State of Idaho, Department of Health and Welfare v. John Doe (2026-03)

── State of Idaho, Department of Health and Welfare v. John Doe (2026-03) ── Court: Idaho Court of Appeals Date: May 06, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Docket No. 53665 In the Matter of: John Doe II, A Child ) Under Eighteen (18) Years of Age. ) STATE OF IDAHO, DEPARTMENT OF ) HEALTH AND WELFARE, ) Filed: May 6, 2026 ) Petitioner-Respondent, ) Melanie Gagnepain, Clerk ) v. THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED ) OPINION AND SHALL NOT ) JOHN DOE (2026-03), BE CITED AS AUTHORITY ) Respondent-Appellant. ) ) Appeal from the Magistrate Division of the District Court of the Fifth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Twin Falls County. Hon. Thomas D. Kershaw, Jr., Magistrate. Judgment and decree terminating parental rights, affirmed. Kippes Law and Mediation, PLLC; Melissa J. Kippes Twin Falls, for appellant. Hon. Raúl R. Labrador, Attorney General; James T. Baird, Deputy Attorney General, Twin Falls, for respondent. ________________________________________________ HUSKEY, Judge John Doe appeals from the magistrate court’s judgment and decree terminating his parental rights to John Doe II (Child). Doe argues that termination was not in Child’s best interests. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the judgment terminating Doe’s parental rights. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Doe is the biological father of Child.1 Concerns surrounding Child first began in February 2022 when Child was six days old. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (Department) filed a Child Protective Act (CPA) petition after receiving notification that fluid from Child’s umbilical cord tested positive for methamphetamine. Child was removed from 1 Child’s biological mother’s parental rights were also terminated. That case is pending appeal in Docket No. 53693. 1 the home and placed in foster care. At the time Child was removed, Doe had been incarcerated for more than a year. At a shelter care hearing, Child’s mother stipulated to the Department’s continued temporary custody of Child based on lack of a stable home environment. Following an adjudicatory hearing, a case plan was ordered for Doe to reunify with Child. The case plan required Doe to: address his legal issues; maintain his sobriety and submit to random drug testing; obtain and maintain safe, stable, sanitary, and drug-free housing; demonstrate his ability to provide financially for Child; and maintain and participate in Child’s medical appointments. Additionally, Doe was required to comply with all conditions of his parole. Doe was released from incarceration in September 2022 but did not contact the Department regarding Child for several weeks. Doe eventually moved in with Child’s mother and was able to maintain employment but struggled with his sobriety, testing positive for methamphetamine several times and missing drug testing appointments. Doe missed scheduled visits with Child, citing a changing work schedule. Doe also failed to maintain stable housing, sometimes living with Child’s mother at her apartment, but occasionally staying with friends or family when he and Child’s mother fought. Doe completed a substance abuse treatment program, and the Department granted Doe overnight visits with Child in July 2023. In August 2023, Child’s mother left Child with Doe and moved to Oregon, where she gave birth to another chi