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Judge terminates father’s parental rights in Imani and Janai Sims case
Summary
The court found by clear and convincing evidence that terminating James Sims’s parental rights to his daughters, Imani and Janai Sims, is in the children’s best interest and named the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services permanent managing conservator.
A judge in the High Plains Child Protection Court terminated the parental rights of James Sims as to his daughters, Imani and Janai Sims, after finding by clear and convincing evidence that termination was in the children’s best interest.
The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and the permanency specialist for the case told the court that Sims had been served and was not present for the final hearing. DFPS introduced certified copies of indictments and plea documents showing Sims had pled to deferred adjudication on criminal charges, including indecency with a child and multiple counts of sexual assault of a child, and had been placed on 10 years’ deferred adjudication with terms prohibiting contact with persons under 17.
The department’s permanency specialist, Jordan Alford of Saint Francis Ministries, testified that the girls had not had contact with their father since the termination-related proceedings and that one child, Janae, is placed with her older sister in Oklahoma while the other, Imani, is in foster care in the Houston area. Alford told the court the sister wants to adopt Janae and might take Imani in the future if Imani’s behavior improves.
After reviewing the evidence and the certified plea and order documents admitted as exhibits, the judge announced: “I do find by clear and convincing evidence that it is in the best interest of Imani Sims and Janai Sims to terminate the parental rights between those two children and their father, James Sims, based on Texas Family Code section 161.001 subsections (b)(1) and (b)(2), and the l provisions.” The court then named DFPS as permanent managing conservator of both children.
The court scheduled the next review hearing for Sept. 11, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.
The record shows the decision relied on certified criminal plea and deferred-adjudication documents admitted into evidence and testimony from the permanency specialist and DFPS counsel describing current placements and the parents’ status. The judge’s order replaces the prior conservatorship arrangements and directs DFPS to manage permanency planning moving forward.
