No. 4-356 / 04-0589.Court of Appeals of Iowa.
June 9, 2004.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, D.J. Stovall, Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her four children. AFFIRMED.
Tiffany Koenig, Des Moines, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kathrine Miller-Todd, Assistant Attorney General, John Sarcone, County Attorney, and Olu Salami, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee-State.
Rachel Seymour, Juvenile Public Defender, Des Moines, for minor children.
Considered by Mahan, P.J., and Zimmer and Eisenhauer, JJ.
ZIMMER, J.
Yalana R. appeals a juvenile court order which terminated her parental rights to her children. She contends the juvenile court should have established a guardianship for her children instead of terminating her parental rights. Upon review of the record, we affirm the juvenile court’s termination order.
Yalana is the mother of four children, Johntia H., born May 25, 1996, Yaniqua R., born September 24, 1999, Vincent W. Jr., born August 30, 2000, and Ameris W., born July 6, 2002. John Lee H. is the father of Johntia. He is currently serving a life sentence in Iowa for first-degree murder. Anthony M. is the father of Yaniqua. He was incarcerated in Texas until July 2003. His current whereabouts are unknown. Anthony has never been involved in Yaniqua’s life. Vincent W. Sr. is the father of Vincent Jr. and Ameris. Vincent Sr. recently finished serving a three-year prison sentence in Iowa.
The children were removed from their mother’s care on December 3, 2002, after Yalana left them at home without supervision. The juvenile court placed the children with their maternal grandmother, Connie R. The children have been out of their mother’s care ever since. On December 17, 2002, the court adjudicated all four children as children in need of assistance. The court continued placement with the grandmother.
The record reveals Yalana has used controlled substances since she was twelve. She has recently abused the drug Ecstasy on a regular basis. Yalana admits she sold drugs in the past. Yalana completed a psychological evaluation in July 2003. The evaluation indicated she has had a significant history of bad relationships with men. It also indicated Yalana has a significant history of drug use and has very poor parenting skills. Yalana has been in and out of jail since her children were removed from her care. On October 23, 2003, Yalana was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
On December 2, 2003, the State filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of Yalana, John Lee, Anthony, and Vincent Sr. The court heard evidence regarding the State’s petition on February 23 and March 24, 2004. At the termination hearing, John Lee consented to termination of his parental rights to Johntia. Anthony failed to appear for the hearing and Vincent Sr. stipulated the State possessed sufficient evidence to prove by clear and convincing evidence that it is in the best interests of Vincent Jr. and Ameris to terminate his parental rights.
On March 31, 2004, the juvenile court entered an order terminating Yalana, John Lee, Anthony, and Vincent Sr.’s parental rights. Yalana’s parental rights were terminated pursuant to Iowa Code sections 232.116(1)(d), (e), (f), (h), and (l) (2003). Only Yalana appeals.
We review termination proceedings de novo. In re S.N., 500 N.W.2d 32, 34 (Iowa 1993). The grounds for termination must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. In re T.B., 604 N.W.2d 660, 661 (Iowa 2001). Our primary concern is the best interests of the children. In re C.B., 611 N.W.2d 489, 492 (Iowa 2000).
On appeal, Yalana does not contend that the State failed to prove the statutory grounds for termination by clear and convincing evidence. Instead, she argues the juvenile court should have established a guardianship for the children with their maternal grandmother in lieu of terminating her parental rights. We conclude Yalana failed to preserve error on this issue.[1]
Even if error had been preserved, we find that Yalana’s claim is without merit. Iowa Code section 232.116(3)(a) provides that the court need not terminate parental rights if a relative has legal custody of the children. The application of section 232.116(3)(a) is discretionary, and depends on the circumstances of each case and the best interests of the children. In re J.L.W., 570 N.W.2d 778, 781 (Iowa Ct.App. 1997). Here, the record reveals that Yalana has had only four supervised visits with her children since November 2002. The juvenile court found her relationship with her children is strained at best. Additionally, Yolanda has recently been sentenced to fifteen years in prison. She is not in a position to provide financial support to her children, and she will not be able to have contact with them outside of a prison setting for a considerable period of time. The children need permanency and stability. We conclude that termination and adoption, rather than a guardianship, is in the children’s best interests and is the appropriate outcome in this case. Accordingly, we affirm the juvenile court.
AFFIRMED.