SUMMARY: Change of placement was affirmed after all parties working with family agreed it was in child’s best interest to return to legal guardian after sexual contact by siblings.
The state filed a petition in juvenile court that alleged Tanisha’s two older brothers had sexual contact with her while under the care of her grandmother and legal guardian, Betty. All three children were adjudicated and the court found that evidence showed Tanisha had been sexually abused. The boys later withdrew their admission to abusing Tanisha. Tanisha was placed in foster care and the boys remained living with Betty. DHHS was ordered to give the court 7 days notice of any change in placement and wrote a letter to the court explaining that the family had made significant progress and it was the agreement of all professionals working with the family that Tanisha should be returned home to Betty. The state filed an “Objection to Change in Placement” on August 11 and Tanisha was returned to Betty’s home on August 12. A hearing took place on August 18 and the county attorney asserted that the juvenile court erred in placing Tanisha back in Betty’s home.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals of Nebraska did an analysis of jurisdiction and found it had jurisdiction to hear the appeal by the county attorney. The court held that with the unanimous agreement that Tanisha should be returned by all those who worked closely with the family, the juvenile court did not error in returning Tanisha to Betty’s home.