SUMMARY: Termination of parental rights was proper where the mother made poor progress on reunification, was difficult to contact, surrounded herself by individuals with gang affiliations and failed to maintain a safe home.
Marieanna, DOB 8/09, was born to Cindy while she was incarcerated at the YRTC-Geneva. A 3a petition was filed on August 27, 2009, and Marieanna was placed in a foster home. After Cindy was discharged from the YRTC, she was placed in the same foster home. On November 24, 2009, Cindy entered a no contest plea. While in the foster home, Cindy misled her foster mother about leaving for work when she was actually not working and failed to take her medication for bipolar disorder. On November 17, 2011, Cindy aged out of the system and moved into an apartment. Cindy had weekend and overnight visits with Marieanna but those were reduced to supervised because Cindy would not provide a list of individuals she allowed to be around Marieanna, she was difficult to contact, she had alcohol in her apartment, she was argumentative and unresponsive, and she failed to keep Marieanna on a schedule. She also allowed a known gang member to seek shelter in her apartment while he was fleeing from the police and her boyfriend had gang affiliations. Permanency and review hearings were held on January 10 and July 19, 2012, and the State filed a petition to terminate parental rights on July 26, 2012. After trial on September 26, 2012, the court terminated Cindy’s parental rights. Cindy appealed.
The Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed the termination. It first addressed Cindy’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim by noting that there is no such constitutional right but rather a consideration of whether due process was afforded. In its due process review, the Court of Appeals concluded Cindy was afforded due process because she entered a voluntary appearance on the petition, her attorney was present for trial and questioned witnesses, and there is no evidence suggesting her attorney failed to communicate with her. As to the termination of parental rights, the Court noted Cindy’s failure to make progress, which included needing to find a safe home and have regular visitation. Her affiliation with gang members and infrequent contact with caseworkers created an unstable living environment and an inability to have regular visits with Marieanna. The Court concluded that Cindy had not rehabilitated herself in a reasonable time and termination was therefore proper.