In re K.L.B., 431 P.3d 883

Background

Mother (M.K.) and Father, residents of Kentucky, moved with two young daughters to Wichita, KS; deputies found the children in July 2016 after Mother was discovered making suicidal/psychotic statements and admitted methamphetamine use while caring for the children.
Kansas authorities took the children into protective custody; Kentucky had not made any prior custody determination regarding these children and later informed Kansas it declined to exercise jurisdiction.
Mother pleaded no contest to the CINC petition, was later extradited to Kentucky on unrelated criminal matters, served jail time, and entered a rehabilitation program; she had limited supervised visits and had not seen the children for about a year at the time of the termination hearing.
Caseworkers developed a reintegration plan; Mother did not complete plan tasks due in large part to incarceration and residency in a rehab program; caseworker testimony characterized Mother as lacking stability, housing, employment, and necessary parenting skills for K.L.B., who has autism.
The district court terminated Mother’s parental rights, finding statutory grounds for unfitness (drug use, felony conviction/imprisonment, failure of agency efforts, lack of adjustment, failure to complete court-approved plan) and that she was unlikely to become fit in the foreseeable future.
On appeal Mother challenged (1) the Kansas court’s subject-matter jurisdiction under the UCCJEA and (2) sufficiency of evidence supporting unfitness and future inability to parent; the Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Mother’s Argument	State’s Argument	Held
Whether Kansas court properly exercised jurisdiction under the UCCJEA	Kansas never properly invoked temporary emergency jurisdiction; court lacked a written Kentucky order declining jurisdiction so Kansas jurisdiction expired	Temporary emergency jurisdiction was proper because the children were abandoned/there was an emergency; Kentucky declined jurisdiction and no competing orders exist	Kansas had temporary emergency jurisdiction under K.S.A. 23-37,204(a); Kentucky declined jurisdiction and emergency jurisdiction ripened into home-state jurisdiction by termination hearing, so jurisdiction was proper
Whether clear-and-convincing evidence supports finding Mother unfit and unlikely to become fit in foreseeable future	Mother argued she showed progress in rehab and intended to comply with plan; incarceration/rehab limited ability to complete tasks so court should have credited progress	Court found Mother not credible on key points; she remained without housing, employment, and had a felony conviction and recent substance use; caseworker testimony supported continued unfitness	Substantial competent evidence supports statutory unfitness findings and that, from a child’s perspective, Mother was unlikely to be fit in the foreseeable future; termination affirmed

Key Cases Cited

Fuller v. State, 303 Kan. 478 (discusses standard of review for questions of law)
Wiechman v. Huddleston, 304 Kan. 80 (appellate jurisdiction arises from statute; notice of appeal requirements)
In re N.U., 52 Kan. App. 2d 561 (UCCJEA jurisdictional issues; temporary emergency jurisdiction limits)
In re A.A., 51 Kan. App. 2d 794 (UCCJEA principles; emergency jurisdiction definition)
Jahnke v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas, 51 Kan. App. 2d 678 (subject-matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time)
In re K.W., 45 Kan. App. 2d 353 (standard for appellate review of termination — clear and convincing evidence)
In re B.D.-Y., 286 Kan. 686 (appellate court does not reweigh evidence or assess credibility)
In re M.H., 50 Kan. App. 2d 1162 ("foreseeable future" is judged from child’s perspective)
In re Price, 7 Kan. App. 2d 477 (past parental conduct as predictor of future fitness)
In re M.D.S., 16 Kan. App. 2d 505 (incarceration not necessarily a mitigating factor for termination)
In re Adoption of Baby Girl P., 291 Kan. 424 (parental preference doctrine; court may not terminate solely because foster home is better)