In re M.G.

2023 Ohio 1396
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in In re M.G.. Read the opinion of the Court — 2023 Ohio 1316
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided April 28, 2023·No. C-220425·Published

Opinion

[Cite as In re M.G., 2023-Ohio-1396.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

IN RE: M.G. : APPEAL NO. C-220425 TRIAL NO. F21-1455Z :

:

: O P I N I O N.

Appeal From: Hamilton County Juvenile Court

Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed in Part; Appeal is Dismissed in Part

Date of Judgment Entry on Appeal: April 28, 2023

Melissa A. Powers, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and Michelle Browning, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for Appellee Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services,

Kimberly V. Thomas, for Appellant-Mother,

Raymond T. Faller, Hamilton County Public Defender, and Klarysa Benge, Assistant Public Defender, Attorney for the Guardian Ad Litem for M.G.,

J. Thomas Hodges, Attorney for M.G. OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

BOCK, Judge.

{¶1} Appellant-mother appeals the Hamilton County Juvenile Court’s

judgment adjudicating M.G. as a dependent child and the juvenile court’s finding that

the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services (“JFS”) made reasonable

efforts to avoid the removal of the child from the home.

{¶2} Because we find that whether JFS made reasonable efforts is moot, we

dismiss the second assignment of error. But we affirm the remainder of the juvenile

court’s judgment.

I. Relevant Facts and Procedural History

JFS investigated allegations of abuse in the home and opened the case

{¶3} JFS received a report that M.G.’s older brother, D.G., had engaged in

sexual misconduct with a foster sibling. This allegation was substantiated upon

completion of JFS’s investigation.

{¶4} In December 2021, the state charged D.G., as an alleged juvenile

delinquent, with two counts of rape and two counts of gross sexual imposition with a

minor under the age of 12. D.G. was released to his parents’ home on electronic

monitoring. As a condition of D.G.’s release, the juvenile delinquency magistrate

ordered D.G. not to have unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 12.

{¶5} Because the juvenile delinquency magistrate ordered D.G. to have no

unsupervised contact with any children under the age of 12, and because M.G. was

only 11 years old, the juvenile dependency magistrate granted JFS’s request to remove

M.G. from his parents’ home via an emergency telephone ex parte order and placed

him in a foster home.

2 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

The parties agreed to grant interim custody of M.G. to JFS

{¶6} The next day, JFS filed a complaint alleging that M.G. was a dependent

child under R.C. 2151.04(B), a child who lacks adequate parental care due to the

physical or mental condition of the parents, or R.C. 2151.04(C), a child whose

condition or environment is such that it is in the child’s best interest for the state to

assume guardianship. The magistrate held a hearing that same day.

{¶7} All parties, including M.G.’s parents, agreed with granting interim

custody of M.G. to JFS. The magistrate found that, under R.C. 2151.31 and 2151.33,

M.G.’s continued residence in the home while D.G. lived there would not be in M.G.’s

best interest.

{¶8} The magistrate further found that reasonable efforts were made to

prevent M.G.’s removal under R.C. 2151.419, though services were impossible because

M.G. had been removed on an emergency basis. Neither parent objected to the

reasonable-efforts finding.

{¶9} In January 2022, the juvenile court granted JFS’s request to place M.G.

with H.B., a paternal aunt who was a licensed foster parent. The parents agreed with

the placement.

The trial court held adjudicatory hearings

{¶10} At the hearings, a JFS employee testified about the reasons that it was

in M.G.’s best interest for the court to have supervision over the family.

{¶11} Counsel for mother asked the court for “custody [to] be remanded to

[mother] with orders of protective supervision.”

{¶12} At the close of evidence, the magistrate determined that there had been

a risk to M.G. because “there is a child in the home who’s been charged with sexual

3 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

charges that presents children in his presence [sic] [who are under the age of 12] to be

at risk.” The magistrate determined that M.G. was dependent.

{¶13} All parties agreed to remanding custody of M.G. to his parents with

protective orders. The magistrate ordered that, when the brothers slept in the same

home, they must be in separate bedrooms with alarms on each bedroom door. Further,

M.G. was to continue counseling. The magistrate found that JFS had made reasonable

efforts for M.G. to return home.

Mother objected to dependency adjudication

{¶14} Mother objected to the magistrate’s decision. Though she previously

had requested protective orders, she argued in her objection that there was no safety

issue in returning M.G. to the home to warrant protective orders. Mother further

asserted that JFS did not meet its burden to show that it had made reasonable efforts

to prevent M.G.’s removal from the home.

The court overruled mother’s objection and adopted the magistrate’s decision

{¶15} In early August 2022, the juvenile court overruled mother’s objection,

finding that M.G. was removed from his parents’ home due to concerns for his health

and safety, his parents’ “lack of parental protective capacity,” and the juvenile

delinquency magistrate’s order prohibiting D.G. from being around any children

under the age of 12 without supervision. The juvenile court concluded that JFS had

made reasonable efforts to prevent M.G.’s removal from the home. The court adopted

and incorporated the magistrate’s decision into its entry.

The magistrate terminated the custody orders

{¶16} In late August 2022, the magistrate found that it was in M.G.’s best

interest to terminate the protective orders. All parties agreed. M.G. had turned 12 years

4 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

old at this point. The magistrate granted JFS’s motion to terminate temporary custody

and remanded custody of M.G. to the parents with no protective orders. The case was

closed.

II. Law and Analysis

{¶17} Mother appeals, asserting that the juvenile court erred by (1)

adjudicating M.G. dependent, and (2) finding that JFS had made reasonable efforts to

keep M.G. in the home.

A. The juvenile court’s dependency adjudication was not error

JFS has a duty to protect children from abuse, dependency and neglect

{¶18} Abuse, dependency, and neglect (“A.D.N.”) cases are initiated for the

purpose of obtaining court intervention to protect a child. Children alleged to be

abused, neglected, or dependent require immediate placement in a safe, stable

environment. In re B.C., 9th Dist. Summit No. 23044, 2006-Ohio-3286, ¶ 14. The

state’s procedure, which permits an award of temporary custody to JFS upon a finding

that such an award is in the best interest of the child, is narrowly tailored to serve the

state’s compelling interest in protecting children in A.D.N. matters. Id.

{¶19} A juvenile court may order certain dispositional alternatives following

an adjudication of an abused, dependent, or neglected child. In re C.S, 3d Dist.

Paulding No. 11-21-07, 2022-Ohio-2451, ¶ 16. “A juvenile court has broad discretion

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In re M.G., 2023 Ohio 1396 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).

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