In the matter of T.T.S.

Kelly Jones was the biological mother of T.T.S. The State filed a petition seeking to adjudicate T.T.S. as a deprived child because the child "lacked 'appropriate parental care' and had been 'placed in threat of harm'" through mother's actions. Specifically, the state alleged the mother was a drug user and provided an unfit home environment for the child. In addition, the petition asserted that following a drug binge, mother was discovered by a law enforcement officer asleep with her boyfriend in a parking lot while T.T.S. slept nearby, unsupervised, in mother's car. Two windows had been broken on the vehicle and pieces of glass were located in T.T.S' child safety seat. The goal, according to the State's petition, was reunification of T.T.S. with mother. Throughout the pendency of this case, T.T.S. resided with foster parents. A subsequent Department of Human Services (DHS) progress report was filed with the trial court approximately a year later, and disclosed that mother had been arrested and was incarcerated in the Grayson County Jail in Sherman, Texas. A court minute filed after the review hearing suggested DHS intended to pursue termination of parental rights, which was ultimately granted. On appeal of the termination, mother challenged the trial court's failure to provide jurors with legally correct instructions and verdict forms. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that the individualized service plan (ISP) contained an expansive list of remedial measures DHS desired mother to accomplish; some of the items were designated as mandatory, while others were characterized as desired. "What precisely was expected from mother in this case to re-establish physical custody of T.T.S. was less than clear." Moreover, the Court found that none of the State's applications to terminate mother's parental rights set forth the precise conditions mother failed to correct. Similarly, neither the jury instructions nor the verdict forms provided specificity with regard to the corrective measures mother had allegedly failed to ameliorate. Without this information mother could not effectively defend against the State's action to dissolve the parent-child relationship. "Due process requirements mandate reasonable notice of the conditions leading to a deprived adjudication, including jury instructions and verdict forms which outline a parent's purported noncompliance." View "In the matter of T.T.S." on Justia Law