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In the Interest of S.G., C.G., G.G., and A.G., Minor Children
D.S., Mother-Appellant
Attorney for Appellant Mother
Lynnette M. Lindgren
Attorney for Appellee State
Natalie Hedberg, Assistant Attorney General
Guardian ad Litem
Denise McKelvie Gonyea
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Mahaska County, Rose Anne Mefford, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Ahlers, P.J., Badding, J., and Gamble, S.J. Opinion by Gamble, S.J. (7 pages)
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to four children. She challenges the statutory grounds supporting termination, including reasonable efforts; whether termination is in the children’s best interests; and whether a permissive exception to termination should be applied to preclude termination. OPINION HOLDS: The mother’s reasonable-efforts challenge is not preserved, and the children could not be safely returned to the mother’s custody. So a statutory ground is satisfied. Termination is in the children’s best interests, and we decline to apply a permissive exception to preclude termination.
