All in the Family: Two parental rights reversals in two weeks.

Byline: Jason Brown and Cynthia Brown

The termination of parental rights is an extraordinary power possessed by District Court judges. In recent weeks, however, the Minnesota Court of Appeals has reversed decisions arising out of Chisago and Hennepin County.

Chisago County case

In In re the Matter of ECS, Mother was a parent to a number of children. The family came to the attention of Chisago County 19 times in 12 years.

The incident that gave rise to the termination of Mother's parental rights occurred in January 2017. The Chisago Lakes School District reported several unexcused absences and that letters and phone calls to Mother were not successful in correcting the absences.

In a subsequent interview with a social worker, Mother reported that she struggled to get the kids to school because of her own health issues. Mother also told the social worker that her boyfriend (a man with a criminal history and substance abuse issues) would care for the children on nights that she worked.

CHIPS action commenced: After attempting to provide services, the social worker determined that Mother was not addressing the "educational concerns" of the children. The county filed a CHIPS petition. Two months later, Mother admitted that the children were habitually truant. Adjudication was stayed on the condition that Mother comply with the case plan submitted to the court. Mother also agreed the children would not be placed in her boyfriend's care.

Shortly before the CHIPS admission, Mother's boyfriend was charged with second-degree controlled substance possession. A search warrant executed after the CHIPS admission yielded a glass pipe near the children's bedroom in Mother's home. The pipe tested positive for methamphetamine.

Removal of children: Law enforcement removed the children from the home. The District Court lifted the stay of the CHIPS proceeding and ordered Mother to comply with the provisions of the out-of-home case plan. Five months later, the court adopted a placement plan. The plan included 20 objectives for Mother to satisfy.

Petition to terminate: Six months later, the county filed a petition to terminate Mother's parental rights, alleging: (1) Mother failed to satisfy the duties of a parent; (2) Mother was palpably unfit to parent; and (3) reasonable efforts failed to correct the conditions leading to the out-of-home placement.

During the trial, several social workers testified about Mother's partial compliance with her case plan, including...