Dept. of Human Services v. R.C.

“When the permanency plan at the time of a permanency hearing is reunification, the juvenile court is authorized to change the plan away from reunification only if DHS proves that (1) it made reasonable efforts to make it possible for the child to be reunified with his or her parent and (2) notwithstanding those efforts, the parent’s progress was insufficient to make reunification possible.” ORS 419B.476(2)(a); Dept. of Human Services v. R. B., 263 Or App 735, 745 (2014).

After making efforts towards reunification with his son, G, upon being released from incarceration, Father was involved in a fight with another inmate, prompting the Department of Human Services (DHS) to change G’s permanency plan from reunification to adoption. Father assigns error to the juvenile court’s determinations that DHS made reasonable efforts toward reunification and that Father made insufficient progress toward reunification. “When the permanency plan at the time of a permanency hearing is reunification, the juvenile court is authorized to change the plan away from reunification only if DHS proves that (1) it made reasonable efforts to make it possible for the child to be reunified with his or her parent and (2) notwithstanding those efforts, the parent’s progress was insufficient to make reunification possible.” ORS 419B.476(2)(a); Dept. of Human Services v. R. B., 263 Or App 735, 745 (2014). The Court determined that DHS made reasonable efforts toward reunification by arranging virtual visits and helping Father obtain the necessary skills to safely parent G, and that the record showed Father made insufficient progress towards that goal. Additionally, because G had a greater need for permanency, the juvenile court’s ultimate decision permitting DHS’s change to G’s permanency plan was supported. Affirmed.