Breanna Terry v. Arkansas Department of Human Services and Minor Child

── Breanna Terry v. Arkansas Department of Human Services and Minor Child ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas Date: April 22, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 249 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION I No. CV-25-794 Opinion Delivered April 22, 2026 BREANNA TERRY APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE GARLAND COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 26JV-24-67] V. HONORABLE LYNN WILLIAMS, ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF JUDGE HUMAN SERVICES AND MINOR CHILD AFFIRMED; MOTION TO APPELLEES WITHDRAW GRANTED CASEY R. TUCKER, Judge Breanna Terry appeals the Garland County Circuit Court’s order terminating her parental rights to her minor child (MC1), who was born August 18, 2022. 1 Her attorney filed a no-merit brief and motion to withdraw asserting there are no issues of arguable merit for appeal. See Linker-Flores v. Ark. Dep’t of Hum. Servs., 359 Ark. 131, 194 S.W.3d 739 (2004), and Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 6-9(j). Pursuant to Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 6- 9(j)(3), the clerk of this court sent Breanna a copy of her attorney’s brief and motion and informed her of her right to file pro se points for reversal. Breanna did not file any points. 1 The court also terminated Breanna’s parental rights to her younger child, MC2; the termination of Breanna’s parental rights to MC2 is the subject of a separate appeal—Terry v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 2026 Ark. App. 247, ___ S.W.3d ___. We affirm the order terminating Breanna’s parental rights and grant counsel’s motion to withdraw. I. Relevant Facts Breanna has a history with the Arkansas Department of Human Services (the Department) beginning on September 3, 2022, when MC1 exhibited failure to thrive, and the Department found neglect due to failure to thrive and inadequate supervision. The Department exercised a seventy-two-hour hold on MC1 at that time. It returned MC1 to Breanna on September 6 following a team decision meeting, after which Breanna moved into a relative’s home, and the Department opened a protective-services case. The Department provided Safe Care, items for infant care, and home visits. On July 12, 2023, the Department filed a petition for emergency custody of MC1, which the Greene County Circuit Court granted. The basis for the petition was that Arkansas Methodist Medical Center reported to the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division that Breanna had brought MC1 in with a broken leg under suspicious circumstances on July 5. Breanna and her boyfriend, Austin McAbee, gave a variety of differing, conflicting, and unlikely accounts of how MC1’s broken leg occurred. The final diagnosis stated that MC1 had a displaced comminuted fracture of the shaft of her left femur and that child abuse was suspected. MC1 was eleven months old. The Department removed MC1 from Breanna’s physical and legal custody on July 6. The initial emergency hold expired on July 9, at which time the Department exercised a second hold due to the lack of change in the original circumstances. 2  The probable-cause hearing was held on July 19. The court found probable cause that the emergency conditions that caused removal still existed, and it ordered Breanna to view the video The Clock is Ticking; remain drug-free and submit to random drug screens; keep the Department informed of her address; participate in and complete parenting classes; submit to a mental-health evaluation and follow the resulting recommendations; obtain and maintain clean, safe, and stable housing with working utilities; obtain and maintain employment or sufficient income to support the family; and allow the Division of Chi