Dept. of Human Services v. A. D.

A juvenile court's order of adoption rather than reunification will be upheld where it is established on the record that DHS made a reasonable effort at reunification and that the parents will not be able to make the progress necessary in order for the child to be returned to the home in a reasonable amount of time.

Mother and Father appealed from an order of the juvenile court that changed the permanency plan for their child from reunification to adoption. The Parents argued that the Department of Human Services (DHS) had not made reasonable efforts to promote reunification, which the trial court found that it had, and that the trial court erred in determining that the Parents would not be able to make sufficient progress in a reasonable amount of time for the Child to be returned home. The Court of Appeals found that the record supports the findings of the juvenile court; DHS only needed to made reasonable efforts in following the recommendations made by the clinician and the parents, due to their decreased cognitive abilities, would not be able to make the necessary progress for the Child to return home in a reasonable amount of time. Affirmed.