Dept. of Human Services v. B. K. F.

When a parent successfully challenges a portion of a jurisdictional judgment over a child, the unchallenged portion may remain valid to uphold jurisdiction.

Mother challenged jurisdictional judgments where the court asserted jurisdiction over and took legal and physical custody of her child due to Mother's substance abuse, exposing the child to risk of harm, and inability to maintain a safe, stable environment, among other things. On appeal, Mother contended that the court erred in concluding DHS's evidence was sufficient to prove that, despite being offered or provided services by DHS or other agencies, she was unable or unwilling to improve her circumstances to provide a safe environment for the child. DHS conceded the evidence was insufficient, but because Mother did not challenge the other grounds upon which jurisdiction was asserted, the Court affirmed those parts. Jurisdictional judgments reversed and remanded for entry of judgments establishing dependency jurisdiction based on allegations other than (f) and (i); otherwise affirmed.