Background
Following a bench trial, a McLennan County district court terminated a mother’s parental rights to her five children. The case began after the children witnessed domestic violence against Mother in the home. During the case, Mother was arrested for allegedly striking one child’s father and his girlfriend with a vehicle, and the father testified that Mother previously had been physically violent toward him.
Mother also repeatedly tested positive for cocaine and, at times, marijuana, amphetamines, methamphetamine, and oxycodone. Although she completed inpatient rehabilitation and later produced some clean tests, she stopped testing for approximately four months before trial, disengaged from the Department, did not resume services, and consequently had no contact with the children during the final four months of the case. She appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the statutory grounds for termination and the finding that termination served each child’s best interest.
The Court’s Holding
The Tenth Court of Appeals affirmed. It held that legally and factually sufficient evidence supported termination under Texas Family Code subsection 161.001(b)(1)(E), which addresses parental conduct that endangers a child’s physical or emotional well-being. The court relied on evidence of violence, Mother’s repeated drug use and relapse pattern, her admission that she used drugs when overwhelmed, her failure to submit to later testing, and her withdrawal from communication, services, and visitation. Because subsection E independently supported termination, the court did not decide whether the evidence also supported termination under subsections D or N.
The court also held that legally and factually sufficient evidence supported the best-interest finding for each child. Although the two oldest children wanted to live with Mother and the Department had not identified permanent or adoptive placements for the three youngest, the trial court could weigh Mother’s prolonged lack of contact, incomplete services, failure to seek available transportation assistance, unverified housing and employment, and continuing instability more heavily.
Key Takeaways
- A parent’s repeated illegal-drug use, coupled with evidence that it impairs parenting and a pattern of relapse, can support an endangerment finding under subsection E.
- A factfinder may infer continued drug use when a parent stops testing, particularly when the failure coincides with disengagement from services, the Department, and the children.
- Children’s placement preferences and the absence of an identified adoptive placement do not defeat a best-interest finding when other evidence shows prolonged absence, noncompliance, and instability.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates how Texas appellate courts evaluate relapse and missed drug tests in termination cases: drug use must be connected to parenting risk, but the court may draw reasonable inferences from a parent’s conduct and broader pattern. It also confirms that completing rehabilitation and portions of a service plan does not require a favorable ruling when later conduct indicates continuing instability.
The opinion further shows that an appellate court need address only one sufficiently supported predicate ground alongside the best-interest finding, while fully reviewing an appealed endangerment finding because of its potential collateral consequences.