State of Utah, in the interest of J.C., J.C., J.C. J.C., and J.C.

----ooOoo----

State of Utah, in the interest of J.C., J.C., J.C. J.C., and J.C.,
persons under eighteen years of age.
______________________________

C.C. and S.C.,
Appellants,

v.

State of Utah,
Appellee.

MEMORANDUM DECISION
(Not For Official Publication)

Case No. 20010499-CA

F I L E D
May 09, 2002 2002 UT App 151 -----

Third District Juvenile, Salt Lake Department
The Honorable Robert S. Yeates

Attorneys:
John E. Laherty, Salt Lake City, for Appellants
Mark L. Shurtleff, Carol L. Verdoia, and John M. Peterson, Salt Lake City, for Appellee
Martha Pierce, Salt Lake City, Guardian Ad Litem -----

Before Judges Jackson, Davis, and Greenwood.

DAVIS, Judge:

Appellants C.C. and S.C. challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the juvenile court's determination that reunification services provided by the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) were adequate and supported the court's termination of their parental rights. We affirm.

A juvenile court's determination to terminate parental rights will be overturned "only if the findings are clearly erroneous." In re M.C., 942 P.2d 955, 960 (Utah Ct. App. 1997) (citation omitted). "The clearly erroneous standard requires the parent challenging the juvenile court's findings to marshal the evidence supporting the findings and then show that the findings are so lacking in support that they are against the clear weight of the evidence." Id.

Utah Code Ann. § 78-3a-403(2) (1996) defines failure of parental adjustment as follows: "Failure of parental adjustment" means that a parent . . . [is] unable or unwilling within a reasonable time to substantially correct the circumstances, conduct, or conditions that led to placement of [his or her] child outside of [his or her] home, notwithstanding reasonable and appropriate efforts made by [DCFS] to return the child to that home. Id. Thus, the juvenile court's conclusion that Appellants experienced a failure of parental adjustment requires a finding that the State made "reasonable and appropriate efforts" to return the children home. Id. However, DCFS is not required to offer services indefinitely. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-3a-408(3). A parent's noncompliance with the service plan within six months of the initial removal of the child is evidence of failure of parental adjustment. See id.

Although it is true that both parents made efforts to comply with the service plan, "we cannot ignore the fact that no significant improvement in [their] parenting skills has been noted despite [their] efforts. It is not sufficient to merely go through the motions of a treatment plan." In re C.Y., 765 P.2d 251, 255 (Utah Ct. App. 1988). The purpose of a treatment plan is to address and change the behavior and attitude that instigated the initial removal of the children. "If after a reasonable period of time, no positive change in parenting skills occur, a termination of parental rights is appropriate." Id. at 255-56.

In this case, the juvenile court based its termination of both parents' rights on failure of parental adjustment. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-3a-407(5). This conclusion was based on the court's finding that "DCFS has made reasonable and appropriate efforts to return the children home." Regarding the therapy provided, the court went on to find that "the caseworker adequately communicated her concerns that she had regarding the family to the therapist." The court also found that "the therapists . . . were chosen by the parents. . . . [I]t's reasonable for the caseworker to defer to the parents' choice absent evidence that the therapists that they've chosen [are] clearly inappropriate." Determining that the services provided were adequate, the court further found that despite these services, "the parents have been unable or unwilling to correct the circumstances, conduct, or condition which led to the removal of the children." Finally, the court found that "the parents have not internalized nor made the necessary changes needed to have the children return[ed] to them" after completing the "many services that were provided." These findings indicate that despite both parents' contentions, at the time of trial their ability to parent their children remained inadequate. See In re M.L., 965 P.2d 551, 562 (Utah Ct. App. 1998).

We therefore conclude that the juvenile court's findings that the services provided to both parents were adequate and that DCFS had made reasonable efforts were supported by the evidence presented at trial. Thus, based upon this finding, the juvenile court did not err in terminating the parental rights of C.C. and S.C.
 
 

______________________________
James Z. Davis, Judge -----

WE CONCUR:
 
 

______________________________
Norman H. Jackson,
Presiding Judge
 
 

______________________________
Pamela T. Greenwood, Judge