People v. R.S. (In re Ca. B.)

2019 IL App (1st) 181024

143 N.E.3d 680

436 Ill.Dec. 851

IN RE CA. B. and Ch. B., Minors

(The People of the State of Illinois, Petitioner-Appellee,

v.R.S., Respondent-Appellant

(Ca. B. and Ch. B., Appellees)).

No. 1-18-1024

Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Fifth Division.

Opinion filed: May 31, 2019

Modified upon denial of rehearing: June 28, 2019

Amy P. Campanelli, Public Defender, of Chicago (Eileen T. Pahl, Assistant Public Defender, of counsel), for appellant.

Kimberly M. Foxx, State’s Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg, Gina DiVito, and Ashlee Cuza, Assistant State’s Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

Charles P. Golbert, Public Guardian, of Chicago (Kass A. Plain and Christopher Williams, of counsel), guardian ad litem.

PRESIDING JUSTICE ROCHFORD delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Respondent-appellant, R.S., appeals from an order terminating her parental rights with respect to minors-appellees, Ca. B. and Ch. B. For the following reasons, we affirm.¹

¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Ch. B. was born in 2006, and Ca. B. was born in 2010. Each minor is the biological daughter of R.S. and C.B.²

¶ 4 The State filed petitions for adjudication of wardship and motions for temporary custody with respect to both minors on October 22, 2010. Therein, the State alleged that both minors lived in an environment injurious to their welfare and were abused because their parents created a substantial risk of physical injury. The factual allegations supporting these allegations were as follows:

"Mother has one prior indicated report for neglect by substance misuse. Mother has had four other minors who were in DCFS care and custody with findings of abuse and neglect having been entered. Putative father has had two other minors who were in DCFS care and custody with findings of abuse and neglect having been entered. At the time of [Ca. B.'s] birth, both [Ca. B.] and mother tested positive for illegal substances. Mother admits to using illegal substances while pregnant with this minor. Mother has borne one other minor exposed to illegal substances. Putative father states that he has a history of using illegal substances. Paternity has not been established."

Based upon the allegations in these petitions, the trial court placed the minors under the temporary custody of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on the same day. Thereafter, following DNA testing, the trial court entered an order finding C.B. to be the biological father of the minors.

¶ 5 On April 12, 2011, the trial court adjudicated the minors neglected due to an injurious environment and abused due to a substantial risk of physical injury, with Ca. B. also found to be neglected due to being born drug-exposed. The basis for these findings was that Ca. B. tested positive for cannabis at the time of her birth and that R.S. tested positive for cannabis and cocaine at the same time.

¶ 6 In orders entered on August 22, 2011, the trial court found that R.S. and C.B. were unable to care for, protect, or discipline the minors. The trial court therefore ordered the minors to be wards of the court and appointed the DCFS guardianship administrator as the minors' guardian. At the time, the trial court also entered a permanency goal of returning the minors home within 12 months.

¶ 7 From that time until October, 2015, R.S. was engaged in substance abuse services, and the trial court held regular permanency planning hearings to determine R.S.'s progress toward the goal of returning the minors home. In all but one instance, the trial court noted that R.S. had failed to make substantial progress toward that goal. On May 24, 2016, the trial court changed the permanency goal to substitute care pending court determination on termination of parental rights. With respect to this change, the trial court noted that R.S. was not making progress in her substance abuse services.

¶ 8 On November 2, 2016, the State filed termination of parental rights petitions with respect to the minors. The petitions alleged that R.S. was unfit for failing to (1) maintain a reasonable degree of interest, concern, or responsibility as to the minors' welfare, (2) make reasonable efforts to correct the conditions which were the basis for the minors' removal, and/or (3) make reasonable progress toward the minors' return within nine months after adjudication of neglect or abuse, and/or within any nine-month period after adjudication. The State also contended that it was in the best interests of the minors that a guardian be appointed with the right to consent to their adoption, based upon the facts that (1) the minors had resided in foster care since December 3, 2010, (2) the minors' current foster parents desired to adopt the minors, and (3) adoption by the minors' foster parents was in the best interests of the minors.

