IN THE INTEREST OF M.W., M.W., and N.S., Minor Children M.S.W., Father of M.W. and M.W., Appellant, N.R.B., Mother, Appellant.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 7-451 / 07-0788
Filed July 12, 2007
IN THE INTEREST OF M.W., M.W., and N.S.,
Minor Children
M.S.W., Father of M.W. and M.W.,
Appellant,
N.R.B., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Susan Flaherty,
Associate Juvenile Judge.
A father appeals the termination of his parental rights to his children.
AFFIRMED.
H. Nick Gloe, Cedar Rapids, for appellant-father of M.W. and M.W.
Dawn Wilson, Cedar Rapids, for appellant-mother.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kathrine S. Miller-Todd, Assistant
Attorney General, Harold Denton, County Attorney, and Kelly J. Kaufman,
Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.
Thomas Viner, Cedar Rapids, for father of N.S.
Thomas O’Flaherty, North Liberty, guardian ad litem for minor children.
Considered by Mahan, P.J., and Eisenhauer and Baker, JJ.
2
EISENHAUER, J.
A father appeals the termination of his parental rights to his children. 1 He
contends the State failed to prove the grounds for termination by clear and
convincing evidence.
He also contends the state failed to make reasonable
efforts to reunite him with his children. We review this claim de novo. In re C.H.,
652 N.W.2d 144, 147 (Iowa 2002).
The father’s parental rights were terminated pursuant to Iowa Code
sections 232.116(1)(b) and (f) (2007). We need only find termination proper
under one ground to affirm. In re R.R.K., 544 N.W.2d 274, 276 (Iowa Ct. App.
1995). Termination is appropriate under section 232.116(1)(b) where “there is
clear and convincing evidence that the child has been abandoned or deserted.”
Abandonment is characterized as a giving up of parental rights and
responsibilities accompanied by an intent to forego them. Two
elements are involved in this characterization. First, the giving up
of parental rights and responsibilities refers to conduct. Second,
the intent element refers to the accompanying state of mind.
Parental responsibilities include more than subjectively maintaining
an interest in a child. The concept requires affirmative parenting to
the extent it is practical and feasible in the circumstances.
In re A.B., 554 N.W.2d 291, 293 (Iowa Ct. App. 1996) (citations omitted).
We conclude there is clear and convincing evidence to support termination
pursuant to section 232.116(1)(b). At the time of termination, the children had
not seen the father in over a year. They do not remember him and have no bond
with him.
The father’s incarceration does not excuse his failure to take
responsibility for the children and to maintain contact with them.
See In re
M.M.S., 502 N.W.2d 4, 8 (Iowa 1993).
1
The mother filed a notice of appeal, but failed to do so within fifteen days of the
termination order as required in Iowa Rule of Appellate Procedure 6.6(4). Her appeal
was dismissed by order of the Iowa Supreme Court on June 21, 2007.
3
We reject the father’s claim the State failed to make reasonable efforts to
reunify him with his children. It appears, however, that the father is arguing the
children should have been placed in the care of his mother, thereby alleviating
the necessity for termination. See Iowa Code § 232.116.3(a) (stating the court
need not terminate parental rights if the child is in the legal custody of a relative).
The home study conducted on the grandmother’s home was not accepted by the
State of Illinois. We affirm the termination of the father’s parental rights.
AFFIRMED.
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