IN RE STARASIHA RENEE GIBBONS MINOR
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
In the Matter of S.R.G., Minor.
FAMILY INDEPENDENCE AGENCY,
UNPUBLISHED
April 15, 2003
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
No. 242024
Wayne Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 97-361436
DOUGLAS D. GIBBONS,
Respondent-Appellant,
and
SONSERRIA DANIELLE GIBBONS, a/k/a
SONSERRIA DANIELLE COATES,
Respondent.
In the Matter of S.R.G., Minor.
FAMILY INDEPENDENCE AGENCY,
Petitioner-Appellee,
v
No. 242078
Wayne Circuit Court
Family Division
LC No. 97-361436
SONSERRIA DANIELLE GIBBONS, a/k/a
SONSERRIA DANIELLE COATES,
Respondent-Appellant,
and
DOUGLAS D. GIBBONS,
Respondent.
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Before: Meter, P.J., and Cavanagh and Cooper, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
In these consolidated appeals, respondents appeal as of right from the trial court’s order
terminating their parental rights to their minor child under MCL 712A.19b(3)(j) and (as to
respondent-mother only) MCL 712A.19b(3)(1). Although the trial court’s decision to terminate
respondents’ parental rights was supported by the evidence, we conditionally affirm and remand
this case because it is not apparent whether the trial court provided notice of these proceedings to
any interested Indian tribe, as required by the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), 25 USC 1901
et seq., and by the Michigan court rules.
The trial court did not clearly err in finding that the statutory grounds for termination
were established by clear and convincing evidence. See MCR 5.974(I) and In re Miller, 433
Mich 331, 337; 445 NW2d 161 (1989) (explaining the standard of review). The record is clear
that respondent-mother previously had her parental rights to three other children terminated on
the basis of physical abuse and neglect and that, while she had made some improvement since
that time, she still was unable to provide for the nurturance and safety of her minor child. Thus,
there was sufficient evidence for the court to conclude that there was a reasonable likelihood of
harm to the minor child if returned to her custody.
Regarding respondent-father, the record demonstrates that he was a co-caretaker at the
time respondent-mother’s children were removed and her parental rights to them terminated, that
he was aware of their abuse and neglect, and that he did nothing to intervene. Further, the record
demonstrates that, despite his improvement since that time, he too is unable to provide for the
nurturance and safety of the minor child. Thus, as with respondent-mother, there was sufficient
evidence for the court to conclude that there was a reasonable likelihood of harm to the minor
child if returned to respondent-father’s custody.
Further, there was no evidence indicating that termination of the parental rights of either
respondent would clearly not be in the child’s best interests. See MCL 712A.19b(5) and In re
Trejo, 462 Mich 341, 356-357; 612 NW2d 407 (2000). Thus, the trial court did not err in
terminating respondents’ parental rights to their minor child.
However, we note that respondent-mother informed the trial court that she was a member
of the Cherokee tribe at the preliminary hearing. There is no record that the trial court provided
the notice required by the ICWA and by MCR 5.965(B)(7) and 5.980(A)(2), which is meant to
protect not only the respondents but, more importantly, the interests of the child and the tribe.
See, generally, In re Eim, 233 Mich App 438; 592 NW2d 751 (1999) (discussing the notice
requirement). We therefore conditionally affirm the order terminating respondents’ parental
rights but remand for the purpose of providing proper notice to any interested Indian tribe as
required by court rule and statute. See id. at 450.
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Conditionally affirmed but remanded for further proceedings. We do not retain jurisdiction.
/s/ Patrick M. Meter
/s/ Mark J. Cavanagh
/s/ Jessica R. Cooper
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