The Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship of I.B. v. Indiana Department of Child Services

SULLIVAN, Justice.

Following termination of an absent mother's parental rights, the juvenile court declined to appoint counsel to appeal the termination. Indiana law requires court-appointed counsel for an indigent parent who appeals the termination of his or her parental rights-but only where the parent himself or herself authorizes the appeal.

Background

Mother gave birth to Child on July 9, 2007. Several days later, the Bartholomew County Office of the Indiana Department of Child Services ("State") removed newborn Child from Mother after Child tested positive for amphetamines. At the…