APPEAL
FROM THE SEBASTIAN COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, FORT SMITH DISTRICT
[NO. 66FJV-11-585] HONORABLE ANNIE POWELL HENDRICKS, JUDGE
Leah
Lanford, Arkansas Public Defender Commission, for appellant.
Andrew
Firth, Office of Chief Counsel, for appellee.
Chrestman Group, PLLC, by: Keith L. Chrestman, attorney ad
litem for minor children.
BART
F. VIRDEN, JUDGE.
Dawnisha
Covin appeals the order of the Sebastian County Circuit Court
terminating her parental rights to QJ (11/09/06) and KJ
(01/04/08). On appeal, Covin asserts that termination was not
in the children's best interest because the parental
rights of the father, Keith Jarrett, were not also
terminated. We affirm.
We
begin our analysis with a recognition that termination of
parental rights is an extreme remedy and in derogation of the
natural rights of the parents. Crawford v. Ark. Dep't
of Human Servs., 330 Ark. 152, 951 S.W.2d 310 (1997). We
review termination-of-parental-rights cases de novo.
Dinkins v. Ark. Dep't of Human Servs., 344 Ark.
207, 40 S.W.3d 286 (2001). In termination cases, the circuit
court must find by clear and convincing evidence that a
parent is unfit and that termination is in the best interest
of the child. J.T. v. Ark. Dep't of Human
Servs., 329 Ark. 243, 947 S.W.2d 761 (1997). This
normally involves a two-step analysis: (1) that the Arkansas
Department of Human Services ("Department") prove
one or more of the statutory grounds for termination and (2)
that the termination of parental rights is in the child's
best interest. Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-341(b)(3)(A) &
(B) (Supp. 2017). Because Covin does not challenge the
statutory grounds, we will address only the best-interest
portion of the analysis.
I.
Best Interest of the Children
Covin
argues that the termination of her parental rights was not
necessary or essential to protect the best interest of the
children. We turn our attention to the best-interest evidence
before the circuit court.
On
January 3, 2017, the circuit court entered a petition for
emergency custody and dependency-neglect regarding QJ, KJ,
ZC, and DC.[1] In the affidavit attached to the petition,
family-service worker Steven Trout recounted the events
leading up to the removal of the children from Covin's
custody. On December 30, 2016, police requested that a
Department family-service worker go to Covin's home. When
Trout arrived, police officers had already removed Covin from
the residence because she had become aggressive with an
officer. Officers informed Trout that Covin's roommate
called police when Covin, who was a methamphetamine user and
appeared to be under the influence of amphetamines, grabbed a
baseball bat and began smashing furniture. When police
arrived at the apartment, they could hear the children crying
and Covin screaming and cursing. They heard a heavy glass
object hit the front door, and Covin shouted, "I
don't want no police kicking in my fucking door."
Eventually, Covin opened the door, and the officers could see
broken glass all around and the children huddled together on
the sofa. After a few questions from the police, Covin
"seemed to completely lose any control she had at that
point." She poked an officer in the chest when he tried
to examine a cut on one of the children's hands, and
after taking "an aggressive posture" with an
officer, she was arrested. The children were very upset and
afraid to speak to family-service workers. At the detention
center, Trout attempted to interview Covin, but she was
confrontational and aggressive, and she refused a drug
screen. Covin was charged with four counts of first-degree
endangering the welfare of a minor, resisting arrest, and
second-degree assault. The Department alleged that the
children's safety was in danger due to Covin's
violent and dangerous behavior, her drug use, her refusal to
be drug screened, and her arrest, which left the children
without a guardian.
On the
same day the emergency petition was filed, the circuit court
entered an ex parte order for emergency custody and an order
finding that there was probable cause that emergency
conditions that necessitated the removal of the children from
Covin's custody. Covin was ordered to stay in contact
with the Department, submit to drug screens, and have no
contact with the children.
The
circuit court entered an adjudication order on June 19, 2017.
In the order, the circuit court found that Covin had prior
history with the Department and that "[Covin] appears to
have relapsed and has engaged in behaviors that created an
unsafe environment for the juveniles." Covin's
arrest caused the children to be without a caregiver, and she
tested positive for THC at the hearing. The court found by a
preponderance of the evidence that the children were
dependent-neglected, and it ordered Covin to obtain stable
employment, transportation, housing, and income; complete
parenting classes; undergo domestic-abuse counseling; undergo
a psychological evaluation and complete any treatment
recommended; submit to drug screening; resolve all criminal
charges; stay in contact with the Department; and apprise the
Department of her contact information and any significant
events.
On
November 29, the circuit court entered a review order in
which it found that Covin had not appeared at the review
hearing, and her whereabouts were unknown. The court found
that she had not complied with the case plan. The court noted
that KJ and QJ's father, Keith Jarrett, was incarcerated
at the time of the adjudication hearing and that he was
released shortly after the hearing; however, Jarrett had been
arrested again on new drug charges and had been incarcerated
since then. Neither Covin nor Jarrett had obtained stable
housing, employment, or transportation, and they had not
completed counseling or undergone any psychological
evaluation or drug screening. The parents had not resolved
their criminal charges or maintained contact with the
Department.
On
March 12, 2018, the court entered the permanency-planning
order. In it, the court found that return of the children to
Covin's custody was contrary to their welfare and that
the Department's custody should continue. The court
changed the goal of the case to adoption and found that the
children had been out of the home for twelve months, the
parents had not made significant or measurable progress in
the case plan or toward reunification, and the children could
not be safely returned to the parents in a time period
consistent with their needs. The court noted that Jarrett was
out on bond, and his whereabouts were unknown. The court
found that Covin had been present at the permanency-planning
hearing; however, until recently, she believed that she would
receive a lengthy prison sentence and had seen no reason to
participate in the case plan. When Covin accepted a plea
offer that did not include prison time, she decided to
rehabilitate herself. The court observed that Covin recently
made "eleventh-hour efforts" to avail herself of
non-Department services provided by
"Sister-to-Sister," an entity Covin admitted was
created by her mother, Evelyn. Evelyn also signed Covin's
certificates of completion of those parenting classes. Covin
testified that she would test positive for drugs if screened
that day. The ...