In re B.E. — Unfinished services did not defeat termination
The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed termination of parental rights where the father had nearly ten months outside custody to complete offered services but did not do so.
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Juvenile Law
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In re K.J. — CHINS finding required more than possible return to mother
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a CHINS adjudication because the child was receiving needed services in her father’s care and a possible return to mother did not establish a need for coercive intervention.
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Piper P. v. Barron B. — SJC rejects expungement of vacated juvenile harassment order
The Massachusetts SJC held that neither Chapter 258E nor inherent judicial power permits expungement of a juvenile harassment-order record merely because later evidence did not substantiate the allegations.
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Commonwealth v. Vihaan V. — Appeals Court rejects association-based patfrisk
The Massachusetts Appeals Court held that a firearm report and association with a matching passenger did not create individualized reasonable suspicion to frisk a juvenile.
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T.M. v. State — Juvenile court could place child with a nonparent
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a juvenile’s DOC commitment because Indiana law allowed the juvenile court to consider placement and wardship with the nonparent who had been caring for him.
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T.L.W. v. State — Juvenile probation revocation does not trigger double jeopardy bar to escape adjudication
The court affirmed. Juvenile-probation revocation determines whether the young person violated conditions of an existing disposition; it is not a prosecution imposing punishment for a new offense. Like adult probation revocation, it therefore does not place the probationer in jeopardy for the alleged conduct and does not prevent a later delinquency adjudication based on that conduct.
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M.A.F. — Ineffective-assistance claim in termination case requires trial-court inquiry
The published opinion remanded for the trial court to determine whether counsel performed deficiently and, if so, whether those deficiencies deprived the mother of a fair hearing. The existing appellate record did not permit the Court of Appeals to resolve the fact-sensitive ineffective-assistance questions itself. A separate concurrence elaborated on the standards the trial court should use on remand.
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In re E.D. — Estrangement alone cannot support dependency finding
The Utah Court of Appeals reversed a dependency adjudication because a noncustodial father’s lack of a prior relationship did not establish inability to care for his child.
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S.H. v. DCS — Court mandates dismissal after late CHINS disposition
The Indiana Court of Appeals held that missing the 30-day CHINS dispositional deadline requires dismissal without prejudice when a timely motion is filed and no continuance extended the deadline.
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In re J.M. — Prosecutor may challenge an improperly offered juvenile diversion
A divided Utah Supreme Court held that a prosecutor may file a delinquency petition after an ineligible minor received a nonjudicial adjustment from probation.
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In the Interest of RCR — Wyoming Boys’ School Cannot Hold Alleged Delinquents Before Adjudication
The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed a contempt order against the Wyoming Boys’ School for refusing to admit an alleged delinquent juvenile before adjudication. The court held that Wyoming law expressly prohibits pre-adjudication placement at WBS, which is a reformatory for adjudicated delinquents — not a juvenile detention facility — and that the juvenile court abused its discretion by ordering such placement. All three exceptions to the mootness doctrine applied, allowing the court to reach the merits despite the case having been resolved below.
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In re: J.Q. — Trial Court Lacked Authority to Cease Reunification Efforts at Review Hearing; Permanency Planning Hearing Required
The North Carolina Court of Appeals vacated an order ceasing a mother’s reunification efforts because the trial court entered that order at a review hearing rather than a permanency planning hearing, holding that N.C.G.S. § 7B-906.1(d1) does not authorize courts to cease reunification at review hearings—that authority belongs exclusively to permanency planning hearings under § 7B-906.2(b)—while also cautioning that missed 30-day permanency planning hearing deadlines must be challenged by writ of mandamus, not appeal.
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In re J.Q. — Trial Court Erred by Ceasing Reunification Efforts at Review Hearing; Only Permanency Planning Hearings Authorize That Step
The North Carolina Court of Appeals vacated a review-hearing order ceasing reunification efforts, holding that N.C.G.S. § 7B-906.2(b) reserves that power exclusively for permanency planning hearings; the trial court’s failure to schedule a permanency planning hearing within the statutory thirty-day window was an error but not prejudicial on appeal, with mandamus the proper real-time remedy.
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People v. Vanderhorst
Appellate Division affirms retention of adolescent offender case in Youth Part, finding extraordinary circumstances survived appeal waiver as jurisdictional issue and creating inter-departmental split.
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In re T.L. — Court affirms supervised visitation order against father’s due process challenge
The Sixth District upheld a graduated supervised visitation order for a father newly established as the biological parent, finding the order sufficiently specific and not violative of due process.
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Matter of Ronald K. — Fourth Department Upholds Termination of Parental Rights, Addresses Adjournment Request
The Fourth Department affirms the termination of a father’s parental rights under Social Services Law section 384-b, addressing only his challenge to the denial of an adjournment request while dismissing remaining claims.
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Matter of Lockhart v. Monica — Fourth Department Holds Attorney for the Child May File Family Offense Petition Against Nonparent
In a significant opinion interpreting Family Court Act article 8, the Fourth Department holds that an attorney for the child has authority to file a family offense petition on behalf of a child against a nonparent, broadening access to protective relief for children.
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Matter of De’Lawrence S. — Fourth Department Affirms Finding of Neglect and Foster Care Placement
The Fourth Department affirms Family Court’s determination that the respondent father neglected his children and upholds the continuation of foster care placement.
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In re A.H. — Utah Court of Appeals Again Vacates TPR Order After Finding All Three of Father’s Trial Attorneys Rendered Ineffective Assistance
For the third time, the Utah Court of Appeals vacated an order terminating Father’s parental rights as to two young children, holding that all three of his trial attorneys — retained counsel and two appointed counsel — rendered ineffective assistance by failing to file pretrial disclosures and seek a continuance, depriving Father of the ability to call sibling witnesses whose testimony bore directly on the best-interest determination; the court also held that Utah’s IAC right extends to retained attorneys who never formally enter an appearance.
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In re C.M. — Court affirms permanent custody despite mother’s absence from trial
The Eighth District affirmed permanent custody after the juvenile court denied a continuance for a mother who had missed four of five prior hearings, finding no due process violation.
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In re K.G. — Court reverses permanent custody grant for improper denial of continuance
In a 2-1 decision, the Eighth District reversed a permanent custody grant, finding the juvenile court abused its discretion by denying a continuance when CCDCFS filed an amended case plan just six days before the hearing.
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In re Ju.G. — Court affirms permanent custody after mother denied partner molested her daughter
The Eighth District affirmed permanent custody of four children where the mother persistently denied that her partner sexually abused her older daughter and failed to complete case-plan objectives.
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Matter of Aliano E. — Third Department Affirms Termination of Parental Rights Based on Permanent Neglect
The Third Department affirms Family Court’s termination of a father’s parental rights based on permanent neglect, finding the father failed to plan for the child’s future despite available services.
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In re Gilliam Minors — Relative Placement with Biological Father Requires Explicit Best-Interest Analysis Before Termination
The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed termination of a mother’s parental rights to her youngest child but vacated the termination as to the oldest child, holding that the trial court failed to expressly consider the oldest child’s relative placement with her biological father—an explicit statutory factor that weighs against termination and must be addressed on the record before a best-interest determination can stand.