Dept. of Human Services v. A. F.

“If evidence in the record rationally leads the juvenile court to believe that a parent’s mental health might be contributing to an established jurisdiction basis, it is permissible for the court to order an evaluation of the parent to determine whether a mental health issue in fact exists.” Dept. of Human Services v. L.G., 250 Or App 290, 291, 280 P3d 396 (2012).

Mother appealed a juvenile disposition ordering her to submit to a psychological evaluation. Mother argued that the cause of her poor parenting was due to her untreated use of methamphetamine and that there was no need for a psychological exam. Mother asserted that there is no relationship between the ordered evaluation, and the jurisdiction basis, and that the juvenile court exceeded its authority. In response, DHS argued that a psychological evaluation was appropriate because the child’s circumstances prior to removal were so bad that they “speak to a level of neglect that rises beyond that which * * * is likely to have been cause by simply a drug addiction alone.” “If evidence in the record rationally leads the juvenile court to believe that a parent’s mental health might be contributing to an established jurisdiction basis, it is permissible for the court to order an evaluation of the parent to determine whether a mental health issue in fact exists.” Dept. of Human Services v. L.G., 250 Or App 290, 291, 280 P3d 396 (2012). The Court found that the juvenile court could rationally conclude that something more than drug addiction might be at play with respect to mother’s substantial neglect of child and slow engagement in services, specifically a possible mental health issue that might prevent mother from successfully ameliorating the jurisdictional bases unless identified and addressed. Thus, the Court held that it is rational in these circumstances to order a psychological evaluation of mother. Affirmed.