SUMMARY: A parent cannot delay a proceeding by challenging paternity when a default order of paternity had been entered years earlier and has remained uncontested by that parent. Javontae, DOB 6/93, is the child of James, who has been incarcerated a majority of Javontae’s life. On June 3, 2010, the...

SUMMARY: The parent’s occasional compliance with the court ordered plan over three years, is outweighed by the child’s need for a permanent home and termination of parental rights was therefore proper. Kailynn I, DOB 1/00, was removed from Dawn, her mother, in November 2006 pursuant to an arrest for...

SUMMARY: The physical locus of a child at the time an amended petition is filed does not affect the subject matter jurisdiction of the presiding juvenile court. Tegan, a child under one, was taken to the emergency room by her mother for second-degree burns on her face, ears and neck. The doctors...

SUMMARY: Termination of the father’s parental rights was proper because he failed to follow through on sex offender and parenting programs while incarcerated and had poor interaction with the children during therapeutic visitation even when prompted, and because the children’s behaviors had improved...

SUMMARY: Termination of parental rights was improper as to the children not connected to the inappropriate sexual contact because the parents established significant progress in their ability to care and protect the children. However, with the children involved in the sexual assault, the parents did...

SUMMARY: There is no exception to making “active efforts” as there is for reasonable efforts under the aggravated circumstances exception of N.R.S. 43-283.01 On September 30, 2008, Jamyia M., was removed from the home at 2 months of age after being hospitalized for a serious, non-accidental...

SUMMARY: Immediate termination after removal was proper based on prior terminations and evidence establishing that the mother continued to struggle with drug addiction and mental health issues. Maddison, DOB 1/08, was removed from the mother on October 30, 2009. The mother, Tasha, had her parental...

SUMMARY: Refusal to invalidate an adjudication order that was not ICWA compliant was proper because ICWA provisions apply prospectively from the formal identification of the child as Indian, because there was no basis for collateral attack and because Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-1507 does not apply where...

SUMMARY: Termination was improper where the mother had substantially complied with virtually every requirement specified by the court, had improved significantly as a parent and, while there were still some concerns about the cleanliness of the home, there were no concerns about the children’s...

SUMMARY: Evidence establishing the mother’s repeated substance use, subsequent drug treatment programs and ongoing failure to provide stability for the children showed that termination was in the children’s best interests regardless of the loving relationship she had with them. The judge’s...

SUMMARY: A modification of text was made in the opinion of In re Interest of Emma, 18 Neb. App. 389, 782 N.W.2d 330 (2010), namely that a September 30, 2009, where active efforts findings were improperly made was a continuation of a previous order and therefore not final and appealable. On a motion...

SUMMARY: Adjudication was proper where there was a prior case involving physical abuse by a brother against Seherzada and current credible evidence establishing that both brothers had physical harmed Seherzada and that the mother was allowing them to do so. On August 31, 2009, the State filed a...

SUMMARY: Holding the adjudication hearing 8 months after the petition was filed where the child is 17 years of age and the abuser already sentenced for sexual assault is hardly ideal but not grounds for reversal. Evidence establishing that the interpreter at the therapy sessions was fluent in...

SUMMARY: The mother’s unwillingness to address her serious mental health issues and demonstrated inability to care for the child establish that termination of parental rights was proper. Even though 43-292.01 was used as the statutory basis for termination instead of 43-292, it is clear from...

SUMMARY: Where a child has been adjudicated pursuant to N.R.S. 43-247(3)(a) and a permanency objective of adoption has been established, a juvenile court has authority under the juvenile code to order DHHS to accept a tendered relinquishment of parental rights. Gabriela H., DOB 9/97, was left at an...