State, Department of Health & Welfare v. Cheatwood

BURNETT, Judge.

We are asked to decide whether a parent-child relationship should be terminated for parental neglect. We approach this question mindful of a remark attributed to Luther Burbank, the famous botanist: “If we had paid no more attention to our plants than we have to our children, we would now be living in a jungle of weeds.” Burbank’s confession pointedly reminds us that children do not grow into healthy adults by accident. They need attentive care.

In this ease, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare filed a termination petition in the interest of Justin Lee Cheat-wood, a boy…