In the Interest of A.C., Minor Child

── In the Interest of A.C., Minor Child ── Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa Date: April 15, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA _______________ No. 26-0309 Filed April 15, 2026 _______________ In the Interest of A.C., Minor Child, J.S., Mother, Appellant. _______________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wapello County, The Honorable Richelle Mahaffey, Judge. _______________ AFFIRMED _______________ Sarah Wenke, Ottumwa, attorney for appellant mother. Brenna Bird, Attorney General, and Tamara Knight, Assistant Attorney General, attorneys for appellee State. Denise McKelvie Gonyea of McKelvie Law Office, Grinnell, guardian ad litem for minor child. Katie Mitchell of Mitchell Law Office, PLC, Washington, attorney for minor child. Julie DeVries of DeVries Law Office, PLC, Centerville, attorney for intervenor B.A. _______________ 1  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ. Opinion by Schumacher, J. 2 SCHUMACHER, Judge. A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her daughter, 1 born in 2015, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the grounds for termination and claiming that permissive exceptions should preclude termination. Upon our review, we affirm. BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS The mother and her daughter, A.C., came to the attention of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services in June 2024, upon reports that the mother and her fiancé were using methamphetamine while caring for the child. Also around this time, the mother was involved in two separate traffic stops—during which she was found in possession of methamphetamine, a methamphetamine pipe, and other illegal substances—which led to various criminal charges.2 The mother reasoned that when she used methamphetamine, she left the child with a nanny so the child had a sober caregiver.3 However, the department learned that the child was able to describe the physical appearance of illegal substances and paraphernalia, could identify behavioral changes in the mother related to her active substance use, and recalled times she was left alone without a caregiver. A safety plan was established placing A.C. with a relative. In August, the court entered a removal order continuing the child’s care with the relative placement. The child was adjudicated in need of 1 The child’s father is deceased. 2 The mother’s fiancé has a criminal record that includes substance-related convictions. He completed a substance-use evaluation that recommended no treatment. 3 The nanny had her own parental rights to her children terminated, a fact the mother knew when she hired her. 3 assistance. In October, the court entered a dispositional order that reaffirmed the child’s adjudication and removal. The mother appealed, and this court affirmed the court’s order. In re A.C., No. 24-1689, 2025 WL 52844, at *2–4 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 9, 2025) (concurring with the district court’s concerns about the mother’s commitment to sobriety, noting her belief she could use substances recreationally without becoming addicted, her refusal to submit to patch tests even though her alleged “adhesive allergy ha[d] never been medically diagnosed,” and her “latest urine analysis was rejected as unreliable.”). The district court entered a dispositional review order in February 2025, noting in part: [The mother] continues to lack insight into the initial reasons for HHS involvement, and her need to meaningfully pa