In re Keeshaun

82 Mass.App.Ct. 1119

977 N.E.2d 106

ADOPTION OF KEESHAUN.¹

No. 12–P–346.

Appeals Court of Massachusetts.

November 7, 2012.

OPINION TEXT STARTS HEREBy the Court (KANTROWITZ, SIKORA & RUBIN, JJ.).

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 1:28

The mother and father appeal from the termination of their parental rights. The mother contends, essentially, that she should have been compelled to enter treatment.² The father contends that he was striving toward becoming a fit parent and that the record lacks sufficient evidence to determine that termination of his parental rights was in the child's best interests. We affirm.

“Parental unfitness means more than ineptitude, handicap, character flaw, conviction of a crime, unusual life style, or inability to do as good a job as the child's foster parent. Rather the idea of parental unfitness means grievous shortcomings or handicaps that put the child's welfare much at hazard. A judge's subsidiary findings must be supported by a preponderance of evidence, and those findings will not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous. Taken together the judge's findings must prove clearly and convincingly that a parent is currently unfit to further the welfare and best interests of a child.... Appellate courts give deference to a trial judge's determinations of credibility and of the weight given to the evidence.” Care & Protection of Amalie, 69 Mass.App.Ct. 813, 817–818 (2007) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). Once parental unfitness is established, it must be determined whether it would be in the child's best interests to terminate parental rights. Adoption of Nancy, 443 Mass. 512, 515 (2005). The “court is permitted to assess prognostic evidence derived from prior patterns of parental neglect or misconduct in determining future fitness and the likelihood of harm to the child.” Adoption of Ilona, 459 Mass. 53, 60 (2011), quoting from Custody of Two Minors, 396 Mass. 610, 621 (1986). Moreover, in determining whether termination is in the child's best interests, permanence and stability are important factors, particularly when the parent has failed to rehabilitate himself or herself over a long period of time. Adoption of Nancy, supra at 517–518.

There was, sadly, an abundance of evidence warranting termination. At the outset, we note that the child tested positive for cocaine and methadone when born.

The many shortcomings of the mother include a severe addiction to illegal substances, as well as suffering from significant mental health problems. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) repeatedly made efforts to direct the mother toward the appropriate treatment, which she either failed to complete or to participate in meaningfully. The mother admitted that she used cocaine and heroin, drank alcohol, and smoked a pack and one-half to two packs of cigarettes per day during her pregnancy. She had multiple positive screens for cocaine throughout the pendency of the care and protection trial.

The mother has also had “extensive involvement with the police.” On one occasion, the police were called to the mother's and father's residence, where the father reported that they had been using...