SUMMARY: Termination of parental rights was improper where the mother made continuous improvements after she ended an abusive relationship with her boyfriend.
Chloe, DOB 6/03, and Carly, DOB 9/07, were removed from the mother, Staci, on January 22, 2010, after Chloe was found to have bruises on her buttocks and the girls were living with a family friend of the mother’s boyfriend, Tim. Staci had met Tim online while living in Iowa and moved to Nebraska in July 2009 to marry him. Soon after, the relationship became verbally abusive and then physically abusive with Tim controlling her finances and freedom, and Staci had no friends in Nebraska. She admittedly did little to comply with her case plan during the first year. However, after she ended her relationship with Tim at the end of 2010, Staci entered a domestic violence shelter in January 2011, and was actively engaged. During the pendency of the case, Staci was convicted for failure to protect and also for stealing from the family friend and served 4 months, being paroled in February 2012. However, during work release in November 2011, she enrolled herself in a DV program and actively attended one-on-one counseling sessions and support groups. She also consistently attended visits with the children, had a good relationship with them and was willing to learn and correct any parenting issues. In November 2011, a petition to terminate parental rights was filed. At the time of trial, Staci had been employed for 3 weeks and was on a waiting list for a housing voucher. Several caseworkers testified that termination was in the children’s best interests. The court entered an order terminating Staci’s parental rights, finding that she continued seeing Tim after losing custody of the girls and had not followed case plans. Staci appealed.
The Nebraska Court of Appeals reversed the terminations of parental rights. Although it found that the girls had been out of home more than 15 of the past 22 months, thus satisfying the statutory ground under 43-292, the Nebraska Court of Appeals disagreed that clear and convincing evidence established that termination was in the children’s best interests. It conceded that for a time Staci did not comply with the case plans and that several witnesses testified termination was in the children’s best interest. But, the Court of Appeals noted that it would consider her initial lack of progress “in light of the surrounding circumstances” and once Staci ended her relationship with Tim, she demonstrated “a continued improvement in her parenting skills and…established a beneficial relationship with her children.” 20 Neb. App. at 796. The Court of Appeals noted the difficulties in breaking the cycle of violence with a partner, and highlighted the initiative Staci took in doing so and in engaging in self-improvement so as to avoid such relationships in the future. Finally, the Court of Appeals suggested that Staci’s issues with parenting only existed during her relationship with Tim and, while not a perfect parent before and after, she exhibited the capabilities to raise her children.