Dept. of Human Services v. T. S. J.

“[F]or the juvenile court to have jurisdiction over a child pursuant to ORS 419B.100 (1)(c), the child’s condition or circumstances must give rise to a threat of serious loss or injury to the child. The threat must be current. And, there must be a reasonable likelihood that the threat will be realized.” Dept. of Human Services v. A. F., 243 Or App 379, 386, 259 P3d 957 (2011).

Mother appealed from the juvenile court's judgment taking dependency jurisdiction over her children, A and S. Mother assigned error to trial court’s ruling that the allegations to which she and father admitted were sufficient to support jurisdiction. On appeal, Mother argued that the admissions do not support the conclusion that A and S were exposed to a current, nonspeculative threat of serious loss or injury, which is required for dependency jurisdiction under ORS 419B.100 (1)(c). In response, DHS argued that the juvenile court did not commit plain error because Mother invited any error by making her admissions and waiving a hearing, and that, even if the court did err, the Court should not exercise its discretion to correct that error. “[F]or the juvenile court to have jurisdiction over a child pursuant to ORS 419B.100 (1)(c), the child’s condition or circumstances must give rise to a threat of serious loss or injury to the child. The threat must be current. And, there must be a reasonable likelihood that the threat will be realized.” Dept. of Human Services v. A. F., 243 Or App 379, 386, 259 P3d 957 (2011). The Court held that the Mother's and father's admissions were sufficient to support the court's exercise of dependency jurisdiction over the children. Affirmed.