SUMMARY: The appellant lost in loco parentis status after being incarcerated for almost two years, not providing financial assistance and having no contact other than through letters.
Haley, DOB 5/03, was removed from the home of her then-believed aunt and uncle after her brother died from serious injuries in December 2009. Haley is the daughter of Samantha, whose care she was removed from in 2006 due to abuse and neglect allegations. Samantha had lived with Clinton who, despite being on Haley’s birth certificate, is not Haley’s biological father. Haley and her brother were placed with Clinton and they lived together from February 2007 to August 2009, living in four states. Clinton was arrested in August 2009 in South Dakota and served time in prison there and Nebraska before being released in February 2011. While in prison, he sent 2-3 letters per week to Haley but did not have any other contact with her and did not provide financial assistance. After Haley was removed in December 2009, Clinton filed a motion to intervene. Samantha filed a motion to dismiss him as an interested party. Hearings were held in February and March 2011. Clinton testified that he considered himself her real father even though not biological and that he is the only father Haley has known. Haley’s therapist noted that Haley has a strong attachment to Clinton and wants to live with him. On June 2, 2011, the juvenile court found that Clinton did not have standing to intervene. Clinton appealed.
The Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed the juvenile court’s finding. It first considered whether Clinton “assumed the obligations incident to a parental relationship” and concluded that because Clinton was incarcerated for the two most recent years of Haley’s life and had not provided any support or care for her that his claim to a parental relationship under in loco parentis doctrine had been terminated. Page 4. As to best interests, the Court of Appeals acknowledged Haley’s strong attachment to Clinton but focused on her health, emotional growth, stability and progress. It noted Haley’s fragility and found that Clinton doesn’t have the stability Haley requires, given his incarceration, continued criminal legal problems and his relinquishment of a prior child to avoid paying child support.