SUMMARY: Despite evidence that the father participated in some court-ordered services and cared for his son, the fact that the father was not in a position to parent a child with special needs supported termination of the father’s parental rights.
In October of 2009, Jayden (DOB 9/10/09) was removed from his mother’s home. The mother subsequently voluntarily relinquished her parental rights in 2012. The father, Jonathan, initially denied being Jayden’s father until genetic testing confirmed he was Jayden’s biological father in August of 2010. A petition was filed 9/8/2011 alleging Jayden was at risk due to Jonathan’s actions, and an adjudication and termination hearing was held 4/6/2012. At the hearing, testimony was presented that Jayden had behavioral problems and Jonathan did not fully understand Jayden’s special needs. Testimony also showed that Jonathan had failed to intervene in the case, despite being told that he must intervene in order to receive visitation. Jonathan first met Jayden in October of 2011 and was not consistently present for other visitations. Jonathan testified that he loves Jayden and wanted to be a full time parent, but Jonathan did not have independent housing, was unemployed, and had difficulty obtaining transportation to visit Jayden. An adjudication and termination of parental rights order was issued 5/14/2012.
The Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed the adjudication and termination of parental rights. The Court first noted that Jonathan did attempt to be a party of Jayden’s life considering his economic circumstances, but Jayden had been in foster care for a long time and needed permanency. Additionally, Jayden’s special needs required a parent who had the skills to care for him.