People Ex Rel. Ec

259 P.3d 1272, 2010 WL 4241599
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 28, 2010
Docket10CA1117
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 259 P.3d 1272 (People Ex Rel. Ec) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People Ex Rel. Ec, 259 P.3d 1272, 2010 WL 4241599 (Colo. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

259 P.3d 1272 (2010)

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Petitioner-Appellee,
In the Interest of E.C., Child, and Concerning S.C., Respondent-Appellant.

No. 10CA1117.

Colorado Court of Appeals, Div. II.

October 28, 2010.

*1274 Gradisar, Trechter, Ripperger & Roth, David A. Roth, Special Assistant County Attorney, Pueblo, Colorado, for Petitioner-Appellee.

Theodore (Ted) J. