COA upholds adoption without mother’s consent

In a case a judge said represents “how substance abuse is savaging the familial bonds within Indiana and around the country,” the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the adoption of a southern Indiana child without the mother’s consent after finding the mother’s substance abuse made her unfit.

In J.H. v. S.S., 82A05-1708-AD-2069, J.H. was awarded primary custody of her son, J.S., but with the understanding that she could not drink or use prescribed substances while caring for the child. Three weeks later, J.G. was sent to court-ordered inpatient alcohol treatment, and K.S., her then-reconciled husband, testified to finding her inebriated in their home.  

K.S. then filed multiple emergency petitions to modify and suspend J.H.’s parenting time based on her alleged alcohol and drug addictions, claiming she had been drinking during her parenting time with J.S. and had relapsed after multiple treatment programs. The parties agreed to grant J.H. supervised parenting time, but she was subsequently arrested twice for operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangering a person.

K.S.’s mother, S.S., eventually moved to adopt J.S. and alleged J.H.’s consent was not necessary because she was unfit and had abandoned the child. J.H. faced additional alcohol-related arrests after S.S. filed the adoption petition, and J.H. testified at a hearing that she had recently taken prescription drugs not prescribed for her. Evidence also revealed she struggled to maintain employment and had not seen J.S. in more than two years.

Thus, the Vanderburgh Superior Court granted the adoption petition without J.H.’s consent, a decision upheld by the Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday. Looking to J.H.’s history of substance abuse, mental health issues, failed treatment attempts and alcohol-related criminal history, the evidence was sufficient to conclude she is an unfit mother, Judge Rudolph Pyle wrote, making her consent to the adoption unnecessary.

J.H. also challenged the finding that her consent to the adoption was not required because she failed to communicate with her child. But in a footnote, Pyle wrote that because the court determined she is an unfit mother, it did not reach her additional challenge.