Dept. of Human Services v. S. E. K. H./J. K. H.

Under ORS 419B.337, juvenile courts have the authority to review placement decisions made by the Department of Human Services, but cannot compel the department to place children in specific living arrangements.

Appellants appealed the juvenile court’s jurisdictional and dispositional judgments in which the court took dependency jurisdiction two children under ORS 419B.100(1)(c). On appeal, Appellants assigned err to the juvenile court’s determination that the juvenile court did not have the authority to order the Department of Human Services (DHS) to place the children in a specific living arrangement with their Grandmother. In this case, the juvenile court determined the children’s conditions and circumstances endangered them, and placed the children in the legal custody of the Department of Human Services (DHS). Under ORS 419B.337, DHS has the authority to decide the planning and provisions of children in its care; the juvenile court has the authority to review DHS decisions. Therefore, the Court of Appeals held that the juvenile court could not compel DHS to place the children in the custody of their grandmother. Affirmed.