IN RE ALEXANDRIA NELMARK MINOR
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
In the Matter of ALEXANDRIA NELMARK,
Minor.
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,
UNPUBLISHED
May 6, 2008
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
No. 280076
Kent Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 06-050629-NA
LISA PHILLIPS,
Respondent-Appellant,
and
RANDALL NELMARK,
Respondent.
Before: White, P.J., and Hoekstra and Smolenski, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Respondent-appellant appeals as of right the trial court’s order terminating her parental
rights to the minor child under MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i), (g), and (j).1 We affirm.
Respondent-appellant’s sole argument on appeal is that the evidence failed to establish a
statutory ground for termination of her parental rights. We disagree. In order to terminate
parental rights, the trial court must find that at least one of the statutory grounds for termination
in MCL 712A.19b(3) has been met by clear and convincing evidence. In re Jackson, 199 Mich
App 22, 25; 501 NW2d 182 (1993). “Once a ground for termination is established, the court
must issue an order terminating parental rights unless there exists clear evidence, on the whole
record, that termination is not in the child’s best interests.” In re Trejo Minors, 462 Mich 341,
1
The court also terminated the parental rights of the child’s father after he voluntarily released
his rights. He is not a party to this appeal.
-1-
354; 612 NW2d 407 (2000); MCL 712A.19b(5). We review the trial court’s determination for
clear error. Trejo, supra at 356-357.
The child at issue was removed from her parents’ care in February 2006 after she was
hospitalized and diagnosed with serious injury consistent with nonaccidental causes. At the time
of the adjudication in April 2006, respondent-appellant was unable to provide the child with a
safe environment considering that neither parent offered any explanation regarding the cause of
the child’s injuries, they both denied any involvement (the only caregivers identified were the
parents and the father’s mother), and respondent-appellant’s older children had also suffered
unexplained injuries in the past, leading to their removal from her care.2 Although the record
contained no direct evidence indicating that respondent-appellant or the child’s father caused the
injury, the unexplained nature of the child’s injury coupled with the unexplained physical
injuries to her older children also occurring while in her custody, suggested a serious failure on
the part of respondent-appellant to adequately protect her children from harm. Under these
circumstances, the child clearly was at a risk of harm and respondent-appellant was unable to
provide proper care or custody for her.
In April 2006, the court entered its dispositional order, and over the next 14 to 15 months
respondent-appellant made progress with services, including participating in parenting classes
and counseling, submitting to a psychological evaluation, obtaining employment and maintaining
housing, attending visits with the child, and demonstrating appropriate parenting techniques.
The evidence, however, clearly indicates that respondent-appellant’s notable efforts towards
compliance with her treatment plan were not enough to insure that the child would be safe and
properly cared for in her custody. Pertinent was the ongoing uncertainty about how the child
sustained her serious and nonaccidental injury while in respondent-appellant’s care, along with
respondent-appellant’s history of failing to provide a safe environment for her older children
who also suffered unexplained physical injury while in her care. Also of concern was her
continued involvement with and dependence on the child’s father despite warnings by the
caseworker and the court that she needed to end her involvement with him because of the
significant risk of harm he posed due to his serious substance abuse and anger management
issues. She also exercised poor parental judgment in allowing the child to be cared for by the
paternal grandmother who she knew abused marijuana and had a “bad temper.” Finally, there
were ongoing concerns about her emotional state expressed by her counselor and the evaluating
psychologist. On this record, we agree with the trial court that it remained reasonably likely that
the child would be subjected to harm if returned to respondent-appellant’s home. MCL
712A.19b(3)(j).
We further agree that respondent-appellant’s inability to effectively resolve her issues so
that she could provide the child with a safe and stable environment in over 17 months since the
child’s removal, despite her compliance with services, clearly established that she would not
likely be able to provide proper care and custody for the child within a reasonable time. MCL
2
At the time of the older children’s removal from her care, respondent-appellant was married to
another man, who physically abused her. Her older children were not returned to her care and
were placed under a full guardianship with their maternal grandmother in 1999.
-2-
712A.19b(3)(c)(i) and (g). This is especially so, considering the young age of the child and that
she had already been outside of respondent-appellant’s care for over 17 months (over half of the
child’s life) in a placement with her maternal grandparents and half-siblings where she was
thriving and progressing. Under such circumstances, we conclude that delaying the child’s
stability and permanency any longer by allowing respondent-appellant additional time to work
towards reunification would be unreasonable. Therefore, despite her noteworthy efforts towards
complying with services, we find no clear error in the trial court’s determination that the
evidence clearly established grounds for terminating respondent-appellant’s parental rights under
MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i), (g), and (j). Trejo, supra at 356-357. In light of the foregoing
evidence, we likewise find no clear error in the trial court’s determination that termination of
respondent-appellant’s parental rights was in the child’s best interests.3
Affirmed.
/s/ Helene N. White
/s/ Joel P. Hoekstra
/s/ Michael R. Smolenski
3
The trial court went beyond the best interest inquiry required under MCL 712A.19b(5). The
statute does not require that the court affirmatively find that termination is in the child’s best
interests. Trejo, supra at 364 n 19.
-3-
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