¶ 9 At the fitness hearing, the trial court was presented with a host of documentary evidence and testimony. This included evidence that Ch. B. had been exposed to barbiturates and methadone in utero and continued to experience speech and motor development delays, severe inattention, hyperactivity, anger, and rage. She required specialized services for these issues. Ca. B. tested positive for methadone and cannabis at the time of her birth and was treated for symptoms of withdrawal after being born.

¶ 10 Evaluations of R.S. indicated she had complex mental health issues, including diagnoses of depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorders, and had a history of both sexual abuse and domestic violence. To address these issues, as well as R.S.'s significant substance-abuse problems, DFCS concluded that R.S. was in need of the following services to address the conditions that caused the minors to come into DCFS custody: (1) substance-abuse treatment, (2) random drug screens, (3) psychiatric treatment, (4) medication monitoring, and (5) individual therapy.

¶ 11 However, the evidence presented at the fitness hearing established that R.S. had continually failed to fully comply with the requirements of these services. She did not reliably and adequately comply with her substance-abuse treatment, provide required documentation, submit to random drug screens, engage in mental health treatment, maintain contact with her caseworkers, or attend scheduled supervised visits with the minors. As a result, R.S. was denied her repeated requests for unsupervised visitation. As of January 2016, R.S. had not completed her substance-abuse program, was still using methadone, and continued to need treatment for her mental health issues.

¶ 12 At the conclusion of the fitness hearing, the trial court found R.S. unfit. The cause then proceeded to a best-interests hearing.

¶ 13 At that hearing, the trial court first took judicial notice of the evidence introduced at the fitness hearing, before being presented with additional documentary evidence and testimony. This included evidence that the minors had been placed in a number of foster homes—sometimes together, sometimes apart—over the years, in part due to the specialized issues and needs of Ch. B. These included diagnoses of ADHD, intermittent explosive disorder, and mild mental retardation, which had at times required treatment with psychotropic medication. Ch. B. also exhibited anger management issues, poor impulse control, inappropriate sexualized behavior, and delayed speech.

¶ 14 The minors' current foster parent, Ms. H., has been Ca. B.'s foster parent since Ca. B. was a month old, with the exception of a one-year period when the minors were both placed in the care of another foster parent in an effort to have the sisters live together. Nevertheless, Ms. H. continued to visit Ca. B. and Ch. B. during that one-year period. When that foster parent no longer wished to care for the minors, Ms. H. volunteered to foster both minors. Both minors have lived with Ms. H. since February 2014.

¶ 15 In the time that the minors have been in Ms. H.'s care, Ch. B. has been attending a specialized school and is making "substantial progress," while Ca. B. was attending a regular school, "developing smoothly," and exhibiting no behavioral problems. Ms. H. testified that the minors love her adult son, who lives in the home. The minors are also bonded to Ms. H.'s sister, who cares for the minors after school until Ms. H. returns from work. The minors also have close relationships with Ms. H.'s adult daughter, children at school and in the neighborhood, as well as with Ms. H.'s extended family. While Ms. H. divorced her husband in December 2017, her exhusband—with whom the minors have a very close, loving relationship—still talks to the minors daily and takes them on outings every Sunday. Ms. H., who had received continuous, specialized foster parent training to address Ch. B.'s needs, wanted to adopt the minors.

¶ 16 If she did adopt them, Ms. H. would encourage the minors to maintain existing relationships with the minors' older biological siblings and Ms. H.'s ex-husband. However, in light of significant tensions between her and R.S. and a litany of minor and/or unfounded allegations against Ms. H. made by R.S. over the years, Ms. H. would be unwilling to facilitate contact between the minors and their mother.

¶ 17 The minors' current caseworker, Ms. W., testified that the minors were secure and attached to Ms. H. and were "thriving" under her care. The minors indicated to Ms. W. that they want to stay with Ms. H. Ms. H. provided a stable and safe environment for the minors, and Ms. W. had no concerns about Ms. H.'s ability to care for the minors.

¶ 18 This is despite the fact that R.S. and her attorney had made numerous, continuous complaints regarding Ms. H.'s care of the minors since at least November 2016. These ranged from relatively minor complaints about hairstyles and clothing to accusations of corporal punishment. As Ms. W. testified, she followed up on each of these claims and found them to be unfounded, with the single exception of an instance where Ms....