived in the same household, and the court concluded that, in light of the situation, including Grandfather's history of violence, such a placement would be inappropriate. And with regard to long-term guardianships with foster families, the court offered its view that such arrangements tend to work well only "where the child has a healthy relationship with both the guardian and the parent" and "the guardian and parent are willing to work together to preserve that parent-child relationship." In this case, the foster families had "little to no relationship" with Mother. The court also noted that the Children were "very young," and concluded that "[t]hey both need stability and permanency" that could best be found in an adoption arrangement rather than in a guardianship arrangement. After an extensive analysis, the court determined that neither a kinship placement nor a long-term guardianship with foster families was an appropriate option in this case, and that adoption following termination of parental rights was the option most in keeping with the Children's best interest. Based on those findings and conclusions, the court terminated Mother's parental rights.

ISSUE AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶12 Mother now appeals from that order, and challenges the juvenile court's ruling that termination of her parental rights was strictly necessary and in the Children's best interest. "Whether the juvenile court correctly concluded there was no feasible alternative to terminating Mother's ... parental rights is a mixed question of fact and law," and "we review the juvenile court's findings of fact for clear error and its conclusions of law for correctness, affording the court some discretion in applying the law to the facts." See In re G.D. , 2021 UT 19, ¶ 37, 491 P.3d 867 (quotation simplified); see also In re J.M. , 2020 UT App 52, ¶ 24, 463 P.3d 66 ("We afford a juvenile court's best-interest decision a high degree of deference, reversing only for clear error, which we find when the result is against the clear weight of the evidence or leaves us with a firm and definite conviction that a mistake has been made ...." (quotation simplified)).

ANALYSIS

¶13 A court may terminate parental rights only after making two necessary findings. In re N.K. , 2020 UT App 26, ¶ 21, 461 P.3d 1116. First, the court must find, by clear and convincing evidence, that at least one statutory ground for termination exists. See In re T.E. , 2011 UT 51, ¶ 17, 266 P.3d 739 ; see also Utah Code Ann. § 80-4-301(1) (LexisNexis Supp. 2021). "Second, the court must find that termination of the parent's rights is in the best interest[ ] of the child." In re N.K. , 2020 UT App 26, ¶ 21, 461 P.3d 1116 (quotation simplified); see also Utah Code Ann. § 80-4-104(12) (LexisNexis Supp. 2021).

¶14 The best interest of the child is "of paramount importance in determining whether termination of parental rights shall be ordered." Utah Code Ann. § 80-4-104(12)(a). Because any number of factors can have bearing on the child, the best-interest inquiry is a broad-ranging, "holistic examination of all the relevant circumstances that might affect a child's situation." In re H.F. , 2019 UT App 204, ¶ 14, 455 P.3d 1098 (quotation simplified). And this requires evaluating "the unique and specific conditions" experienced...