IN RE ALSTON/COX/WASHINGTON MINORS
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
In the Matter of REGINALD ALSTON, ELMOR
WANDA COX and EMAJE TERRY
WASHINGTON, Minors.
FAMILY INDEPENDENCE AGENCY,
UNPUBLISHED
March 1, 2002
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
No. 233668
Wayne Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 99-385054
TYWANDA WASHINGTON,
Respondent-Appellant,
and
REGINALD ALSTON, BOBBY COX, and
EDDIE BANKS,
Respondents.
Before: Jansen, P.J., and Zahra and Meter, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Respondent-appellant appeals as of right from the family court’s order terminating her
parental rights to the minor children under MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i), (g), (h), and (j). We affirm.
The family court did not clearly err in finding that the statutory grounds for termination
were established by clear and convincing evidence. MCR 5.974(I); In re Miller, 433 Mich 331,
337; 445 NW2d 161 (1989). Here, respondent-appellant was imprisoned in November 1999,
following her guilty plea to carjacking and felony-firearm. Her earliest release date is December
2003. Before going to prison, respondent-appellant left her two older children in the care of a
woman whose home was found to be unsuitable in December 1999. Respondent-appellant’s
third child was born while she was incarcerated. There was evidence that the two older children
have special needs and none of the children appear to be bonded to their mother. The two older
children indicated that respondent-appellant whips them and they expressed a desire not to return
to her care. Under these circumstances, there was clear and convincing evidence to warrant
termination under the above-cited statutory grounds.
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Further, the evidence on the whole record did not show that termination of respondentappellant’s parental rights was clearly not in the children’s best interests. MCL 712A.19b(5); In
re Trejo Minors, 462 Mich 341, 356-357; 612 NW2d 407 (2000). Thus, the family court did not
clearly err in terminating respondent-appellant’s parental rights to the children.
Affirmed.
/s/ Kathleen Jansen
/s/ Brian K. Zahra
/s/ Patrick M. Meter
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