SUMMARY: Termination of the father’s parental rights was improper because the length of time in foster care cannot be the sole best interest factor when the parent is not unfit and the length of incarceration of the father was speculative even though it was the sole reason for the termination filing...

SUMMARY: Termination of parental rights was proper where the mother continued to have ongoing safety concerns for years while the children were in foster care even though she complied with case plan requirements. Lillian, DOB 3/06, and Gabrielle, DOB 2/10, were removed from the home of the mother...

SUMMARY: Placement with the child’s father was not an abuse of discretion where the father had completed substance abuse treatment and was in an aftercare program, was sober for two months, and the father was doing what was necessary to allow for the child’s placement in the home. The State of...

SUMMARY: Juvenile court properly ordered continued custody of the child with DHHS when the State provided sufficient evidence that the parents had repeatedly abused or neglected the child’s older siblings, putting the child at a risk of harm. While Crystal was pregnant with Aletha (DOB 6/2013)...

SUMMARY: Termination of parental rights was proper in an ICWA case where the children were out of home 39 months and had special needs that required a stable home, and the parents consistently failed to follow through on services despite being given much assistance. Shane, born in 2003, Lena, born...

SUMMARY: Termination of parental rights was proper where the child had been in foster care for half of her life and did not want to live with the parent, and the parent and child did not have a strong bond or relationship. On August 23, 2011, Jaiden, DOB 8/03, was removed from the home of the mother...

SUMMARY: Immediate termination of parental rights to a child born after the involuntarily termination of prior children was proper where the mother continued to deny physical abuse by the father that led to the prior terminations and maintained a close relationship with him. Eli, DOB 8/12, was born...

SUMMARY: Termination of a mother’s parental rights was proper when there was evidence that the mother had various services provided to her but never progressed in visitations, was not consistent in addressing mental health issues, and displayed abusive behavior to service providers. On August 20...

SUMMARY: A juvenile court cannot allow an attorney to withdraw without a showing that the attorney made diligent efforts to notify the parent of his intent to withdraw. Due process was violated because the court excused the mother’s attorney from representing her at the TPR trial without notifying...

SUMMARY: Adjudication was proper where the evidence established that the child’s stepparent pushed her, slapped her multiple times, called her stupid, threw her against a wall and pushed a heavy vase off a table toward her. Chelsea, age 16, got into a heated argument with her mother, Theresa, and...

SUMMARY: An order setting conditions for supervised visitation was not a final, appealable order because it would have only affected the proceedings for one month until the hearing on the TPR motion. Dennisca is the mother of six children who were removed from her care in March 2011 due to domestic...

SUMMARY: Excluding the party from the proceedings was proper where his notarized acknowledgement of paternity was rebutted by evidence and found to be fraudulent and there was no request to participate on other grounds. Kodi, DOB 8/12, was born to Shawntel. Shortly after birth, Shawntel and Michael...

SUMMARY: Changing the mother’s reunification plan from continuing high school when she was under 19 to actively pursuing a GED as a condition of reunification after she turned 19 was a material change and therefore appealable. Nyamal is the mother of Mya, age 4, and Sunday, age 2, and in July 2010...

SUMMARY: Since the rights advisement at adjudication didn’t include termination of parental rights as a possible consequence, 43-292(6) cannot be a ground for termination. The evidence didn’t support the remaining TPR ground because there was no showing how the father’s prior drug use made him unfit...

SUMMARY: A Nebraska juvenile court does not have jurisdiction of a newborn child who was born in Nebraska but immediately went to live with relatives in Iowa prior to a petition being filed. Violet was born in Douglas County in November 2012 to Abigael, who tested positive for methamphetamine...