In re Kyreese L.

220 Conn.App. 705

299 A.3d 296

IN RE KYREESE L., Jr. ^*

AC 45846

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued March 7, 2023

Officially Released July 26, 2023^**

Matthew C. Eagan, assigned counsel, for the appellant (respondent mother).

Seon Bagot, assistant attorney general, with whom, on the brief, were William Tong, attorney general, and Evan O'Roark, assistant attorney general, for the appellee (petitioner).

Bright, C. J., and Suarez and Clark, Js.

CLARK, J.

The respondent mother, Naila S., ¹ appeals from the judgment of the trial court terminating her parental rights as to her minor child, Kyreese L., Jr. (Kyreese). The respondent claims that the court erred in concluding that (1) the Department of Children and Families (department) made reasonable efforts to reunify the respondent with Kyreese, (2) the respondent was unable or unwilling to benefit from reunification services, and (3) the respondent failed to achieve a sufficient degree of personal rehabilitation. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The following facts, as found by the trial court, and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of the respondent's claims on appeal. "The [respondent] has [had] a substance abuse history of excessive use of marijuana from the age of fifteen as well as being involved in incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV) with the father [Kyreese L., Sr.]. The [respondent] was abused as a child and uses marijuana as a coping skill for her depression and anxiety. ... The parents also have histories with [the department] as children subject to abuse and/or neglect.

"This case opened on May 14, 2019, when [the department] received a referral from a Yale New Haven Hospital [hospital] social worker informing the petitioner, [the Commissioner of Children and Families], that the [respondent] tested positive for marijuana at the time of Kyreese's birth. The [respondent] also tested positive for marijuana at her prenatal appointments throughout her pregnancy. As a result, the [respondent] was substantiated for neglect of Kyreese.

"[The department] referred the [respondent] to Family Based Recovery (FBR) for substance use and mental health treatment. The [respondent] participated in the FBR program, but she continued to test positive for marijuana from May through September of 2019 and, therefore, received no benefit from it. ...

"On August 16, 2019, the [respondent] contacted the New Haven Police Department to report the occurrence of a physical altercation between her and the father. An arrest warrant was issued for the father with charges of risk of injury to a minor, as Kyreese was present; assault in the third degree; and breach of the peace. Thereafter, on September 10, 2019, the father contacted the New Haven police to report another physical altercation with the [respondent]. This time the [respondent] was the aggressor, and she was arrested for risk of injury, assault in the third degree and breach of the peace. The [respondent] had been holding Kyreese during this incident, and they both fell down the stairs. As a result, Kyreese was taken to the hospital to be assessed, and the child was released the same day; however, the [respondent] was required to bring Kyreese back to the hospital the following day, September 11, for a skeletal examination. [The department] created a safety plan for the [respondent] and Kyreese that included no contact with the father, filing a restraining order against the father, and continuation with her services including engagement in IPV services.

"The [respondent] brought Kyreese to [the hospital] on September 11, 2019, for his skeletal examination, and [the department] received the result the next day. Kyreese suffered a fracture to the right distal femur and a potential fracture to the left arm. [A physician with the hospital's] DART Team, ² could not opine definitively if the injuries were the result of abuse and scheduled further scans in two weeks. Thus, [the department] sought and was granted an order of temporary custody (OTC) on September 16, 2019, as the parents could provide no explanation for the injuries to Kyreese and the injuries occurred while he was in their care.

"A neglect petition was filed simultaneously with the OTC. The OTC was sustained on September 20, 2019. The updated skeletal scans were completed, which showed injury to Kyreese's other leg as well. [The physician] opined to [the department's] social worker, Artemesia C., in October of 2019, that the injuries to Kyreese were highly indicative of child abuse. Further, [the department's social worker] testified credibly that these injuries did not occur when the [respondent] and Kyreese fell down the stairs. Rather, these types of injuries are incurred because someone pulled on the baby's legs. Kyreese was placed with fictive kin suggested by the [respondent], where he remains to date. ³

"On October 31, 2019, the court adjudicated Kyreese as a neglected child and committed him to [the department's] care. The preliminary specific steps were made final. A permanency plan of [termination of parental rights] and adoption was approved by [the trial] court ... on April 27, 2021, and March 3, 2022 .... This petition was filed on October 4, 2021, and amended on November 22, 2021." (Footnotes in original.)

