People v. Casey B. (In re L.B.)

1

2023 IL App (4th) 230542-U

In re L.B., a Minor

The People of the State of Illinois, Petitioner-Appellee, v. Casey B., Respondent-Appellant

No. 4-23-0542

Court of Appeals of Illinois, Fourth District

October 26, 2023

This Order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Knox County No. 19JA22 Honorable Curtis S. Lane, Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE LANNERD delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Turner and Steigmann concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

LANNERD JUSTICE

¶ 1 Held: The appellate court granted appellate counsel's motion to withdraw and affirmed the trial court's judgment terminating respondent's parental rights.

¶ 2 In April 2022, the State filed an amended petition seeking to terminate the parental rights of respondent, Casey B., to his minor child, L.B. (born in February 2019). L.B.'s mother surrendered her parental rights and is not a party to this appeal. Following fitness and best interest hearings the trial court granted the State's petition and terminated respondent's parental rights. Respondent appealed and counsel was appointed to represent him. Appellate counsel has now filed a motion for leave to withdraw with a supporting brief pursuant to Anders v California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), contending "the appeal presents no non-frivolous questions." For the reasons that follow, we grant appellate counsel's motion to withdraw and affirm the court's judgment.

¶ 3 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 4 In May 2019, the State filed a petition for adjudication of wardship, alleging L.B. was a neglected minor pursuant to section 2-3(1)(b) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (Juvenile Court Act) (705 ILCS 405/2-3(1)(b) (West 2018)) in that his environment was injurious to his welfare because (1) his parents had received positive drug test results, (2) respondent had been taken to the hospital after stating he was going to commit suicide, and (3) the mother and L.B. could not be located for more than one week. The petition alleged the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) took L.B. into protective custody on May 23, 2019. The trial court's order for temporary custody stated placement outside the home was in L.B.'s best interest due to lack of cooperation by the parents, concerns about substance abuse by both parents, and domestic violence concerns.

¶ 5 Following the August 20, 2019, adjudicatory hearing, the trial court found L.B. neglected based on the parents' substance abuse, domestic violence in the home, and respondent's mental health issues.

¶ 6 The trial court held the dispositional hearing on September 17, 2019. The dispositional hearing report stated police officers had responded to the parents' home six times for domestic violence complaints since L.B.'s birth, respondent had admitted he used methamphetamines as recently as May 2019, and police officers had taken him to a hospital after he stated he intended to jump off a bridge and commit suicide. The court entered a dispositional order making L.B. a ward of the court and placing his custody and guardianship with DCFS. The court set a permanency goal for L.B. to return home within 12 months. The court emphasized that respondent was required to follow the terms of the service plan, including completing substance abuse and mental health assessments, completing recommended treatment, cooperating with drug and alcohol screens, cooperating with DCFS, and completing a parenting education class and a domestic violence perpetrator program.

¶ 7 The State filed an initial petition to terminate parental rights on July 12, 2021, and an amended petition on April 8, 2022. In its amended petition, the State alleged, in pertinent part, that respondent was unfit because he failed to (1) make reasonable efforts to correct the conditions which were the basis for L.B.'s removal from respondent's custody during the nine-month periods from August 20, 2019, to May 20, 2020, and from June 1, 2021, to March 1, 2022 (750 ILCS 50/1(D)(m)(i) (West 2020)), and (2) make reasonable progress toward L.B.'s return during those same two nine-month periods (id. § 1(D)(m)(ii)).

¶ 8 A. Fitness Hearing

¶ 9 At the July 12, 2022, fitness hearing, Brooke Matykiewicz, L.B.'s DCFS caseworker since April 2021, testified that during the nine-month period between June 1, 2021, and March 1, 2022, respondent never met with her, never completed a drug screen, and was uncooperative in contacting her. Matykiewicz did not have a valid address or phone number for respondent. To her knowledge, respondent did not cooperate with the recommendations of the substance abuse assessment and did not complete a mental health assessment, a parenting education class, or a domestic violence program. Respondent attended visits with L.B. consistently during the nine-month period, missing only a few of them.

