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APPEAL
FROM THE FAULKNER COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 23JV-17-169],
HONORABLE DAVID M. CLARK, JUDGE
Leah
Lanford, Arkansas Public Defender Commission, for appellant.
One
brief only.
OPINION
ROBERT
J. GLADWIN, Judge
Appellant Stephanie Meisch appeals the September 21, 2018
order by the Faulkner County Circuit Court terminating her
parental rights to her two-year-old daughter,
J.S.[1] Pursuant to Linker-Flores v.
Arkansas Department of Human Services, 359 Ark. 131, 194
S.W.3d 739 (2004), and Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 6-9(i)
(2018), Meischs counsel has filed a motion to withdraw and a
no-merit brief asserting that there are no issues of arguable
merit to support an appeal. The clerk of our court sent
copies of the brief and the motion to withdraw to Meischs
address of record informing her of her right to file pro se
points for reversal pursuant to Rule 6-9(i)(3). The packet
was returned undeliverable, marked "return to
sender."[2] No additional contact information has
been provided for Meisch to either the clerks
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office or to the Public Defender Commission. Meisch has not
filed any pro se points for reversal. We affirm the
termination of parental rights and grant counsels motion to
withdraw.
I.
Facts and Procedural History
The
case began on June 12, 2017, when a caller reported to the
Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline that Meisch was on
methamphetamine "really bad," that she was blowing
smoke into J.S.s face, that J.S. had "horrible"
diaper rash, and that Meisch would stay up for days and then
pass out for a week. An investigation resulted in appellee
Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) exercising an
emergency removal of J.S. An affidavit attached to the
emergency petition filed on June 15 noted that Meisch smelled
of marijuana and was acting erratically while holding then
six-month-old J.S. The following day, the court signed an
emergency order giving custody of J.S. to DHS based on
Meischs drug use as alleged in the affidavit. The circuit
courts emergency order noted that the family had a history
with the state of Arizona, where Meisch previously had her
parental rights terminated to four other children.
On
June 27, the circuit court held a combined probable-cause and
adjudication hearing and found that J.S. was
dependent-neglected because Meisch was "visibl[y]"
under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol while caring for
J.S. The court also made a factual finding that Meisch had
given birth to several other children and had lost custody of
those children through legal proceedings in Arizona. The
court ordered Meisch to cooperate and stay in contact with
DHS; keep DHS informed of any and all status changes;
participate in individual and family counseling as
recommended by a therapist; refrain from illegal drugs and
alcohol; submit to a drug-and-alcohol assessment; attend
Alcoholics Anonymous/ Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA) meetings at
least three times a week and provide written documentation of
attendance to DHS; complete parenting classes and demonstrate
appropriate parenting skills; obtain and maintain stable
housing and employment; maintain a clean and safe home for
herself and for J.S.; and demonstrate an ability to protect
J.S.
In
October 2017, the circuit court noted in a review-hearing
order that Meisch had (1) failed to appear at the hearing,
(2) failed to comply with the case plan and court orders, (3)
stopped attending visitation with J.S., and (4) made no
progress toward alleviating or mitigating the causes of
J.S.s removal. The court further noted that DHS had provided
information that Meisch had moved to Arizona.
At the
January 2018 review hearing, the circuit court noted that
Meischs lack of compliance had not changed. She again failed
to appear at the hearing, and she had neither had meaningful
contact with DHS nor made any progress toward alleviating or
mitigating the causes of J.S.s removal. Similar findings
were made at the April 10 review hearing, except that Meisch
made a request— though not appearing— for her
mother to be considered for placement in Arizona. The court
noted that Meisch had relocated to Arizona.
On June
5, 2018, the court held a permanency-planning hearing and
found in a subsequent order dated August 3 that the goal of
the case would be adoption because J.S. was not being cared
for by a relative and that it was not in her best interest to
be placed with Meischs mother. The court found that Meisch
had not complied with the case plan or court orders in that
she (1) had not had any contact with DHS or
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J.S. in five months; [3] (2) was living in Arizona and had not
completed the services outlined in the case plan and court
orders, including drug rehabilitation, counseling, parenting,
and visitation with her child; and (3) she had made no
progress toward alleviating or mitigating the causes of
J.S.s removal from the home. The court set the case for a
termination-of-parental-rights (TPR) hearing, and its
findings were not appealed.
On
June 20, 2018, DHS filed a TPR petition alleging that Meisch
was unfit to parent J.S. for the following reasons:
a. That [J.S.] has been adjudicated by the [c]ourt to be
dependent-neglected on June 27, 2017 and has continued out of
the custody of [Meisch] for twelve (12) months and, despite a
meaningful effort by [DHS] to rehabilitate the parent and
correct the conditions which caused removal, those conditions
have not been ...