In Re Term of Parental Rights as to B.M.

── In Re Term of Parental Rights as to B.M. ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona Date: May 14, 2026 Category: General NOTICE: NOT FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZONA RULE OF THE SUPREME COURT 111(c), THIS DECISION IS NOT PRECEDENTIAL AND MAY BE CITED ONLY AS AUTHORIZED BY RULE. IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE IN RE TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AS TO B.M. No. 1 CA-JV 25-0195 FILED 05-14-2026 Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County No. JD19379, JS22510 The Honorable Keith A. Miller, Judge AFFIRMED COUNSEL Bernice M., Glendale Appellant Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Mesa By Veronica F. Rios Counsel for Appellee DCS Law Office of Lincoln Green Jr., PC, Scottsdale By Lincoln Green Counsel for Appellee B.M. MEMORANDUM DECISION Judge Kent E. Cattani delivered the decision of the Court, in which Presiding Judge Samuel A. Thumma and Judge Andrew J. Becke joined.  IN RE TERM OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AS TO B.M. Decision of the Court C A T T A N I, Judge: ¶1 Bernice M. (“Mother”) appeals the denial of her motion to set aside termination of her parental rights to her child B.M. (“Child”). We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ¶2 Child was born in February 2022; Mother and Jose M. (“Father”) are his biological parents.1 ¶3 Mother has a history of methamphetamine use spanning 30 years. As a result, her parental rights to five other children have previously been terminated. ¶4 The Department of Child Safety (“DCS”) first took Child into care in March 2023 based on substance abuse concerns, and he remained in care as a dependent child until late 2024. By October 2024, Mother had shown five months of sobriety, with ongoing substance abuse treatment. She successfully completed parenting classes, and she had progressed to unsupervised and overnight parenting time with Child. At DCS’s request, the court ordered Child returned to Mother’s physical custody, and in early November 2024, the court dismissed the dependency. ¶5 Just one week later, Mother relapsed on methamphetamine and left Child with grandmother. Over the next several weeks, Child resided with his former kinship placement, and Mother had no contact with him. In early January 2025, Mother met with Child’s caregivers to complete a power of attorney. When Mother arrived, however, she was hallucinating and behaving erratically, apparently under the influence of methamphetamine, and she attempted to take Child. Mother ultimately left without Child, and DCS was contacted. ¶6 In January 2025, DCS filed concurrent dependency and termination petitions, but was unable to locate or contact Mother. After multiple service attempts and a diligent but unsuccessful investigation to locate Mother, DCS served her with notice of the dependency and termination proceedings by publication. See Ariz. R.P. Juv. Ct. 351(d)(1)(B)(i); Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4.1(l). Noting that Mother’s assigned counsel (who had represented her in the previous dependency) had likewise been unable to contact Mother, the superior court found service by publication 1 Father’s parental rights were also terminated, but he is not a party to this appeal. 2  IN RE TERM OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AS TO B.M. Decision of the Court to be complete. After an evidentiary hearing at which the court concluded that Mother had failed to appear without good cause, the court terminated her parental rights to Child on grounds of chronic substance abuse, 15 months’ out-of-home placement, and prior removal. See A.R.S. § 8-533(B)(3), (8)(c), (11). ¶7 Nearly three months later, Mother