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Pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANTS:
NANCY A. McCASLIN

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE:
FAY SCHWARTZ

McCaslin & McCaslin Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
IN THE MATTER OF L.A.P., BARBARA PARSONS, Mother, WILLIE PARSONS, Father, Appellants-Respondents, vs. ELKHART COUNTY OFFICE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SERVICES, Appellee-Petitioner. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

No. 20A03-0608-JV-349

APPEAL FROM THE ELKHART CIRCUIT COURT The Honorable Deborah A. Domine, Juvenile Magistrate and The Honorable Terry C. Shewmaker, Judge Cause No. 20C01-0406-JT-51

April 30, 2007 MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION FRIEDLANDER, Judge

Barbara Parsons and Willie Parsons appeal the involuntary termination of their parental rights with respect to their minor child, L.P. They present the following restated issues for review:

1.

Was the evidence sufficient to prove that the conditions resulting in L.P.'s removal and placement outside of Barbara's home still exist? Was the evidence sufficient to prove termination of the parent-child relationship was in the child's best interests? Was the evidence sufficient to prove there is a satisfactory plan for L.P. after parental rights are terminated?

2.

3.

We affirm. Barbara and Willie are the biological parents of L.P., who was born on August 3, 1995. Sometime around 2000, Barbara, who has a long history of mental health and substance abuse problems, telephoned Oaklawn, a mental health facility, and asked for help. At that time, Barbara and L.P. were living in a temporary shelter facility and Barbara's son, thirteen-year-old M.L., had been removed from her custody because Willie and Barbara had abused and neglected him. Rosaline Williamson, an adult case manager at Oaklawn, began working with Barbara on an outpatient basis. According to Williamson, "In the beginning, [Barbara] needed a lot of services. So, uh, sometimes I would see her twice a week. There's a few times it's three times a week. And I helped her with housing, Medicaid, First Steps, social security." Transcript at 123. After undergoing extensive counseling and inpatient treatment at Oaklawn, M.L. was reunified with Barbara in January 2002. 2

Sometime around June 1, 2003, Barbara was placed at the Center for Behavioral Medicine at Elkhart General Hospital "as a result of mental health and addictions issues." Exhibits, State's Exhibit 3. Also on or about June 1, 2003, the Elkhart County Office of Family and Children (ECOFC) and the Goshen Police Department opened investigations into allegations that L.P. had been molested after L.P. was discovered to have rectal bleeding. L.P. originally alleged that Willie had kicked her and then inserted his finger into her rectum. Over time, however, L.P. recanted the accusation against Willie and claimed the bleeding was caused by a difficult bowel movement. We note also that, at the time of the final hearing, M.L. had admitted molesting L.P. in 1998 and was alleged to have done so again in 2000. Following an investigation, a hearing was conducted and L.P. was found to be a Child in Need of Services (CHINS). On October 23, 2003, Barbara and Willie were ordered to participate in certain specified services. Barbara agreed to do so and thereafter participated in some, but not all, of the court-ordered services. Willie initially agreed to abide by the court's order, which directed him to: (1) complete a parenting assessment, (2) submit to a Mindsight Polygraph examination, and (3) complete an anger management assessment. Ultimately, however, he refused to cooperate with any of the services. A December 11, 2003 Order on Status Review of Father's Compliance

contained the following report concerning Willie: 1. Willie Parsons has failed to follow through with any of the court ordered assessments. 3

2. 3. 4.

Willie Parsons has failed to provide proof of completion of any assessments in the past similar to those assessments now ordered. Instead, Willie Parsons has made threats to the assigned ECODFC case manager. Willie Parsons has made threatening calls to the Superior Court No. 2 where custody was previously addressed under a divorce proceeding.