The court, Hon. Shelley A. Marcus , judge trial referee, held a virtual trial on the petition for termination of parental rights on July 11 and 13, 2022. On July 27, 2022, the court issued a memorandum of decision granting the petition to terminate the parental rights of the respondent, the father, and John Doe. ⁴ This appeal followed. ⁵ Additional facts and procedural history will be set forth as necessary.

I

The respondent first challenges the court's conclusions that the department made reasonable efforts to reunify her with Kyreese and that she was unable or unwilling to benefit from those efforts. We are not persuaded.

We begin by setting forth additional facts relevant to the respondent's claims as to the department's reunification efforts. "The [respondent] had been sporadically engaging with FBR at the time of the OTC. The [respondent] was discharged from FBR when the OTC was granted because FBR is an in-home service for substance abuse, mental health and parenting and Kyreese was no longer in the home.

"Subsequent to the discharge from FBR, the [respondent] was referred by [the department] to Monarch, LLC, on October 23, 2019, for substance abuse and mental health treatment. However, the [respondent] failed to attend. The [respondent] was also referred to IPV-FAIR for IPV treatment on September 16, 2019. It took the [respondent] eight months to complete IPV-FAIR, [which she did] on May 26, 2020. The program should have been completed in four months. IPV-FAIR recommended ongoing mental health treatment for the [respondent] at discharge.

"[The department] made a referral for the [respondent] to [Multidimensional Family Recovery (MDFR)] on June 4, [2020], as she was struggling to engage in reunification services. MDFR is a community based service that assists parents who are having difficulty engaging in services. The [respondent] was unsuccessfully discharged from MDFR for lack of engagement.

"After the [respondent's] unsuccessful discharge from MDFR, [the department] referred the [respondent] to [Midwestern Connecticut Council of Alcoholism, Inc. (MCCA)] for mental health and substance abuse treatment on September 28, 2020. The [respondent] did not attend her intake at MCCA until December 28, 2020. The [respondent] was recommended to attend MCCA's Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), which would address anger management as well as substance use and mental health. The [respondent's] attendance was very sporadic, but she finally completed her IOP in October of 2021. [The department's] social worker, Joel P., testified credibly that the [respondent] attended her program for ten months, which is a very lengthy period of time. The program is usually much shorter in duration. The [respondent] was not recommended for additional services upon discharge.

"[The department] also referred the [respondent] for visitation and parenting classes, initially with Family Centered Services. The [respondent] was consistent with her in person visitation. However, during the closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, visits were transitioned to virtual, twice a week, facilitated by the foster mother. There were periods of time when the [respondent] failed to keep consistent contact with the foster mother for virtual visits, but the [respondent's] attendance virtually improved during the holiday period in 2021. The visits transitioned to in person visitation in the fall of 2021 [occurring] once per week for one hour at the [the department's] office, and the [respondent] was very consistent until December of 2021, after which she missed seven visits without explanation and without calling to cancel. Thereafter, the [respondent] maintained her consistency with her weekly visitation. The [respondent] was engaging and appropriate during visits but needed correction regarding her tardiness to visits and using her telephone during visitation. The [respondent] was responsive to these suggestions and corrected her behavior.

"In addition, during this time frame, the [respondent] gave birth to another child, Nariea, [in July], 2021. The [respondent tested] positive for marijuana upon Nariea's birth. The [respondent] appeared to be more motivated to complete her programs after Nariea was born, as that child remains in her care, and a period of protective supervision was permitted to expire in July of 2022. The [respondent] completed her parenting program, Circle of Security, in February of 2022, during that period of protective supervision. As the [respondent] appeared to be more successfully navigating parenting and was successfully engaging in services despite her engagement being delayed and lengthy in nature, ...