In the Interest of E.H., Minor Child
D.H., Father-Appellant
M.W., Mother-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant Father
Shane P. O'Toole
Attorney for Appellant Mother
Jeremy L. Merrill
Attorney for Appellee State
Ellen Ramsey-Kacena, Assistant Attorney General
Guardian ad Litem
Erin Romar
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Susan Cox, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED ON BOTH APPEALS. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Greer, J., and Potterfield, S.J. Opinion by Potterfield, S.J. (9 pages)
The mother and father separately appeal the termination of their parental rights to E.H., who was born in 2016. The court terminated each parent’s rights pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(h) (2019). On appeal, the mother and the father each maintain the State failed to prove the statutory ground for termination, the loss of their rights is not in E.H.’s best interests, and their respective parent-child relationship should be saved due to the closeness of their bond with the child. Alternatively, each parent maintains they should be given more time to work toward reunification with E.H. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the termination of the mother’s and the father’s parental rights.
