In the Interest of S.M., Minor Child
C.P., Mother-Appellant
D.M., Father-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant Mother
Michelle M. Jay
Attorney for Appellant Father
Phillip D. Seidl
Attorney for Appellee State
Tamara Knight, Assistant Attorney General
Guardian ad Litem
Robert Davison
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jones County, Joan M. Black, Judge. AFFIRMED ON BOTH APPEALS. Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ. Opinion by Langholz, J. (10 pages)
A mother and father both appeal the termination of their parental rights to their daughter, arguing that the State failed to prove a ground for termination, termination is not in the best interest of the daughter, and that the juvenile court should have granted them additional time to work towards reunification. OPINION HOLDS: The State proved the statutory ground for terminating the mother’s and father’s parental rights under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(f) (2024) because the daughter could not be returned to either parent’s care at the time of the termination hearing. And termination of the mother’s and father’s parental rights is in the best interest of the daughter because of the safety concerns that are still present and the parents’ failure to address their mental-health concerns. What’s more, the daughter is doing well in her current foster care placement and is bonded with her foster mom. Additional time for reunification is not appropriate here as the daughter deserves permanency now. We thus affirm on both appeals.