¶ 10 On cross-examination, Matykiewicz acknowledged she could not be sure whether respondent used alcohol or drugs during the relevant nine-month period because she had no contact with him. She also acknowledged she never stopped respondent's visitation with L.B.

¶ 11 Leah Myers testified she was L.B.'s DCFS caseworker during the nine-month period from August 20, 2019, to May 20, 2020. Myers testified respondent completed a substance abuse assessment during that period, but he was discharged from the recommended treatment because he did not attend consistently. He tested positive for methamphetamine twice between September 2019 and February 2020. He completed a mental health assessment and attended two treatment sessions, but he was also discharged from that treatment because he never returned. Respondent never completed a parenting education course, a domestic violence program, or a psychiatric evaluation. Respondent did attend weekly supervised visitation.

¶ 12 Respondent testified he knew he was required to cooperate with DCFS, complete random drug screens, cooperate with the terms of the service plan, and cooperate with an integrated assessment. According to respondent, he suffered from depression during the month after L.B. was removed and started using methamphetamine and amphetamines. Respondent used these substances for approximately one year. In late summer 2019, he completed a substance abuse assessment at Bridgeway in Galesburg, Illinois. The assessment recommended level one treatment. Respondent attended classes and meetings for one month before being discharged for a failed drug test. Six weeks later, he went back for another intake interview and attended online classes and meetings because it was "when Covid first started." Respondent testified he attended online group meetings for about three months. After three months, however, Bridgeway "stopped accepting [his] log in," and he later received an email stating he was being discharged from the program for not logging in.

¶ 13 Shortly thereafter, in early 2020, he moved to Decatur, Illinois. Respondent testified he informed DCFS of the move and tried to resume treatment in Decatur. He completed an assessment at Heritage Behavioral Health Center (Heritage), but the assessment stated he did not need treatment. Respondent testified he had "been clean for about a year now." The trial court admitted into evidence respondent's exhibit Nos. 1 and 2, identified as two separate assessments from Heritage. Respondent explained he completed a second assessment to show he was "doing better," and the second assessment included a mental health evaluation. The second assessment also recommended no treatment.

¶ 14 Respondent testified he had attended visitation with L.B. while this case was pending, including after he moved to Decatur. He was unemployed until May 2022, when he began working as a forklift driver at Caterpillar. He was subject to drug testing at work with the last drug test occurring in May 2022.

¶ 15 On cross-examination, respondent acknowledged he did not tell the person performing the assessments at Heritage that he suffered from depression and neither assessment referred to domestic violence issues. Respondent testified he completed a parenting education class "online when Covid was going on." He thought it was completed in 2019. Respondent denied failing to contact his caseworker for periods of time. According to respondent, he contacted her as needed and tried to contact her for about six months with no reply. Respondent acknowledged the first assessment from Heritage stated it was "done for probation" and that he had pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine. Respondent explained the methamphetamine was in a wallet he picked up. Respondent was not aware of any domestic battery charge arising out of that incident involving police officers responding to an argument between respondent and his girlfriend.

¶ 16 In making its findings, the trial court stated respondent "has come up here and provided testimony that just defies reality" and respondent had "very little credibility." The court noted respondent admitted using methamphetamine for a year corresponding with L.B.'s removal and covering the entire first nine-month period. The court found respondent was not truthful in the assessments performed in Decatur and he had failed to verify completion of the requirements ordered at the dispositional hearing. The court stated, "[S]o basically what do we [ sic ] have here is maybe a completion of a parenting education class *** and you went to visits." Accordingly, the court found respondent (1) failed to make reasonable efforts to correct the conditions which were the basis for the removal of L.B. during each of the two nine-month periods, specifically, between August 20, 2019 and May 20, 2020, and between June...