MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be FILED regarded as precedent or cited before any Mar 27 2018, 9:00 am court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK the defense of res judicata, collateral Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court estoppel, or the law of the case. ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Heather M. Schuh-Ogle Curtis T. Hill, Jr. Thomasson, Thomasson, Long & Attorney General Guthrie, P.C. David E. Corey Columbus, Indiana Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA In the Termination of the Parent- March 27, 2018 Child Relationship of: Court of Appeals Case No. 03A04-1709-JT-2135 K.D. (Minor Child) Appeal from the Bartholomew and Circuit Court K.H. (Father), The Honorable Heather Mollo, Appellant-Respondent, Magistrate The Honorable Kelly Benjamin, v. Judge Trial Court Cause No. Indiana Department of Child 03C01-1701-JT-587 Services, Appellee-Petitioner Vaidik, Chief Judge. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 03A04-1709-JT-2135 | March 27, 2018 Page 1 of 16 Case Summary [1] K.H. (“Father”) appeals the termination of his parental rights to his son. Finding no error, we affirm. Facts and Procedural History [2] Father and J.D. (“Mother”) are the parents of K.D. (“Child”), who was born February 1, 2016.1 Mother has another child, W.H., who was born in October 2001. On the day of Child’s birth, the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) received a report that Mother was addicted to opiates and benzodiazepines during her pregnancy with Child, Child showed signs of withdrawal after birth (and was in the NICU receiving treatment for withdrawal), and Father had been arrested two days earlier and charged with attempted murder and battery by means of a deadly weapon for shooting two people (W.H., age fourteen, was present during the shootings) and was in the Bartholomew County Jail. Based on these allegations, DCS requested an emergency order to remove Child from Mother, which the juvenile court granted on February 4. After being discharged from the hospital, Child was placed with K.B., Mother’s cousin. When Child was placed with K.B., he had a “high level of need,” “was still going through withdrawals,” and “could not 1 Mother signed a consent for Child to be adopted and, as such, is not a party to this appeal. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 03A04-1709-JT-2135 | March 27, 2018 Page 2 of 16 soothe himself.” Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 10. Child has been with K.B. ever since. [3] On February 8, DCS filed a petition alleging that Child was in need of services (CHINS) based on the same allegations. A fact-finding hearing was held in April, and Mother and Father, who was still in jail, admitted that Child was a CHINS. In particular, Father agreed (1) that he was unavailable to care for Child due to his incarceration and (2) that the circumstances outlined in the CHINS petition (including that he was facing charges for shooting two people and that W.H. was present during ...
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