A mother and father who unsuccessfully warned Adams County social service workers that their children were being abused in a foster home won’t get their children back, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
The unanimous decision noted the tragic circumstances of Timothy Dodge Jr., who suffered a severe brain injury in the Castle Rock home of his then-foster mother, Tember Rector, when he was 2.
During their visitation with their two children, parents Misty Anderson and her husband, Timothy Dodge Sr., told Adams County Social Services that they had noticed bruising on the children. They said their concerns were ignored or minimized.
A short time later in 2004, the 2-year-old suffered the head injury while in Rector’s care and required a month’s hospitalization. In January, Rector was found guilty of recklessly abusing the child and faces up to 32 years in prison when sentenced April 7.
Gregory Whitehair, attorney for Misty Anderson, said he and his client were disappointed and considering a request for rehearing or an appeal to the Supreme Court.
“We were optimistic (that) when the court recognized … that the mother’s situation was special and she had substantially completed her parenting plan, that there would be a recognition that her parental rights should not have terminated,” Whitehair said.
Both Anderson and the elder Dodge had sought to have the children returned to them. In March 2005, Adams County District Judge Chris Melonakis ordered the rights of the parents terminated because their anger with Adams County over what happened to their son had led them to fail to finish their court-ordered parenting plans. Melonakis made his ruling “with a tremendous sense of sadness” about the case.
In addition to a due process claim and other claims, Whitehair argued on appeal that it was unfair that his client was forced to continue to work with Adams County Social Services. He said there was evidence that the department’s employees, who oversaw Anderson’s treatment plan, told her to “get over” her son’s brain injury and were critical of her when she failed to cooperate with the department for five months after the boy was injured.
The appellate court, in a decision written by Judge Sandra Rothenberg, agreed with Melonakis.
“His anger toward the department, while understandable, remained so intense and unabated as to completely interfere with his compliance with the plan,” Rothenberg said of the father.
Rothenberg said the mother, while initially uncooperative, later made considerable progress and at the time of Melonakis’ termination hearing had substantially complied with many of the components of the treatment.
The children remain in foster care in Adams County.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
