Dept. of Human Services v. C. N. ( 2022 )

523
This is a nonprecedential memorandum opinion
pursuant to ORAP 10.30 and may not be cited
except as provided in ORAP 10.30(1).
Submitted November 22, affirmed December 29, 2022
In the Matter of N. E. L. N.,
a Child.
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,
Petitioner-Respondent,
v.
C. N.,
Appellant.
Deschutes County Circuit Court
21JU00543; A179023
Alycia M. Herriott, Judge.
Aron Perez-Selsky filed the brief for appellant.
Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, Benjamin Gutman,
Solicitor General, and Inge D. Wells, Assistant Attorney
General, filed the brief for respondent.
Before Tookey, Presiding Judge, and Kamins, Judge, and
DeVore, Senior Judge.
KAMINS, J.
Affirmed.
524 Dept. of Human Services v. C. N.
KAMINS, J.
Mother appeals from a judgment of the juvenile
court changing the permanency plan for her child, N, from
reunification to adoption.1 Her only challenge is to the juve-
nile court’s determination that she had not made sufficient
progress to enable reunification to occur within a reason-
able amount of time. We affirm.
Because mother does not request de novo review,
we “view the evidence, as supplemented and buttressed by
permissible derivative inferences, in the light most favor-
able to the juvenile court’s disposition and assess whether,
when so viewed, the record was legally sufficient to permit
the juvenile court’s change to the permanency plan.” Dept.
of Human Services v. S. M. H., 283 Or App 295, 297, 388
P3d 1204 (2017) (internal quotation marks omitted). The
only question before us is whether mother “made sufficient
progress to make it possible for the ward to safely return
home.” ORS 419B.476(2)(a). “[A] parent’s progress [is] evalu-
ated by reference to the facts that formed the bases for juve-
nile court jurisdiction.” Dept. of Human Services v. C. W.,
312 Or App 572, 580, 493 P3d 74 (2021). Here, the juvenile
court found N to be within its jurisdiction based on mother’s
admission that her “substance abuse impairs her ability to
safely parent the child.”
We conclude that the evidence supports the juvenile
court’s conclusion that mother had made insufficient prog-
ress towards addressing her substance abuse issues in order
to have N returned within a reasonable time. By the date
of the permanency hearing, mother had been in residential
treatment for two days. See Dept. of Human Services v. N. S.,
246 Or App 341, 351, 265 P3d 792 (2011), rev den, 351 Or
586 (2012) (“[A] parent’s [m]ere participation in services
* * * is not sufficient to establish adequate progress toward
reunification.” (Internal quotation marks omitted; second
bracket and ellipses in N. S.)). Evidence in the record indi-
cated that mother had used drugs within weeks of the per-
manency hearing. Cf. Dept. of Human Services v. G. E., 246
Or App 136, 139, 265 P3d 53 (2011) (mother having failed to
1
Father is not a party to this appeal.
Nonprecedential Memo Op: 323 Or App 523 (2022) 525
follow treatment recommendation did not provide basis for
continuing jurisdiction where uncontradicted testimony was
that mother did not currently suffer from substance abuse
problem). Additionally, mother had not attended any visits
with N for months and was unaware of N’s current medical
needs. Cf. C. W., 312 Or App at 582-83 (where evidence indi-
cated no safety concerns and that mother was able to pro-
vide child with support and care and recognize their needs,
mother’s earlier relapse and failure to engage in treatment
did not establish that she had made insufficient progress).
Although it is commendable that mother has begun
treatment, the recency of these efforts after months of daily
substance use supports the juvenile court’s conclusion that
mother had made insufficient progress to have N returned
to her within a reasonable time. See Dept. of Human Services
v. L. A. S., 259 Or App 125, 130-31, 312 P3d 613 (2013)
(mother’s history of substance abuse combined with belated
and incomplete progress through treatment supported juve-
nile court’s conclusion that it was not reasonable to wait to
change the permanency plan).
Affirmed.