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In the Interest of V.S. and A.S., Minor Children
G.S., Mother-Appellant
A.S., Father-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant Mother
Mark A. Milder
Attorney for Appellant Father
Danielle M. DeBower
Attorney for Appellee State
Meredith L. Lamberti, Assistant Attorney General
Guardian ad litem
Cynthia Schuknecht
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Floyd County, Karen Kaufman Salic, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED ON BOTH APPEALS. Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Potterfield and Doyle, JJ. Opinion by Potterfield, J. (12 pages)
The mother and father separately appeal the termination of their parental rights. Both parents argue the grounds for termination were not met because the children could have been returned at the time of the termination hearing, they were not provided reasonable efforts toward reunification, and the district court should have dismissed the termination petition due to the misconduct of an Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) witness. The mother additionally argues termination is not in the children’s best interests. OPINION HOLDS: Because we find the State proved the grounds for termination under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(f) (2017) by clear and convincing evidence, DHS provided reasonable efforts toward reunification, termination is in the children’s best interests, and the district court correctly found it did not rely on false or fraudulent statements at the termination hearing, we affirm the district court’s order terminating the parental rights of both parents.
