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IN RE A N PERRY MINOR
State: Michigan
Court: Court of Appeals
Docket No: 303729
Case Date: 01/12/2012
Preview:STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS

UNPUBLISHED January 12, 2012 In the Matter of A. N. PERRY, Minor. No. 303729 Ionia Circuit Court Family Division LC No. 2005-000063-NA

In the Matter of A. N. PERRY, Minor.

No. 303730 Ionia Circuit Court Family Division LC No. 2005-000063-NA

In the Matter of A. TAYLOR, Minor.

No. 303731 Ionia Circuit Court Family Division LC No. 2005-000062-NA

Before: HOEKSTRA, P.J., and MARKEY and BORRELLO, JJ. PER CURIAM. In these consolidated appeals, respondent H. Tunney, the mother of AT and AP, and respondent M. Perry, the father of AP, appeal as of right the trial court's orders terminating their parental rights to the children at the initial dispositional hearing.1 The trial court terminated Tunney's parental rights pursuant to MCL 712A.19b(3)(d) and (j), and terminated Perry's parental rights pursuant to MCL 712A.19b(3)(a)(ii) and (j). We affirm in all three appeals. I. FACTS & PROCEEDINGS

The trial court also terminated the parental rights of the father of AT, but he is not a party to this appeal.

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Tunney had custody of both children when the Department of Human Services became involved in 2006 because Tunney was unemployed, had a substance abuse problem, lacked housing, and had difficulty managing her bipolar disorder. Tunney agreed to place the children in a limited guardianship with her sister. By 2010, Tunney had secured stable employment in the oil and gas industry, but she was required to work in various southern and western states for several weeks at a time. Her typical schedule required her to work six to eight weeks on site out of state, but then allowed her to return to Michigan for two weeks. Because of her schedule, she did not maintain regular visits with the children or participate in services in Michigan. Despite being gainfully employed, Tunney contributed little to the children's support. In September 2010, petitioner, the lawyer and guardian ad litem for the children, filed a petition requesting that the trial court both assume jurisdiction over the children and terminate the parental rights of Tunney and the children's fathers. The terms of the guardianship required Tunney to obtain employment, find housing, and obtain treatment for her substance abuse problem. She was also required to pay support of $20 a week, visit the children twice a week, and call them daily. Tunney did not comply with the visitation and contact requirements of the treatment plan, and her payment of child support was sporadic. In March 2010, the trial court suspended visits at the recommendation of the children's counselors because it was in their best interests to terminate all contact with Tunney. The guardianship was to continue until Tunney could provide a drug-free home, had completed a parenting course, and the children's counselors and Tunney agreed that the guardianship could be terminated. Petitioner requested that the trial court terminate Tunney's parental rights at the initial dispositional hearing because Tunney had failed to comply with all the terms of the guardianship. Petitioner also requested that Perry's parental rights be terminated because he had not seen AP since the summer of 2006, and neither the child nor her guardian had had any contact with him since then. Perry did not voluntarily provide any child support, but some support was provided through non-voluntary garnishment of Perry's unemployment compensation between June 2008 and August 2010. The trial court found that it had jurisdiction over the children after an adjudication hearing on March 9, 2011. The trial court found that jurisdiction was proper pursuant to MCL 712A.2(b)(1), (3), and (5), based on the fathers' abandonment of the children, and based on Tunney's failure to comply with the terms of the limited guardianship agreement, failure to regularly pay child support for at least two years, and had not regularly visited the children for two years. The disposition and termination hearing was held on April 21, 2011. After the hearing, the trial court found termination of Tunney's parental rights was warranted under
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