Dept. of Human Services v. C. L. R.

“A juvenile court may assert dependency jurisdiction over a child whose ‘condition or circumstances are such as to endanger the welfare of the [child] or of others.’” ORS 419B.100(1)(c).

Mother appealed a juvenile court judgment asserting dependency jurisdiction over her child on the basis that mother’s mental health problems impair her parenting ability. On appeal, Mother argued that the record in the juvenile court proceeding does not include evidence sufficient to establish that, at the time of the dependency hearing, her mental health challenges put her child at risk of serious harm or loss that was reasonably likely to be realized. In response, DHS argued that the incident resulted in trauma to the child that continued to affect her relationship with mother, and because Mother had not yet engaged in counseling services, there were current risks that had not been mitigated. “A juvenile court may assert dependency jurisdiction over a child whose ‘condition or circumstances are such as to endanger the welfare of the [child] or of others.’” ORS 419B.100(1)(c). The Court found that there had not been a serious risk of harm established by Mother’s testimony acknowledging that she needs counseling to have a healthy parent-child relationship, nor did it establish that the current state of their relationship somehow endangers the child. The Court held that brief testimony regarding the need for counseling does not justify an exercise of dependency jurisdiction. Reversed.