Forbes v. Arkansas Department of Human Services
2016 Ark. App. 508
| Ark. Ct. App. | 2016Background
- DHS removed infant Y.F. (b. 11/2/13) from maternal grandmother’s home on Oct. 1, 2014 due to extreme environmental neglect (many animals, pervasive urine/feces odor, spoiled milk on bottle); Forbes was incarcerated at removal but had been living in that home with the child until a week earlier.
- Court entered emergency custody and later adjudicated Y.F. dependent-neglected (Jan. 7, 2015), ordering Forbes to obtain and maintain stable, environmentally safe housing, employment, parenting classes, counseling, and drug screens.
- Forbes showed intermittent compliance: some progress by Sept. 2015 (unsupervised visits authorized), but subsequently lost housing, changed jobs frequently, tested positive for drugs, missed counseling, and moved back with her mother or into motels.
- DHS filed a petition to terminate Forbes’s parental rights on Dec. 30, 2015, alleging the 12‑month failure‑to‑remedy ground of Ark. Code Ann. § 9‑27‑341(b)(3)(B)(i)(a).
- At the March 2016 termination hearing DHS witnesses testified Forbes failed to maintain stable housing/employment and had not remedied the conditions that led to removal during the 17 months Y.F. was out of the home; adoption was readily available.
- The Garland County Circuit Court found the statutory ground and best‑interest elements proven by clear and convincing evidence and terminated Forbes’s parental rights; Forbes appealed only the sufficiency of the statutory ground.
Issues
| Issue | Forbes' Argument | DHS' Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the 12‑month failure‑to‑remedy ground supports termination | Forbes: Insufficient evidence because she was incarcerated at removal and thus not responsible for the grandmother’s environmental neglect | DHS: Forbes lived with grandmother shortly before incarceration, had been the subject of DHS services, and failed over 17 months to remedy the lack of stable, safe housing and related conditions | Affirmed: Court held Forbes was responsible to remedy the conditions and failed to do so within a reasonable time; statutory ground proven by clear and convincing evidence |
Key Cases Cited
- J.T. v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 329 Ark. 243, 947 S.W.2d 761 (1997) (parental‑rights termination must balance parental rights against child’s health and well‑being)
- Dinkins v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 344 Ark. 207, 40 S.W.3d 286 (2001) (clear and convincing evidence standard and appellate review deference for termination findings)
- K.C. v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 374 S.W.3d 884 (Ark. App. 2010) (reversing termination where parent could not have remedied conditions that caused removal)