In the Interest of J.P., Minor Child, J.D., Mother, 17-0173

Child born Sept. 2015; mother voluntarily consented to temporary removal Oct. 2015 after reporting inability to care for child because of severe mental-health, substance-abuse, and trauma-related issues. Child placed in DHS custody and adjudicated CINA in Dec. 2015.
Mother has longstanding diagnoses (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, major depression, mild intellectual disability), seizure disorder, history of hospitalizations, suicide attempts, and substance use (marijuana, methamphetamine, misuse of medications).
Case plan required supervised visitation, FSRP services, mental-health treatment and medication compliance, substance-abuse treatment, domestic-violence advocacy, housing assistance, and parenting classes; review hearings occurred March, May, and Aug. 2016.
Mother requested housing and adult-services assistance in March 2016 but later told the court in September 2016 she needed no additional services; permanency goal was changed to termination; petition to terminate filed Sept. 30, 2016.
At termination hearings in Dec. 2016 the mother reported some engagement with services, ongoing housing instability, recent marijuana use, limited visitation attendance, and asked for six more months; DHS case manager emphasized housing delays; juvenile court terminated parental rights under Iowa Code § 232.116(1)(h) and (k).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether DHS made reasonable efforts to reunify	Mother: DHS failed to provide timely housing assistance and delayed case management, impeding reunification	State: DHS provided reasonable efforts; mother did not preserve complaints after early review and later declined additional services	Court: DHS made reasonable efforts; mother’s record and statements defeat claim
Whether mother should receive additional six months under § 232.104(2)(b)	Mother: Needs more time to stabilize and obtain housing/treatment	State: Mother’s long history and limited progress indicate additional time won’t resolve issues	Court: Denied extra six months; statutory showing that removal likely to continue not met by mother’s history
Whether termination proper under § 232.116(1)(h)/(k)	Mother: Mental-health treatment ongoing; argues statutory grounds not met	State: Child out of custody >12 months; mother unable to safely parent now	Court: Clear and convincing evidence supports termination under § 232.116(1)(h) (child under 3 removed >6 months and cannot be returned)
Whether parent-child bond precludes termination (§ 232.116(3)(c))	Mother: Child’s bond with mother makes termination detrimental	State: Although bond exists, child’s best interests and need for permanency outweigh bond	Court: Permissive factor did not prevent termination; bond insufficient to avoid termination

In re M.W., 876 N.W.2d 212 (Iowa 2016) (standard of review for termination appeals; clear-and-convincing evidence required)
In re D.W., 791 N.W.2d 703 (Iowa 2010) (meaning of clear-and-convincing proof in termination proceedings)
In re C.B., 611 N.W.2d 489 (Iowa 2000) (reasonable-efforts requirement and its impact on termination proof)
In re C.H., 652 N.W.2d 144 (Iowa 2002) (preservation rule: challenges to services must be raised to the juvenile court)
In re A.A.G., 708 N.W.2d 85 (Iowa Ct. App. 2005) (failure to demand different services forfeits review on that ground)
In re A.M., 843 N.W.2d 100 (Iowa 2014) (§ 232.116(3) factors are permissive; court discretion to weigh them against termination)
In re D.S., 806 N.W.2d 458 (Iowa Ct. App. 2011) (discussion of discretionary nature of § 232.116(3) factors)