Background
Denver Human Services filed a dependency-and-neglect petition concerning N.W.N., then two years old, and his four-year-old sister. The petition alleged that mother used substances and that the developmentally delayed children had not received regular medical care. Mother entered a no-fault admission, and the juvenile court adjudicated the children dependent and neglected.
The court-approved treatment plan required mother to attend family time and learn the children’s needs, complete a mental-health evaluation and recommended treatment, participate in substance-abuse evaluation and sobriety monitoring, and cooperate with professionals. More than two years after the petition was filed, the juvenile court terminated mother’s parental rights to N.W.N. Mother appealed, arguing that the Department had not made reasonable reunification efforts because it failed to provide family time.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals affirmed. It concluded that the record supported the juvenile court’s finding that the Department made reasonable efforts to rehabilitate mother and that the lack of consistent family time resulted from mother’s lack of engagement, not departmental inaction.
The Department referred mother for family time within ten days of filing the petition, maintained a regular visitation schedule, and made a new referral when mother requested visitation in December 2023. Mother attended inconsistently, stopped visiting about five months before the termination hearing, and was discharged from the family-time provider after three months without engagement. The caseworker also repeatedly tried to re-engage mother through emails, phone numbers, Facebook Messenger, unannounced home visits, and mother’s counsel.
The court further rejected mother’s transportation argument. The Department provided monthly bus tickets and passes, as well as gift cards and gas cards, and mother did not attend a family team meeting scheduled to address transportation barriers. On this record, the appellate court found no basis to reverse the termination judgment.
Key Takeaways
- Reasonable efforts require diligence and care, including appropriate services supporting a parent’s treatment plan.
- A parent remains responsible for using offered services and engaging in treatment.
- Evidence that an agency offered visitation, renewed referrals, transportation support, and repeated outreach can support a reasonable-efforts finding despite unsuccessful reunification.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates that a reasonable-efforts inquiry focuses on both the services offered and the parent’s participation. A department need not achieve reunification when the record shows it provided appropriate support and the parent did not consistently engage with it.