APPEAL
FROM THE WASHINGTON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 72JV-18-224]
HONORABLE STACEY ZIMMERMAN, JUDGE
Leah
Lanford, Arkansas Commission for Parent Counsel, for
appellant.
Ellen
K. Howard, Office of Chief Counsel, for appellee.
Chrestman Group, PLLC, by: Keith L. Chrestman, attorney ad
litem for minor child.
ROBERT
J. GLADWIN, JUDGE.
Miranda
Dye appeals the order terminating her parental rights to her
daughter, MC. On appeal, she argues that the circuit
court's best-interest finding was not supported by
sufficient evidence. We affirm.
I.
Facts and Procedural History
This
case began on March 2, 2018, with the Arkansas Department of
Human Services (DHS) petitioning for emergency custody and
dependency-neglect of MC, born September 26, 2017. An
affidavit attached to the petition alleges that police had
been called to the home of Miranda Dye and Lance Cooksey,
MC's father, due to a domestic altercation.[1] Lance was
arrested as a result of the dispute, and Miranda was cited
for endangering the welfare of a minor. M.C. was placed in
DHS custody on a seventy-two-hour hold because the residence,
a fifth-wheel-type RV trailer, was filthy: dirty dishes were
on the counters, floors, and stacked alongside the bed; and
the bathroom toilet was filled with urine, and there was a
bucket of urine sitting alongside the toilet. Also, Miranda
submitted to a drug screen, which was positive for
amphetamines, methamphetamine, and THC.
The
circuit court signed an ex parte order granting custody to
DHS, and on March 9, the court found probable cause existed
that it was contrary to MC's welfare to return custody to
Miranda. The court found that the parents had neglected
M.C.'s home environment and that they had inadequately
supervised M.C. due to substance abuse. MC was placed with
Teresa Genz, a paternal aunt. Both parents were ordered,
among other things, to cooperate with DHS and submit to
weekly random drug screens.
An
adjudication order was filed April 19, 2018, finding that MC
was dependent-neglected as a result of parental unfitness.
The court ordered that MC remain in DHS custody and that the
goal of the case was reunification with her parents. Lance
was ordered to pay $50 a week child support to Teresa Genz,
and Miranda was ordered to contribute "once she gets a
job." The court also noted that the caseworker testified
that the parents' home had been cleaned and was safe and
appropriate.
A
review hearing was held on September 12, and custody remained
with DHS. MC had been placed in foster care with Cassie and
Cody Julich, Lance's niece and her husband, and the court
found that this placement was in MC's best
interest.[2] The goal remained reunification with the
parents. Miranda was found to have complied with all of the
court orders and the case plan, and the court found that she
had made much progress toward alleviating the causes of
removal.
However,
after a permanency-planning hearing on February 6, 2019, the
court authorized a plan for adoption with DHS to file a
petition for termination of parental rights (TPR). The court
found that Miranda had not demonstrated stability or sobriety
nor had she demonstrated the ability to protect MC. She
missed several drug screens after being called in for her
weekly tests, and she tested positive for methamphetamine on
January 22, 2019. Miranda had not paid child support as
ordered, and she and Lance had been arrested on December 19,
2018, for possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with
physical evidence. Miranda was ordered to enter a
residential-treatment facility and complete a program for
substance abuse.
DHS
filed a petition for TPR on April 4 alleging that both
parents' rights should be terminated and seeking the
authority to consent to adoption. The statutory ground
alleged against Miranda was that as the custodial parent, she
had failed to remedy the conditions that caused MC's
removal and that MC had remained out of her custody for
twelve months. See Ark. Code Ann. §
9-27-341(b)(3)(B)(i)(a) (Supp. 2017). The petition
alleged that even though Miranda had participated in some
services, her recent arrest demonstrated that her illegal
drug use would continue to seriously affect her ability to
care for MC. DHS also alleged the "other factors"
ground against both parents and claimed that the parents'
noncompliance demonstrated an indifference to the prospect of
reunifying with MC. See Ark. Code Ann. §
9-27-341(b)(3)(B)(vii)(a). DHS pointed to the
parents' December arrests and their missed drug screens.
DHS alleged that MC is adoptable and would be subject to
potential harm if returned to her parents.
At the
May 10 TPR hearing, K.C. Oliver, the family service worker
assigned to the case, testified that Miranda had participated
in individual counseling and visitation with MC but had not
submitted to random drug screens or obtained stable housing
or employment. She said that MC is adoptable and very bonded
to her family. She also said that further contact with
MC's parents would be "up to the family." She
said that Miranda had left residential treatment after five
days, and Miranda had told her it was because of a high-risk
pregnancy. She said that Miranda had been arrested on May 3,
2019, for failure to appear, which stemmed from her December
2018 arrest for possession of drug paraphernalia and
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