IN THE INTEREST OF K.S., K.S., D.S., and N.S., Minor Children, C.L.H, Mother, Appellant.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 6-856 / 06-1400
Filed October 25, 2006
IN THE INTEREST OF K.S., K.S., D.S., and N.S.,
Minor Children,
C.L.H, Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Stephen C.
Gerard II, District Associate Judge.
A mother appeals the juvenile court order removing her children from her
care. APPEAL DISMISSED.
Dawn Wilson, Cedar Rapids, for appellant mother.
Shannon Walsh, Iowa City, for father.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Bruce Kempkes, Assistant Attorney
General, J. Patrick White, County Attorney, and Kristin Parks, Assistant County
Attorney, for appellee State.
Shelly Mott, Coralville, guardian ad litem for minor children.
Considered by Mahan, P.J., and Miller and Vaitheswaran, JJ.
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PER CURIAM
A mother’s four children were removed from her care and placed in foster
care. The children were adjudicated to be children in need of assistance. A
dispositional order placed the children in the care and custody of the Iowa
Department of Human Services (DHS) for placement in family foster care. The
order also provided the children could be placed in the care of the mother for a
trial home placement, at the discretion of the department.
The children were placed with the mother for a trial home placement, but
were later removed due to allegations of physical abuse. The mother claimed
she was entitled to an evidentiary hearing prior to the removal of the children.
The juvenile court determined an evidentiary hearing was not necessary because
there was no proposed modification to the dispositional order-–the children
remained in the custody of the department.
A permanency hearing was
scheduled for a future date. The mother appeals, claiming she should have been
provided with an evidentiary hearing.
We determine the juvenile court order is not a final, appealable judgment.
See Iowa R. App. P. 6.1(1).
A juvenile court decision is not final unless it
disposes of all the issues. In re C.S., 516 N.W.2d 851, 857 (Iowa 1994). At all
relevant times the children were in the care and custody of the DHS.
The
placement in the mother’s home was simply a trial placement that had been
authorized by the court. Even though the mother was not given an evidentiary
hearing at the time DHS exercised its discretion to transfer physical care of the
children back to foster care, a permanency hearing had been set for a future
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date. At the permanency hearing the court may hear evidence concerning the
need to continue the children’s placement out of the home. See Iowa Code §
232.104 (2005).
We conclude the mother’s appeal is from an interlocutory ruling and
permission to appeal must be granted pursuant to Iowa Rules of Appellate
Procedure 6.1(3) and 6.2. See In re W.D., 562 N.W.2d 183, 186 (Iowa 1997).
We are reluctant to allow interlocutory appeals in juvenile court proceedings. Id.
A delay in juvenile court proceedings is antagonistic to the children’s best
interests. In re T.R., 705 N.W.2d 6, 12 (Iowa 2005). We determine the appeal
should be dismissed.
APPEAL DISMISSED.
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