In re Yolanda V.

Syllabus

The respondent mother appealed to this court from the judgments of the trial court terminating her parental rights with respect to her minor children. She claimed that the trial court improperly concluded that she failed to achieve the requisite degree of personal rehabilitation required by the applicable statute (§ 17a-112), and that termination of her parental rights was in the best interests of the children. Held: 1. The trial court properly determined that the respondent mother failed to attain the degree of rehabilitation sufficient to warrant the belief that, at some time in the foreseeable future, she would be capable of assuming a responsible position with respect to the care of her children: the evidence in the record belied the mother's assertion that she was compli- ant with the court-ordered specific steps for the eight and one-half months immediately preceding trial, as the record contained sufficient evidence for the trial court to conclude that the mother had not corrected several of the factors that led to the initial commitment of her minor children, including that she did not comply with certain, random toxicol- ogy screenings, she was arrested and convicted for certain drug related crimes, she did not comply with securing a legal income, she missed three supervised visits with her children, and the record substantiated the determination made by the trial court that the substance abuse, mental health, and parenting issues that led to the initial commitment of the mother's minor children continued to plague her because, although she completed some services, she failed to benefit from such services; moreover, in evaluating the mother's rehabilitation efforts, the trial court was mindful of the specialized needs of the minor children, and the court also properly considered the mother's history with the Department of Children and Families since 2002 and her history and unsuccessful attempts at reunification with her older children. 2. The trial court p