Background
Deonte B. and Shae B. are the natural parents of three children: Kendal (born October 2018), Kassious (born November 2019), and Kelani (born May 2021). The children were removed from Shae’s care in October 2023 after emergency services responded to her home due to smoke. Upon arrival, Shae appeared confused, incoherent, and lethargic, and the smoke was caused by food burning on the stove. The children were initially placed with Deonte’s mother.
In April 2024, the State filed a supplemental petition alleging Deonte posed a risk to the children, citing his February arrest for drug possession, a June drug charge, and an April 28 incident in which he was stopped by police less than an hour before a scheduled visit with the children. During that stop, Deonte was found to be driving with a suspended license and in possession of marijuana, and officers suspected he was driving under the influence. In August 2024, the children were adjudicated as within the meaning of Nebraska’s child welfare statute based on Deonte’s actions. The juvenile court issued various orders requiring both parents to complete co-occurring evaluations, participate in drug testing, obtain stable housing and employment, participate in supervised visitation, and refrain from using drugs or alcohol not prescribed by a medical professional.
Throughout the case, neither parent sustained progress toward reunification. Deonte tested positive for alcohol and cocaine in October 2024 on a day scheduled for visitation, and DHHS discovered he had allowed the children to stay overnight unsupervised in violation of court orders. Shae failed to engage in multiple services, was discharged by family support and drug testing agencies, and had no contact with the children for eight months. In February 2025, Shae’s parenting time was changed from supervised to therapeutic, but she remained unable to address outstanding warrants and could not attend the termination hearing scheduled for June 2025.
The Court’s Holding
The Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed the juvenile court’s termination of parental rights for both Deonte and Shae. The court found that a clear statutory basis for termination existed under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-292(7), which permits termination when a child has been in out-of-home placement for 15 or more months of the most recent 22 months. The children had been continuously in out-of-home placement since October 2023—approximately 17 months when the State filed its motion to terminate in April 2025. The court noted that this statutory provision operates mechanically and does not require proof of any specific parental fault.
Beyond the statutory basis, the court also found that both Deonte and Shae were unfit parents. Regarding Deonte, although he initially made progress by obtaining housing and employment and participating in family support services, he failed to sustain this progress. He committed substance abuse violations, was incarcerated at multiple points during 2024, failed to follow recommendations from his co-occurring evaluation (specifically refusing batterer’s intervention and child-parent psychotherapy despite court order), and was discharged from family support due to nonengagement. Most significantly, after successfully completing intensive outpatient treatment in March 2025, he tested positive for alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamine less than three weeks later and reported that he saw only a moderate need for alcohol treatment and no need for drug treatment.
Regarding Shae, the court found she “failed to engage in the services at her disposal, some of which she herself had requested.” She was discharged from family support, drug testing, and two visitation agencies due to lack of engagement. She failed to address outstanding warrants despite repeated direction from her case manager. Most troubling, after eight months without contact, when she finally had a supervised visit with the children in January 2025, she allegedly told her son Kassious that if he had an emergency he could live with her—resulting in Kassious engaging in self-harming behavior (repeatedly striking his head against a door until it bled). The visitation agency subsequently discharged her due to concerns she had been under the influence during that visit. Although Shae delayed obtaining an updated co-occurring evaluation until March 2025, she was discharged from subsequent outpatient treatment less than a month later for failure to participate in group sessions and for being found in a male restroom with a male client.
Key Takeaways
- Statutory basis for termination under § 43-292(7) exists mechanically once a child has been in out-of-home placement 15+ months of the most recent 22 months, without requiring proof of parental fault.
- Courts do not require parental perfection, but do require sustained progress toward reunification; initial progress that is not maintained supports unfitness findings.
- Consistent failure to engage in ordered services, repeated substance abuse violations, and conduct during visitation that harms the child support termination even where a parent makes some initial improvements.
- Children cannot be “suspended in foster care” awaiting uncertain parental maturity; permanency decisions must be made within a reasonable timeframe.
Why It Matters
This decision reinforces Nebraska’s policy that the 15-month out-of-home placement provision in § 43-292(7) provides a mechanistic and relatively straightforward basis for termination once satisfied, protecting children from indefinite placement in foster care. The court’s affirmation makes clear that even where parents demonstrate some capacity to improve (as Deonte did with initial housing and employment), failure to sustain progress and continued substance abuse violations will support termination. The opinion underscores that parental rights are not absolute and must yield to children’s need for permanency and stability when parents cannot or will not rehabilitate themselves within a reasonable timeframe.
For practitioners, the decision illustrates the importance of service engagement and compliance with court orders in parental rights cases. Shae’s extended period of nonparticipation and Deonte’s inability to refrain from substance use despite treatment completion proved fatal to reunification efforts. The case also highlights that even temporary improvements in parental behavior do not offset patterns of disengagement or substance abuse relapses in the termination analysis.