IN RE CATHERINE LOUISE BISHOP MINOR
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
In the Matter of C.L.B., Minor.
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,
UNPUBLISHED
February 11, 2010
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
No. 293153
Kent Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 08-051139-NA
REBECCA LYNN BISHOP,
Respondent-Appellant.
Before: Talbot, P.J. and Whitbeck and Owens, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Respondent appeals as of right from the trial court order terminating her parental rights to
the minor child under MCL 712A.19b(3)(c)(i), (g), and (j). We affirm.
The trial court did not clearly err in finding that the statutory grounds for termination
were established by clear and convincing evidence. MCR 3.977(J); In re Miller, 433 Mich 331,
337; 445 NW2d 161 (1989). The principal condition that led to adjudication was that respondent
failed to provide appropriate and necessary medical care for her daughter, C.L.B., who has
severe medical problems resulting from spina bifida. As she admitted at the adjudication
hearing, respondent did not attend all necessary medical appointments, failed to ensure that
C.L.B. had (and wore) a back brace that fit properly to prevent further curvature of her spine, did
not care for C.L.B.’s skin properly to prevent open sores, had inadequate knowledge of services
in the community that would help C.L.B., refused offered services, and actively avoided CPS
workers. This neglect, among other things, caused C.L.B.’s scoliosis to worsen, and eventually
she needed extensive back surgery.
The record contains clear and convincing evidence that, despite the many services offered
to respondent, she did not benefit from them. Rather, she remained unable or unwilling to
provide proper medical care for her daughter 14 months after C.L.B.’s removal from her home.
Despite coaching and mentoring from her many service providers, respondent remained
uncommunicative, uninvolved, and ineffective at C.L.B.’s doctor visits as well as at her
parenting visits with C.L.B. Moreover, while respondent admitted some medical neglect, she
blamed it on other people. She never accepted responsibility for C.L.B.’s removal from her
home and did not change her problematic behavior.
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The record as a whole established that termination of respondent’s parental rights was in
C.L.B.’s best interest. Within a month of being placed with foster parents who were skilled at
taking care of children with disabilities, C.L.B. became much more talkative. During the
pendency of this case, she became healthier than she had ever been and made considerable
strides with her schoolwork as well as her self-esteem and confidence. Respondent had
demonstrated that she was unwilling or unable to provide C.L.B. with the physical and emotional
support she needs to continue her progression into a happier and healthier child. Accordingly,
the evidence established that there were statutory grounds for termination of respondent’s
parental rights and that such termination was in the child’s best interest, and the trial court did
not err in so holding.
Respondent also argued that she was disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act
(“ADA”) and the trial court erred by failing to ensure that the state provided her with reasonable
accommodations. Respondent brought her disability (mild retardation) to the trial court’s
attention at the adjudication hearing, but never claimed below that the services she received were
insufficient under the statute. Because respondent raises this argument for the first time on
appeal, this Court need not address this issue. In re Terry, 240 Mich App 14, 26; 610 NW2d 563
(2000). Even if respondent had preserved this issue, the record does not support her claim. The
DHS was aware of her intellectual deficiencies and provided her with more services. Moreover
the services were provided in a way that was calculated to mitigate her difficulty in
comprehension, and she was referred to programs that were created specifically to assist parents
with special needs. The state’s efforts to assist respondent in making the changes necessary to
care for her child properly were more than reasonable under the ADA. Unfortunately,
respondent was unwilling or unable to benefit from those efforts.
Affirmed.
/s/ Michael J. Talbot
/s/ William C. Whitbeck
/s/ Donald S. Owens
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