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IN THE INTEREST OF L.A.F.9/13/2000
C.F. (father) and J.F. (mother) are the parents of L.A.F., born November 28, 1998. They appeal the decision of the juvenile court terminating their parental rights. The father claims there were not reasonable efforts to reunite him with L.A.F. He also claims there was not clear and convincing evidence the circumstances which led to the child in need of assistance adjudication continued to exist at the time of the termination hearing. The mother claims there was not clear and convincing evidence L.A.F. could not be returned to her custody. We affirm.
On November 30, 1998, L.A.F. was removed from the parents' custody and placed with the Department of Human Services (DHS) for placement in family foster care. There were immediate and grave concerns about the parents ability to provide for and protect L.A.F. on a full-time basis.
L.A.F's brother S.F., was born December 20, 1996. S.F. did not receive minimal, adequate care even though the parents were provided assistance and many services by DHS. He was hospitalized and diagnosed as failure to thrive. He improved rapidly while in the hospital and has continued to thrive in foster care.
S.F. was adjudicated to be a child in need of assistance (CINA) on March 11, 1997. Efforts to reunify S.F. with his parents failed. On May 12, 1998, the parents parental rights to S.F. were terminated. This termination was affirmed on appeal.
L.A.F. was placed in the same foster home that has adopted S.F., her brother. S.F. continues to thrive with his adoptive parents.
The DHS recognized the parents had disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and provided the parents with intensive psychiatric and therapeutic services.
The mother has been diagnosed with dependant personality order, immature, schizoid personality disorder, and dysthymic disorder, as well as having immature schizoid, paranoid, and self-defeating traits. The father suffers from schizoid personality disorder, with paranoid traits and border line intellectual functioning.
Many services have been provided this family since 1996, as follows:
Court ordered supervision, DHS family foster care, supervised visitation, Eyerly Ball-Golden Circle Case Management for both parents, Generations, Inc. protective services, bus tokens, psychiatric services for the mother, individual therapy for the mother, individual therapy for the father Lutheran Social Services, Healthy Families, and sexual offender evaluation for the father.
Services previously provided to encourage the parents reunification with their son S.F. included foster care, visitation, individual therapy for both parents, medication for mental illness, Generations, Inc. Protective Service Program, psychiatric care for both parents, person to person and child protective treatment services.
The mother had suspected her oldest daughter was being sexually abused by a neighbor. She never reported the abuse and she also did not prevent her daughter from returning to that neighbor's home. She stated "her daughter had a mind of her own."
The father has a history of sexual abuse. He was convicted and imprisoned for sexual abuse of a minor in the past. He has repeatedly denied he did anything wrong and the mother believes him. He fails to acknowledge there may be any danger in the home.
The father has also been jailed on at least two occasions. He has continued to violate a no-contact order which was issued after a domestic assault against his ex-wife.
After hearing on the State's petition to terminate the parental rights to L.A.F., the juvenile court on September 29, 1999, terminated t
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