In re S.T.

N.T. and T.T. (the parents) (defendants) were the parents of four minor children. Utah’s Division of Children and Family Services (the agency) (plaintiff) became involved with the family after a referral alleging abuse and neglect. The youngest child had not been born, and the other three children were two years old and under. An agency worker visited the home and found it in terrible condition, and the children appeared malnourished and underweight. The agency offered the parents services to preserve the family, which they mostly declined, except for the frequent use of a day care facility, Kid’s Corral, and a center where the parents often left the children overnight. The children would arrive at the center wet, dirty, and hungry. The children’s bottles contained sour milk and had nipples with dried, crusty formula. The children had terrible diaper rashes and sores. The children would also arrive sick with fevers, colds, and coughs. On several occasions, the children arrived with cuts, burns, bruises, and black eyes. The children were also developmentally delayed. One child could only speak three words when children his age could speak 50 words, and another could not stand up alone by the age of 14 months. After two more referrals, and medical diagnoses showing the children were malnourished, anemic, and underweight, the parents admitted to abuse. The children were placed in foster care with a goal of reunification. The children thrived in foster care, gaining weight and improving developmentally. Despite the parents’ minimal compliance with a treatment plan, the children were returned to them. The condition of the home remained terrible, and after another referral, the agency filed another petition, and the parents made a second admission. Again, the agency offered services to assist the parents with homemaking, parenting, and counseling. The same pattern of abuse and neglect emerged. The children were placed in agency custody voluntarily when the parents were evicted, but the children later were returned again. The agency received two more referrals and filed a third petition for neglect. The children were placed in their previous foster home. Again, the agency provided reunification services, which continued until new indications of abuse emerged from the children’s fearful behavior during unsupervised weekend visits. Six years after the first referrals, the agency sought to terminate the parents’ parental rights. After a trial, a juvenile court terminated the parents’ parental rights. The parents appealed.