State v. Madison C. (In re Interest of Landyn C.)

28 Neb.App. 95

940 N.W.2d 288

IN RE Interest of LEYTON C. and Landyn C., children under 18 years of age.

State of Nebraska, appellee,

v.Madison C., appellant.

No. A-19-423.

Court of Appeals of Nebraska.

Filed March 3, 2020

INTRODUCTION

Madison C. appeals the order of the separate juvenile court of Lancaster County which terminated her parental rights to her minor children, Leyton C. and Landyn C. Upon our de novo review of the specific facts contained within the record, we find that the State failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that terminating Madison’s parental rights was in the best interests of the children. We therefore reverse the decision of the juvenile court and remand the cause for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Madison, who was born in 1997, is the mother of Leyton, born in August 2015, and Landyn, born in February 2017. The father of the children has relinquished his parental rights; therefore, we do not address him in this appeal.

On July 19, 2016, the State filed a petition alleging that Leyton was a juvenile as defined by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-247(3)(a) (Supp. 2015). The petition specifically alleged that Leyton lacked proper parental care by reason of the fault or habits of Madison in that between November 4 and 24, 2015, Madison left him in the care of her mother without making proper provisions for his care; on or about June 8, 2016, Madison tested positive for methamphetamine; and Madison had failed to consistently provide a safe and stable home for Leyton. Upon Madison’s admission to the allegations in the petition, the juvenile court adjudicated Leyton under § 43-247(3)(a). Leyton was allowed to remain at his maternal grandparents’ home where he and Madison had been living.

In a subsequent order, the juvenile court, among other things, prohibited contact between Leyton and Madison’s then-boyfriend, Jaden R., due to Jaden’s criminal history. In March 2017, the court approved a placement change, removing Leyton from his grandparents’ home and placing him with Madison’s sister, after Madison and her mother gave Jaden a ride to his sister’s home while Leyton was in the car. After Landyn was born, he was adjudicated under § 43-247(3)(a) (Reissue 2016) and was placed in a nonrelative foster home. In July, Leyton was moved to the foster home providing care for Landyn.

Madison moved into her own apartment in the fall of 2017, and the children were placed back with her in January 2018. They were removed again, however, in July, and placed back in their previous foster home. On October 11, the State filed a motion to terminate Madison’s parental rights to Leyton and Landyn. The motion alleged that termination was appropriate under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-292(2), (4), and (6) (Reissue 2016) for both children and under § 43-292(7) with respect to Leyton. The motion also alleged that termination of Madison’s parental rights was in the best interests of the children.

A hearing on the termination motion was held on December 14, 2018; January 3, 9, 25, and 29, 2019; and February 5, 8, and 26, 2019. The evidence revealed that Madison was 18 years old and living with her parents when Leyton was born. When Leyton was approximately 1 month old, Madison began a relationship with Jaden. Jaden quickly became controlling, preventing her from contacting her family and encouraging her to stay with him. By January 2016, the emotional and mental abuse escalated, and Jaden began physically abusing Madison. By this time, he had taken her cell phone, and she had to "be good" in order to earn the chance to see Leyton and her family. Madison testified that around this same time, Jaden began forcing her to use methamphetamine by either making her smoke it or putting it inside her vagina. Madison had not previously used methamphetamine and did not use any drugs while she was pregnant with Leyton.

Over the course of the relationship, Jaden would punch and kick Madison and use "extension cords, brass knuckles, mace, flashlights, [and] metatarsal boots" to abuse her. He also stapled her with a staple gun and kicked her in the stomach while she was pregnant with Landyn. On one occasion, he sprayed a fire extinguisher in a bedroom and shut Madison in the room. When she began to pass out, he pulled her out of the room until she was able to catch her breath and asked her questions about who she had talked to and if she had hidden "any phones around the house." If he thought she was lying, he pushed her back into the room and repeated the events again. This incident occurred while Madison was pregnant with Landyn. On another occasion while she was pregnant, Jaden hit Madison in the face, laid her on the floor on her stomach, and "put a crowbar around [her] neck and pulled [her] up backwards."

