Felicia K. v. ADES, Fatima K.
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NOTICE: THIS DECISION DOES NOT CREATE LEGAL PRECEDENT AND MAY NOT BE CITED EXCEPT AS AUTHORIZED BY APPLICABLE RULES. See Ariz. R. Supreme Court 111(c); ARCAP 28(c); Ariz. R. Crim. P. 31.24 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS STATE OF ARIZONA DIVISION ONE FELICIA K., Appellant, v. ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC SECURITY, FATIMA K., Appellees. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) DIVISION ONE FILED: 06/07/2011 RUTH A. WILLINGHAM, CLERK BY: GH 1 CA-JV 11-0002 DEPARTMENT A MEMORANDUM DECISION (Not for Publication Ariz. R. P. Juv. Ct. 103(G); ARCAP 28) Appeal from the Superior Court of Maricopa County Cause No. JD 19293 The Honorable Joan Sinclair, Judge Pro Tem AFFIRMED Thomas C. Horne, Attorney General Phoenix By David M. Osterfeld, Assistant Attorney General Attorneys for Appellee Arizona Department of Economic Security Popilek & Jones, P.A. By John L. Popilek Attorneys for Appellant Phoenix T H O M P S O N, Judge ¶1 Felicia K. (mother) appeals from the juvenile court s finding of dependency regarding her daughter, Fatima K. Because we find sufficient evidence to support the juvenile court s ruling, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY ¶2 Fatima was born in March 2006 in Alabama. Alabama Child Protective Services was involved with Fatima and Felicia when they lived in Alabama and provided services to the family there. Alabama had concerns about Felicia s substance abuse; she tested positive for marijuana there. Fatima came into the care of the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES) after Felicia was arrested and spent several days in jail on a child abuse charge in Arizona. Buckeye police had responded to Felicia s home after a 911 call, and Felicia appeared to be intoxicated. She was alone with Fatima. Felicia told police that she was bipolar and admitted she had been drinking and taking valium. Police observed Felicia pretending to talk to people on the phone and she told police that there were cameras in the house. ¶3 When she came into care, Fatima had obvious developmental delays and displayed aggressive behaviors toward animals and other children. Because of Fatima s special needs, she was put into occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy to address the problems with her speech and gait. In addition, Fatima had a heart murmur, and at the time of the 2 dependency hearing ADES had an appointment set up for Fatima to undergo genetic testing for Williams syndrome. ¶4 Felicia denied that Fatima had developmental delays and had not sought treatment for her. This was a concern to ADES, as was the fact that Felicia had claimed to have worked for the CIA, the FBI, and the DEA but provided no documentation of ever having been employed by those agencies. ADES was also concerned about Felicia s tendency toward erratic behavior and outbursts during Fatima s appointments with service providers. At the time of the hearing Felicia had undergone a psychological consultation with Dr. Hunt; Dr. Hunt recommended that she have a full psychological evaluation and had concerns about her ability to parent. In September 2010, Felicia completed a psychiatric examination with Dr. adjustment disorder. Farney, who diagnosed Felicia with an Fatima s Child Protective Services (CPS) case manager opined that Fatima would be at risk of neglect if returned to Felicia s care due to Felicia s mental health issues and her admitted substance abuse and Fatima s developmental and cognitive delays. ¶5 that After the dependency hearing, the juvenile court found Fatima was dependent as to appealed. 3 Felicia. Felicia timely DISCUSSION ¶6 On sufficient appeal, evidence dependent as to her. Felicia to asserts support a that finding there not Fatima that was was This court will not disturb the juvenile court's ruling in a dependency action unless the findings upon which it is reasonable based evidence are clearly supporting erroneous them. and there Pima is County no Juv. Dependency Action No. 118537, 185 Ariz. 77, 79, 912 P.2d 1306, 1308 (App. 1994). must be proven The allegations of the dependency petition by (citation omitted). a preponderance of the evidence. Id. We defer to the trial court in resolving conflicting testimony, as that court had the opportunity to assess the credibility, attitude and condition of the parties at trial. Pima County Severance Action No. S-1607, 147 Ariz. 237, 239, 709 P.2d 871, 873 (1985). ¶7 Under Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) section 8- 201(13)(a)(i) (2009), a dependent child is a child who is [i]n need of proper and effective parental care and control and who has no parent or guardian, or one who has no parent or guardian willing to control. exercise or capable of exercising such care and Also, a dependent child is one who is destitute or who is not provided with the necessities of life, including adequate food, clothing, shelter or medical care, or a child whose home is unfit by reason of abuse, neglect, cruelty or 4 depravity by a parent . . . . (iii). A.R.S. § 8-201(13)(a)(ii), Neglect is the inability or unwillingness of a parent . . . to provide [a] child with supervision, food, clothing, shelter or medical care if that inability or unwillingness causes substantial risk of harm to the child s health or welfare . . . . A.R.S. § 8-201(22). ¶8 The evidence was sufficient to support the juvenile court s finding incarcerated for of only dependency. Although a as short time, the Felicia juvenile was court recognized, the evidence showed that she failed to recognize Fatima s significant developmental and physical delays, and that Fatima is in need of the services she is now receiving. evidence also showed that Felicia had been involved in The an abusive relationship and that her partner lived in the same home with her and Fatima. Felicia admittedly had a history of alcohol and marijuana abuse, and had failed to provide a urine sample on eight different occasions. The preponderance of the evidence also showed that Felicia had mental health issues that need to be addressed. Accordingly, we find that the juvenile court properly found Fatima dependent as to mother. CONCLUSION ¶9 For the foregoing reasons, we find that the juvenile court properly found Fatima dependent as to mother and we 5 therefore affirm the decision. __________________________________ JON W. THOMPSON, Judge CONCURRING: _____________________________________ DIANE M. JOHNSEN, Presiding Judge _____________________________________ MARGARET H. DOWNIE, Judge 6
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