IN THE INTEREST OF C.W. AND S.W.R.W., CHILDREN. SUE ANN WIGGINS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, APPELLEE
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Sue Ann Wiggins appealed the termination of her parental rights to two children who were adjudicated dependent due to medical neglect and removed from her home in 1988. The court affirmed the termination, holding that while mental illness alone cannot support termination, it can do so when accompanied by neglect and evidence that the neglect would continue.
The court affirmed termination of parental rights, holding that although mental illness alone is not a sufficient basis for termination, it can support termination when accompanied by actual neglect and evidence establishing that such neglect would continue in the future. The clear and convincing evidence of past and potential future neglect of these children supported the termination.
[1] Mental illness, while a condition beyond a parent's control, can support termination of parental rights when accompanied by neglect and evidence of future neglect.
[2] A parent's failure to substantially comply with a performance agreement designed to address mental health issues can constitute neglect.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“An illness beyond the parent's control can support termination of parental rights when it is accompanied by neglect and the evidence before the court establishes that such neglect would continue in the future.”
Establishes the core legal principle that mental illness, while not itself grounds for termination, may support termination when combined with evidence of neglect and future risk.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceC.W. and S.W.R.W. were first adjudicated dependent in 1985 based on medical neglect allegations. In April 1988, they were removed from the Wiggins hom…
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RYDER, Acting Chief Judge.
Sue Ann Wiggins, the mother of C.W. and S.W.R.W., seeks review of the trial court’s order terminating her parental rights to the children. We affirm.
C.W. and S.W.R.W. were first adjudicated dependent, based on allegations of medical neglect in 1985. In April 1988, the children were removed from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins for neglect. The home was dirty, cluttered and messy. The children were wearing filthy clothes and had no clean clothes available. There was no food in the refrigerator and there were roaches throughout the home.
Mrs. Wiggins has not had sole custody of the children since Í988. HRS attempted to place the children with a family member, both as sole custodian and as joint custodian with Mrs. Wiggins and the children’s father, but these placements were not successful. The children have been in foster care since July 1990.
Mrs. Wiggins has been diagnosed as a schizophrenic. When the children were removed from her home in April 1988, she could not comprehend any questions and appeared to be out of touch with reality. In September 1990, she entered into a performance agreement, which identified certain mental health tasks for her to complete. These tasks included submitting to a psychological examination and following the psychologist’s recommendations, contacting her psychiatrist and following his recommendations, taking her medication as prescribed and conducting herself in a rational manner. The evidence established that Mrs. Wiggins did not substantially comply with the performance agreement. On April 5, 1991, she had still not submitted to a psychological examination, so the court ordered her to do so. On the court-appointed date, April 26, 1991, she arrived over one hour late for her examination and stayed less than one-half hour. She did return for an evaluation on August 9, 1991. At that time, the psychologist, Dr. Marcic, recommended that she continue her psychiatric care with Dr. Holliday and comply with his treatment recommendation. Mrs. Wiggins saw Dr. Holliday sporadically. Dr. Holliday’s treatment included taking medication. He testi fied that he had severe doubts that she was actually taking her medication and did not find her really committed to treatment. An adult daughter also testified that Mrs. Wiggins did not take her medication.
Mrs. Wiggins relies on In the Interest of T.D., 537 So. 2d 173 (Fla. 1st DCA1989) for the proposition that mental illness is a condition beyond an individual’s control and cannot be the basis for termination of parental rights. T.D. is distinguishable; the only evidence of neglect in that case was that the mother failed to stimulate the child. C.W. and S.W.R.W. were found dirty and hungry in a home infested with roaches. Mrs. Wiggins's failure to comply with her performance agreement provides additional evidence of neglect. § 39.467(3)(e), Fla.Stat. (1991).
An illness beyond the parent’s control can support termination of parental rights when it is accompanied by neglect and the evidence before the court establishes that such neglect would continue in the future. In the Interest of R., 591 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992); In the Interest of J.L.P., 416 So. 2d 1250 (Fla. 4th DCA1982). The evidence of Mrs. Wiggins’s past and potential future neglect of these children was clear and convincing.
Affirmed.
SCHOONOVER and THREADGILL, JJ., concur.
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Hroncich v. Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 667 So. 2d 804 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)…s treatable, and it is presently in the residual phase. In In the Interest of A.M., 614 So. 2d 1161 (Fla.4th DCA 1993), the mother failed to substantially comply with the performance agreement and had abandoned her child. In In the Interest of C.W., 616 So. 2d 127 (Fla.2d DCA 1993), the mother was a schizophrenic who had not substantially complied with the performance agreement, one requirement of which was that she act in a rational manner. Although Hroneieh essentially became a "street person” by temporaril…
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P.A. v. Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 685 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…district faced an issue factually similar to the one at bar. It recognized that chronic mental illness could ' be a basis for termination of parental rights, citing its earlier opinion in Wiggins v. Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, 616 So. 2d 127 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). In Wiggins, however, the mother had not complied with the psychiatrist’s recommendations for medication, and there was evidence of past neglect, where the children “were found filthy and hungry in a roach-infested home.” B.L.H.,…
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In the Interest of D.H. v. Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 670 So. 2d 1072 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…under HRS scrutiny, however, the investigation focused upon her mental capacity and emotional stability. A parent’s chronic mental illness can indeed undergird a termination of rights, as this court approved in In the Interest of C.W. and S.W.R.W., 616 So. 2d 127 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). [*1073] That case involved a schizophrenic mother who did not comply with recommended psychiatric treatment including medication. Further supporting the termination, however, was evidence of severe neglect of the children, who we…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- In the Interest of J. L. P., 416 So. 2d 1250 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- In the Interest of T.D., 537 So. 2d 173 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)
- In the Interest of R., 591 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)