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****************************************************** The ``officially released'' date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ``officially released'' date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ``officially released'' date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** IN RE SHEILA J.* (AC 20625)
Foti, Mihalakos and Healey, Js. Argued January 17--officially released March 27, 2001 Counsel

Roger E. Bunker, for the appellant (respondent mother). Jessica B. Gauvin, assistant attorney general, with whom were Benjamin Zivyon, assistant attorney general, and, on the brief, Richard Blumenthal, attorney general, and Susan T. Pearlman, assistant attorney general, for the appellee (petitioner). Carol A. Veroczi, for the minor child.
Opinion

FOTI, J. The respondent mother1 appeals from the judgment rendered by the trial court terminating her parental rights in her minor daughter, S. On appeal, the respondent claims that the court improperly (1) found that the department of children and families (department) made reasonable efforts to reunite her with S, (2) found that the respondent had failed to achieve

sufficient personal rehabilitation and (3) considered in the adjudication phase of the proceedings events that occurred after the commissioner of children and families (commissioner) filed the petition to terminate her parental rights. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. The following facts and procedural history are relevant to this appeal. On December 11, 1998, the commissioner filed a petition to terminate the respondent's parental rights with respect to S on the grounds that the respondent had failed to achieve sufficient personal rehabilitation and that no ongoing parent-child relationship existed between her and S.2 The respondent, who was twenty-six years old at the time of trial, was born in Puerto Rico but attended secondary school, through the eleventh grade, in Connecticut. She subsequently returned to Puerto Rico, where in 1990 she gave birth to a daughter through a nonmarital relationship. In 1993 and 1994, she gave birth to two more daughters through another nonmarital relationship with an individual who physically abused her during their relationship. She and that individual returned to Connecticut and had a son in May, 1995. In July, 1995, the respondent was kicked in the abdomen during a gang-related fight and tested positive for cocaine use at that time. The department first became involved with the family in August, 1995, when their son required emergency hospital treatment for an injury caused by a dog bite. In October, 1995, the department received confirmed referrals alleging that the respondent's household was not clean, that the respondent had not properly fed the children, and that she and several teenagers had smoked marijuana around the house. The respondent's son went to live with a close friend of the family in November, 1995. The respondent began a relationship with a third individual and was referred to a family preservation program. The respondent's boyfriend also was referred to a drug evaluation program, but neither the respondent nor her boyfriend followed through with those programs. The respondent failed to visit her son or express interest in his well-being. In May, 1996, she was the victim of domestic violence perpetrated by her boyfriend. On several occasions, she left the children unattended. As a result of those incidents, the department obtained an order of temporary custody and placed the respondent's four children in foster care. In the late summer of 1996, the respondent's boyfriend went to prison and was ultimately sentenced for a series of narcotics-related offenses. The court adjudicated the four children neglected on October 4, 1996. On October 15, 1996, during the boyfriend's incarceration, the respondent gave birth to a fourth daughter,

S. Both the respondent and S tested positive for the presence of cocaine at that time. On that basis, the department obtained an order of temporary custody for S and placed her in the same foster family with the two middle daughters. The court adjudicated S neglected on January 16, 1997, entered expectations for the respondent to follow and committed all five children to the department's custody for one year. The respondent's son returned to the custody of a family friend who had become a licensed foster mother. The department referred the respondent to parenting classes, domestic violence counseling and drug evaluations in 1997, but she failed to participate meaningfully in those programs. She denied the need for domestic violence counseling. She used cocaine occasionally through December, 1997, and began a relationship with the father of her oldest daughter. On December 8, 1997, the respondent gave birth to her sixth child, another son. In January, 1998, the respondent tested negative at a drug evaluation. She enrolled in a drug treatment and life skills program in April, 1998, and completed it in December, 1998, testing negative for drugs throughout the program. The respondent also began attending parenting skills classes in January and completed those classes in July, 1998. She thereafter voluntarily attended parenting classes. The father of the respondent's oldest daughter and second son physically abused the respondent, culminating in his arrest for an assault in July, 1998. The court sentenced him to two years imprisonment for domestic assault, possession of narcotics and violation of probation. The respondent also had an encounter with the father of her middle two daughters and her oldest son in September, 1998, in which he threatened her. The department referred the respondent to the Salvation Army domestic violence program. Although the respondent attended that program, she did not see the need for such counseling. Counselors in the program ultimately concluded that they could not help her. At the time of trial, she had recently enrolled in another domestic violence program. The department offered her weekly visitation with her children. She inconsistently attended those visits. The respondent, who gave birth to another boy in March, 1999, demonstrated difficulty handling all of the children together. Her oldest son was particularly aggressive and did not pay attention to the respondent. She did not set limits for him and admitted that she could not control him. In June, 1999, the department removed him from the group visits and established separate visits for the respondent with him. As a result, he was quieter and followed directions better. The respondent's oldest son remains a difficult child

with speech and language delays, and attention deficit disorder. He attends an early intervention special education program. The respondent has not inquired about his need for special programs, and the child is not emotionally attached to either his natural mother or father. Instead, he has an emotional bond with his foster mother, whom he calls ``Ma.'' S has lived her entire life with her foster parents and two of her sisters. She is well-adjusted. At a visit in October, 1998, the respondent did not recall that it was S's birthday. After separating the oldest son from the rest of the family, the department increased the respondent's visits with the girls to three hours per week. S reluctantly attended some visits. During those visits, S identified the respondent as ``Mommy,'' but behaved in a reserved manner toward her. S appears interested in getting to know her mother, but is far more comfortable and attached to her sisters and to her foster parents, and her foster parents would like to adopt her. The respondent demonstrates more affection with the three older girls. The oldest girl, who has lived in separate foster homes from her sisters, receives therapy for behavioral problems. Her emotional attachment to the respondent is strong, and she has stated that she wants to return to the respondent's care. The department currently plans to reunite her with the respondent. If reunification efforts succeed, the department would then seek to reunify the respondent with her middle two daughters, who also have positive memories of the respondent. To facilitate that possible reunion and because of concerns stemming from a May, 1999 psychological evaluation that diagnosed the respondent as depressed, the department referred the respondent to a family reunification program. The respondent has been living in a studio apartment for more than one year with her second son. For a period of time, he was under department protective supervision, but the department has now removed that supervision. The child appears to be clean, well fed and well clothed, but the family needs a larger living space, which the respondent and her social workers have attempted to find. As of October, 1999, the respondent began working, but she lacks any significant work history. The respondent forswears an interest in having more children. She has stated that she will not resume any of her prior relationships and that she prefers to be single. In testimony at trial, however, she denied that an incident of domestic violence with the father of her oldest daughter and second son occurred in July, 1998. Following four days of trial, the court found that the department had proved by clear and convincing evidence that it had made reasonable efforts to reunify the respondent and S, and that the respondent had failed to achieve sufficient personal rehabilitation for

purposes of General Statutes (Rev. to 1997)

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