In the Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of: G.C. (Minor Child) And R.C. (Mother) v. The Indiana Department of Child Services (mem. dec.), 49A02-1706-JT-1256

Mother (R.C.) has a long history of substance abuse, prior prostitution convictions, and prior DCS involvement; Child (G.C.) born Feb 4, 2014, was removed after Mother's 2015 arrest for prostitution and placed in foster care.
CHINS adjudication entered August 24, 2015; dispositional orders required substance-abuse treatment, random screens, home-based services, and supervised visitation.
Mother had nearly 30 positive drug screens from Aug 2015–Feb 2017 for benzodiazepines, opiates (including morphine consistent with heroin use), cocaine, marijuana, etc.; she rarely provided prescriptions or accepted responsibility.
Mother made minimal, last-minute participation in services (began therapy Dec 2016), missed many therapy sessions and roughly 90 of ~128 scheduled visits between Mar 2016–Jan 2017; visits were later suspended after the Child showed behavioral regression following visits.
DCS filed to terminate parental rights June 16, 2016; trial court found clear and convincing evidence that (1) the conditions leading to removal would not likely be remedied, (2) continuation of the relationship threatened the Child, and (3) termination was in the Child’s best interests.
Foster parents provided a stable, adoptive-intending home; both DCS and the guardian ad litem recommended termination.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Mother)	Defendant's Argument (DCS)	Held
Whether DCS proved by clear and convincing evidence that the conditions causing removal or continued placement would not be remedied	Mother pointed to resolved criminal matters, 7–8 months stable housing, participation in assessment and some services, and argued recent efforts showed potential remediation	DCS relied on Mother’s long-term substance abuse, almost 30 positive drug screens, denial of addiction, late/insubstantial service engagement, inconsistent visitation, and history of prostitution	Court held DCS proved a reasonable probability conditions would not be remedied and could weigh historic conduct over belated efforts
Whether termination is in the Child’s best interests	Mother argued she could provide stability and permanency (housing, SSDI pursuit) and the Child was developmentally fine when removed	DCS and GAL argued permanency and stability in foster home, Child bonded to foster parents, emotional harm after visits, and Mother’s failure to remedy circumstances	Court held termination was in the Child’s best interests given permanence, bonding with foster family, and risk from continued relationship

In re G.Y., 904 N.E.2d 1257 (Ind. 2009) (parental liberty interest and standard for termination review)
Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000) (fundamental parental rights under Fourteenth Amendment)
K.T.K. v. Ind. Dep’t of Child Servs., 989 N.E.2d 1225 (Ind. 2013) (assessing reasonable probability that conditions will be remedied; weigh recent improvements against habitual conduct)
Bester v. Lake Cnty. Office of Family & Children, 839 N.E.2d 143 (Ind. 2005) (parental fitness judged at time of termination; consider changed conditions)
K.E. v. Ind. Dep’t of Child Servs., 39 N.E.3d 641 (Ind. 2015) (habitual conduct factors include drug abuse and criminal history)