In re I.T.

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the termination of a mother’s parental rights to I.T. based on the prior involuntary termination of her parental rights to the child’s siblings and the continuing relevance of the circumstances underlying those terminations. The court held that any error in considering alleged hearsay evidence concerning a cocaine-positive test was harmless because substantial admissible evidence independently supported termination. The court also rejected the mother’s equitable-estoppel arguments and held that a treatment plan was not required under the applicable statutes.

Holdings

1. A parent’s parental rights may be terminated under Montana law when clear and convincing evidence establishes that the parent previously had parental rights to other children involuntarily terminated under circumstances relevant to the parent’s ability to adequately care for the child at issue. The District Court did not clearly err in finding the prior circumstances remained relevant and therefore did not abuse its discretion in terminating Mother's parental rights.
2. Even assuming the hearsay argument was preserved and the challenged medical records and drug-test testimony were inadmissible, any error was harmless because the remaining admissible evidence independently provided substantial support for the findings underlying termination.
3. There is no absolute right to a treatment plan when the statutory exception applies to a parent whose parental rights to another child were involuntarily terminated under circumstances relevant to the parent's ability to care for the child. Mother established no equitable basis for avoiding the statutory exception or for applying equitable estoppel.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the District Court abused its discretion by terminating Mother's parental rights based on the relevance of the circumstances underlying her prior involuntary terminations of parental rights.
2. Whether the District Court committed reversible error by considering allegedly inadmissible hearsay evidence concerning Mother's positive cocaine test.
3. Whether equitable grounds, including equitable estoppel and the Department's failure to provide a treatment plan, warranted relief from the termination order.

Disposition

affirmed