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APPEAL
FROM THE CRAWFORD COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 17JV-17-112],
HONORABLE MICHAEL MEDLOCK, 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.
OPINION
ROBERT
J. GLADWIN, Judge.
Appellant Dalana Phillips appeals the January 14, 2019 order
of the Crawford County Circuit Court terminating her parental
rights to her three minor children, R.M., S.M., and C.P.
Dalana makes a limited argument that termination of her
parental rights was not in the childrens best interest
because the children were living with their grandparents. We
affirm.
I.
Facts and Procedural History
On May
24, 2017, at approximately 1:00 p.m., officers from the Van
Buren Police Department were called to 1015 Twilight Lane
after receiving a report that a child had been left home
alone. Once on the scene, Officer Dewayne Richesin called the
Crawford County Department of Children and Family Services
for assistance. Family Service Worker (FSW) Crystal Mikus
arrived at the residence at approximately 2:15 p.m. and was
met by Officer Richesin, who explained that five-year-old
C.P. was home alone because his father, Aaron
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Matevia,[1] ran from the residence when Officer
Richesin entered the residence and noted the apparent drug
use by Aaron.
FSW
Mikus and Officer Richesin then spoke with R.M.s teacher and
counselor from Rena Elementary who had originally called for
assistance to the residence. After gathering information on
when the other two siblings would arrive home on the school
bus, FSW Mikus and Officer Richesin called several phone
numbers in an unsuccessful attempt to reach Dalana. The
childrens grandmother arrived at the residence and explained
that Dalana did not have a phone and that she did not have a
way of reaching her daughter. By this time, Aaron had been
located and placed under arrest on multiple charges and
warrants. FSW Mikus advised the grandmother that the children
would be taken into custody if Dalana was not located. At
approximately 3:35 p.m., R.M. and S.M. arrived at the
residence from school, at which time FSW Mikus placed a
seventy-two-hour hold on all three children.
The
following day, May 25, at 9:00 a.m., Dalana arrived at the
Crawford County Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS)
office to speak with FSW Mikus. Dalana stated that she was
currently in drug classes as a condition of her parole and
had been clean since she left prison. FSW Mikus administered
a drug screen on Dalana at 9:30 a.m., and she tested positive
for amphetamines, methamphetamine, and oxycodone. Dalana
admitted that she had used drugs the previous night but
stated that she is not a regular user.
On May
26, DHS filed a petition for emergency custody and
dependency-neglect. The court entered an emergency order and
found that probable cause existed to not only remove the
children from the home but also to maintain them in DHS
custody.
Pursuant to a hearing held on March 31, 2017, by order
entered July 13, the court found that at the time of removal,
Aaron had been arrested, Dalana could not be found, and at
the time of contact with her the day after the children were
removed, Dalana tested positive for amphetamines,
methamphetamine, and oxycodone in spite of being on parole
and in drug court. Based on those findings, the court
adjudicated the children dependent-neglected because they
were subject to "neglect, inadequate supervision and
parental unfitness due to the caretakers being unwilling or
unable to meet the childrens needs for food, clothing,
shelter and/or medical or mental health care; allegations
involving physical and sexual abuse; and the caretakers
current substance use seriously affecting their ability to
supervise, protect, or care for the juveniles." The
court set a goal of reunification and ordered Dalana to
complete services.
On
July 31, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma filed a notice of
intervention asserting the children are Indian children under
the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The court accepted that
intervention on August 1.
A
review hearing was held on November 16. Although Dalana did
not attend because she was incarcerated, the court found that
she had partially complied with the case plan and orders of
the court. The court ordered her to continue complying after
being released.
A
second review hearing was held on March 1, 2018. Dalana had
been released from incarceration and was in attendance. In an
order dated the same day, the court
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found that she again had partially complied with the case
plan and orders of the court; however, the court
characterized Dalanas compliance as minimal because although
she was cooperating with DHS, she remained unemployed, did
not have stable housing, and had tested positive for illegal
substances during the review period. The court further found
that Dalana had minimally benefited from her progress
regarding case-plan goals. The court kept the goal of
reunification but set a concurrent goal of placement with a
fit and willing relative because the case-plan requirements
were incomplete.[2]
A
permanency-planning hearing was held on May 17, 2018. The
court found that Dalana, who was in attendance, had not
complied with the case plan or the orders of the court
because she had admitted using methamphetamine during the
review period; she did not have stable and appropriate
housing; and she again was incarcerated due to parole
violations during the review period. However, the court also
found that Dalana had visited with her children regularly,
she had displayed appropriate parenting techniques, and she
was scheduled to enter inpatient treatment within the week.
Because Dalana was bonded with the ...