ARKANSAS: Brumley v. Ark. Dep't of Human Servs.
The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the circuit court decision terminating a father’s parental rights to his son, holding that DHS had met at least one of the statutory factors, incarceration for a substantial period of the child’s life, and termination was in the child’s best interest. The court found that under J.T. v. Arkansas Dep't of Human Servs., 329 Ark. 243, a parental rights termination proceeding is a two-step process that requires the circuit court to find by clear and convincing evidence that a parent is unfit, based on statutory factors, and that termination is in the best interest of the child. In addition, the court found that under Moore v. Ark. Dep’t of Human Servs, 333 Ark. 288, whether parental rights should be terminated on the imprisonment ground depends on the particular facts and circumstances of each case. In this case, father had been incarcerated for seven of the nine years of the child’s life and only minimally participated in reunification services while incarcerated. The child had resided with father for only six months of his life and father had not seen child since 2007. Because this child was in a foster care placement with his aunt and uncle and they wished to adopt him and the father was incarcerated for a substantial period of the child’s life, the judgment was affirmed.
Cite: No. CV-15-156; 2015 Ark. 356, 2015 Ark. LEXIS 581 (Ark. 2015)
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