Appellee's Appendix at 21 (emphasis in original) (internal citation omitted). The ECOFC filed a petition to terminate Barbara's and Willie's parental rights. The petition was granted after a July 7, 2006 hearing. Following are relevant findings and conclusions from the termination order: e. Here, Willie Parsons' refusal to cooperate coupled with the facts of this case support the finding that the continuation of the parent child relationship poses a threat to [L.P.]. On April 14, 2003, [L.P.] alleged that her father kicked her, and stuck his finger in her rectum. While medical professionals substantiated physical evidence of abuse, there was never enough evidence to conclude whether [L.P.] was abused by her father or brother. There were, nonetheless, previous substantiated allegations of abuses perpetrated by Willie Parsons against his stepson, [M.L.]. And there was testimony from [L.P.]'s therapist, Jennifer Lillich, that the child identified her father as an "unsafe" person. Thus, the risk posed by Willie Parsons to his daughter must be evaluated; toward that end the services ordered for Mr. Parsons were all intended to evaluate the level of risk Mr. Parsons did or did not pose to his daughter and in turn aid in the identification of further services necessary to diminish any identified risk. Willie Parsons [sic] refusal to participate in services ordered supports a finding that the conditions that resulted in the child's removal from the home will not be remedied and a continuation of the parent child relationship poses a threat to the well being of the child. The court has considered, but is unpersuaded by the testimony of Willie Parsons that he is now willing to participate in court ordered services. Mr. Parsons has had thirty-seven [37] months to attend to 4

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his child's needs by following through with court orders. He has paid child support, but he has failed over and over to participate in assessments necessary to identify and eliminate risk to the child. The CASA stated, and the court agrees, that childhood is passing [L.P.] by as she waits for a resolution of this case. Thus, the court also finds that the delay perpetrated by father is further indication that he has failed to act in his child's interest and, therefore, a continuation of the parent child relationship poses a threat to [L.P.] [sic] well being. h. Barbara Parsons has attempted to cooperate with court ordered services, but she too has failed to fully comply. More important, while treatment providers were unanimous in noting that Barbara Parsons loves her daughter, each of the providers who were called to testify expressed serious doubt that Barbara Parsons would be able to keep her daughter safe, if [L.P.] is returned to her mother's home. [L.P.] has been the victim of child molestation on multiple occasions while living with her mother. And even after three years of services and [L.P.]'s three years absence from her mother's home, Roz Williamson, the Oaklawn Adult Case Manager assigned to Barbara Parsons, plainly stated that she did not believe that Barbara Parsons can provide a safe environment for her daughter; [L.P.]'s therapist, Jennifer Lillich, expressed concerns that Barbara Parsons cannot provide her daughter with either safety or stability, key facts, accordingly [sic] to Lillich, in the child being able to grow into a healthy adult; DCS case manager, Roger Zum Felde, acknowledged that Barbara Parsons does a good job parenting during a limited visit, but he expressed concerns about her present ability to supervise and protect [L.P.]; and Mary Arnott, Barbara Parsons' therapist, also expressed the opinion based upon her work with Barbara that Barbara Parsons is presently unable to keep her child out of "harm's way." According to therapist Arnott, Barbara Parsons has only recently resumed treatment and will require an additional 2-5 years of work before she will be able to adequately care for her child. Barbara Parsons admits that she needs more time in treatment; Barbara stated during her testimony that, "you can't put a time limit on mental health." The court agrees, but finds that there is a time 5

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limited [sic] on being a child. The court finds further that continuing the parent child relationship to give her mother more time to get well, and potentially forcing [L.P.] to spend her entire childhood in the care of the state would be adverse to her well-being. l. The Lifeline Youth and Family Services Intensive Interview Process Report, Exhibit #4, indicates that both parents, Barbara Parsons and Willie Parsons, are at a high risk to perpetrate future child abuse.

Appellant's Appendix at 12-14. The court determined that termination was in L.P.'s best interests and terminated the parent-child relationship with respect to Barbara and Willie, both of whom appeal termination. Our court has deemed the involuntary termination of parental rights as "the most extreme sanction that a court can impose." In re L.S., 717 N.E.2d 204, 208 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999). This does not overstate the matter, because termination severs all rights of a parent to his or her children. In re L.S., 717 N.E.2d 204. For this reason, termination is to be viewed as a last resort, to be pursued only when all other reasonable efforts have failed. Id. Parental rights are not terminated in order to punish the parents, but rather to protect their children. Id. Thus, although parental rights are of a constitutional

dimension, they may be terminated when the parents cannot or will not fulfill their parental responsibilities. Id. In order to effect the involuntary termination of a parent-child relationship, the State must present clear and convincing evidence establishing the elements set out in Ind. Code Ann.

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