In the Interest of A.T., Minor Child
K.T., Mother-Appellant
R.S., Father-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant Mother
Deborah M. Skelton
Attorney for Appellant Father
Ellen Ramsey-Kacena, Assistant Public Defender
Attorney for Appellee State
Tamara Knight, Assistant Attorney General
Guardian ad Litem
Allison Courtney Ray Ackerman
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Carrie K. Bryner, Judge. AFFIRMED ON BOTH APPEALS. Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ. Opinion by Schumacher, P.J. (16 pages)
Parents separately appeal the termination of their parental rights to their child. Both challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the grounds for termination and claim the State failed to prove the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services made active efforts to reunify them with their child. The mother also claims termination is not in the child’s best interests due to the closeness of the parent-child relationship. And the father claims the court should have placed the child in a guardianship with a maternal aunt in lieu of terminating parental rights. OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm on both appeals.
