Idaho Department of Health & Welfare v. Doe

369 P.3d 932, 160 Idaho 154
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 24, 2016
Docket43652
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 369 P.3d 932 (Idaho Department of Health & Welfare v. Doe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Idaho Department of Health & Welfare v. Doe, 369 P.3d 932, 160 Idaho 154 (Idaho 2016).

Opinions

W.'JONES, Justice.

I. Nature op the Case

The magistrate court for Nez Perce County terminated Appellant Jane Doe’s (“Mother”) parental rights to her nine-year-old child (“Child”) for neglect. Mother raises the following arguments challenging the magistrate court’s decision: (1) the magistrate court’s finding of neglect is not supported by clear and convincing evidence; (2) the magistrate court should have rejected the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s (“IDHW’) petition to terminate parental rights because IDHW had failed to make reasonable efforts to reunify Mother and Child; (3) the magistrate court abused its discretion when it took judicial notice of findings from a prior proceeding; and (4) the magistrate court abused its discretion when it admitted evidence of IDHWs efforts to determine whether the Indian Child Welfare Act applied to Child.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

Appellant is the mother of three children, including Child who is the middle child. Child and Younger Sister are the offspring of Mother and Father. Older Sister is the offspring of Mother from a prior marriage. Father is currently serving a fifteen-year sentence for sexually abusing Older Sister over a period of eight years. IDHW began its investigation of Mother’s care for Child [156]*156following a one-vehicle collision involving Mother, Child, and Younger Sister.

A. IDHW responds to Child’s needs following a collision.

On April 6, 2014, Mother was driving south on U.S. Highway 95 in a 2006 Jeep Commander with Child and Younger Sister when she drove off the road. The Jeep was moving fast enough that after traveling down a grassy embankment it ran through a fence, sheared off a power pole at ground level, and rolled sideways at least two times. No one was wearing a seatbelt and all three occupants were ejected from the Jeep when it rolled over. Mother and Child where hospitalized for their injuries and Younger Sister died.

Witnesses at the scene reported that Mother smelled like alcohol. Law enforcement “found a 750 ml bottle of Bacardi Gold Rum about 2/3rds full on the floor of the back seat.” The toxicology report indicated that Mother’s BAC was 0.102. Mother and Child were transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center for treatment where employees observed that Mother was “obviously intoxicated.”

On April 6 and 8, 2014, IDHW interviewed Mother about the collision and her ability to care for Child. Mother originally denied drinking before the collision but did admit that she had taken a Xanax. She later admitted to “having a couple glasses of wine” in addition to the Xanax. Regarding Child’s care after discharge from the hospital, Mother indicated that Grandmother, who resides in Oregon, could care for Child.

IDHW assigned social worker Chrissy Ed-monson to the case, In determining Grandmother’s fitness to care for Child, Ms. Ed-monson learned from a child protection social worker in Oregon that Grandmother would be an excellent placement option for Child. The Oregon social worker also informed Ms. Edmonson that Father had sexually abused Older Sister and had recently been charged for those crimes. Before issuing charges, the State of Oregon had entered a protection order against Father, but Mother continued to allow him to contact her children. Following her conversation with Oregon child protective services, Ms. Edmonson called Mother and informed her that the IDHW was asking Grandmother to seek guardianship of Child. On April 9, 2014, Child was dis-chai’ged into Grandmother’s custody.

B. The State commences proceedings under the Child Protective Act.

On May 8, 2014, the Chief Deputy Prosecutor for Nez Perce County filed a petition with the magistrate court to determine whether Child was within the jurisdiction of the Child Protective Act, Idaho Code section 16-1603(1), and was abused, neglected, or lacking a stable home environment. That same day, the magistrate court filed an order that Child would remain in the physical custody of Grandmother pending a shelter care hearing.

The magistrate court held shelter care hearings on May 12 and 16 and June 11, 2014, wherein the magistrate court determined that returning Child to Mother’s custody would be contrary to Child’s health and welfare despite IDHWs “reasonable efforts” to reunify Mother and Child. On June 13, 2014, the magistrate court asserted jurisdiction over Child pursuant to Idaho Code section 16-1603(1) and issued a temporary custody order pursuant to Idaho Code section 16-1615(5). In support of its order, the magistrate court found: (1) there was reasonable cause to believe that Child fell within the jurisdiction of the Child Protective Act, based on Mother’s stipulation to abuse, neglect, or lack of a stable home environment; (2) it was in the best interest of Child to vest legal custody in the IDHW pending an adjudicatory hearing; and (3) reasonable efforts had been made, but were not successful, in eliminating the need for placement of Child in shelter care.

On July 11,2014, the magistrate court held an adjudicatory hearing pursuant to Idaho Code section 16-1619. On July 17, 2014, the magistrate court issued its findings and decree from the adjudicatory hearing. Reaffirming its jurisdiction over Child due to neglect, the magistrate court placed Child under IDHWs legal custody based on the following findings: (1) giving custody to [157]*157Mother would be contrary to Child’s welfare; (2) giving IDHW legal custody was in Child’s best interest; and (3) IDHW made reasonable efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for placing Child in foster care, but such efforts were unsuccessful as a result of Child’s safety needs.

On July 28, 2014, the magistrate court held a case plan hearing pursuant to Idaho Code section 16-1621. On August 1, 2014, the magistrate court approved a ease plan for Mother that required her to:

[D]emonstrate that substance use (including alcohol use due to its significant impact on her family) is not present and that substance use and mental health issues do not impact her ability to provide for [Child’s] physical, emotional, and developmental needs. [Mother] needs to ensure that her relationships are free from domestic violence or other concerning or controlling behaviors and she needs to demonstrate safety and stability in her choices and actions. [Mother] must also demonstrate an ability to meet [Child’s] needs and provide [Child] with safe housing.

Additionally, the case plan required Mother to undergo a substance abuse evaluation and comply with treatment recommendations stemming from that evaluation. The magistrate court ordered all parties to comply with the case plan on penalty of contempt.

Regarding Child’s care following the case plan hearing, the magistrate court continued IDHW’s legal custody based on its findings that: (1) Child is not an Indian child under the Indian Child Welfare Act; (2) continuing IDHW’s legal custody was in Child’s best interest; and (3) IDHW made reasonable efforts to prevent or eliminate the need for placement of Child in foster care.

C. Mother struggles with the Case Plan.

To address her mental health issues, Mother engaged a licensed counselor, Larry Terherst, at Nimiipuu Behavioral Health. Mother scheduled weekly sessions with Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

IDHW v. John Doe
514 P.3d 991 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2022)
IDHW v. John Doe
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2022
IDHW v. Jane Doe
464 P.3d 1 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2020)
DHW v. Jane Doe
Idaho Supreme Court, 2019
Idaho Dep't of Health & Welfare v. Jane Doe (In re Jane Doe)
436 P.3d 1232 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2019)
Re: Termination of Parental Rights
Idaho Supreme Court, 2016
Idaho Department of Health & Welfare v. Doe
379 P.3d 1094 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2016)
H&W v. Jane Doe (2016-11)
Idaho Supreme Court, 2016

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
369 P.3d 932, 160 Idaho 154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/idaho-department-of-health-welfare-v-doe-idaho-2016.