Background
The Department of Child Safety took custody of P.L. and K.L. in February 2024 after reports that their mother could not care for them. The children were found dependent after the parents entered no-contest pleas, and DCS later took custody of D.L. shortly after the child’s birth.
DCS provided Mother services including supervised parenting time, parenting education, a psychological evaluation, and housing and transportation referrals. The evaluation confirmed that Mother had a mental disability, and the case was designated under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The record also reflected serious domestic-violence concerns, the parents’ flight with P.L. to Florida, and criminal custodial-interference charges. DCS sought termination on neglect, mental-illness, and six-months’ time-in-care grounds.
The Court’s Holding
The Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed the termination of Mother’s parental rights. Mother did not challenge the superior court’s findings that DCS proved the statutory grounds by clear and convincing evidence or that termination was in the children’s best interests by a preponderance of the evidence.
Instead, Mother argued that her mental disability required standards comparable to those imposed by the Indian Child Welfare Act, including proof beyond a reasonable doubt and active remedial efforts. The court held that she waived those arguments by not raising them below. It also held that ICWA did not apply and that neither due process nor equal protection required heightened burdens in a termination case involving a parent with a mental disability. Arizona’s ordinary clear-and-convincing and preponderance standards were sufficient.
Key Takeaways
- A parent must preserve claims for appeal by raising them in the superior court.
- An ADA case designation does not itself alter Arizona’s statutory burdens for terminating parental rights.
- ICWA’s heightened proof requirements do not apply absent an ICWA case, and the court declined to extend them to parental disability cases.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms that a parent’s mental disability does not, by itself, require Arizona courts to use ICWA-like standards in termination proceedings. Disability-related services and accommodations remain relevant to the case, but the governing burdens remain those set by Arizona law unless another applicable statute provides otherwise.