Two additional incidents occurred in April and May 2017. During one incident, Jaden whipped Madison with an extension cord, sprayed her in the face with mace, and put her in a scalding hot bath. On the other occasion, he physically assaulted her, burned her knees with a torch, and threatened her with a knife, putting it to her neck and threatening to kill her. Photographs of Madison’s injuries from this incident were received into evidence at the termination hearing. As a result of these two assaults, Jaden was arrested and ultimately went to prison. At the time he was arrested in May, Madison ended the relationship, and she sought and obtained a protection order against him.

Madison explained that she never told anyone about the abuse because she was afraid of the repercussions from Jaden. She attempted to escape at times, but either she was unable to do so or, if she was, Jaden would come back for her. There were times during the relationship that she could not get away because she was locked in a closet. She explained that beginning in 2016 through the end of the relationship, there were periods of time where she was prohibited from even seeing daylight. Madison acknowledged that during her relationship with Jaden, she did not participate in the services provided by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), explaining that Jaden was still around so it was difficult for her to do so.

Beginning in the fall of 2017, however, after Jaden was incarcerated and the relationship was over, Madison began engaging in services and focusing on making progress in the case. She had attended outpatient drug and alcohol treatment with a licensed independent mental health practitioner, Emily Goodman, on just two occasions in March 2017. But Goodman recommended an updated evaluation, which resulted in an updated diagnosis of major depressive disorder and a recommendation of individual therapy rather than substance use treatment.

Madison began attending individual therapy with Goodman regularly in July 2017. Goodman testified at the termination hearing that as a result of the domestic violence Madison endured, she had one of the most severe cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that Goodman had seen. Madison suffered from daily nightmares, struggling to even sleep at night, and flashbacks that were some of the most detailed and physiologically affective that Goodman had encountered. Goodman explained that PTSD is not something that can be "cured," and she said it will be something that will challenge Madison for the rest of her life. In Goodman’s experience working with individuals with PTSD, there are times where things are going very well and times that are more difficult, and there are things that can trigger more struggles and flashbacks. With Madison specifically, because her trauma disorder was so greatly ingrained into her environment, Goodman would highly expect struggles and flashbacks. Madison’s flashbacks and symptoms associated with her trauma disorder increased and decreased over the year that she worked with Goodman. Despite Madison’s trauma, as of March 2018, Goodman believed that she was able to adequately and appropriately parent her children. Madison’s treatment with Goodman ended in March when Goodman left on maternity leave. DHHS was to locate a new therapist, but our record does not indicate that one was immediately found.

As a result of Madison’s progress in attending therapy, having visits with the children several times per week, and testing negative for drugs, the children were placed back with her on January 2, 2018. Thereafter, she began to feel overwhelmed and eventually relapsed with methamphetamine in March and stopped engaging in services. She also became involved in a relationship with a man with a criminal history and with whom she used drugs. The children were removed from Madison’s care on July 2 and placed back in their previous foster home. They underwent hair follicle testing. Leyton tested positive for exposure to methamphetamine and marijuana, and Landyn tested positive for exposure to marijuana.

Shortly after the children were removed from Madison’s care, she began attending individual therapy with Sarah Worley. An updated substance abuse evaluation was completed at that time. We note that prior to this date, Madison had not received any substantial substance abuse treatment because Goodman had recommended individual therapy for her mental health instead. As her mental health progressed, her drug and alcohol screenings were all negative, so she was no longer appropriate for substance abuse treatment according to Goodman. The subsequent evaluation revealed that Madison was now "on the borderline" between needing residential treatment and intensive outpatient treatment. She initially elected to do residential treatment, and when she entered treatment in August 2018, she tested positive for methamphetamine—admitting that she had used drugs prior to entering. She was at treatment for only a few days before leaving against medical advice, in part because of another patient in the program whom she had known during her relationship with Jaden. Within a week of leaving the residential program,...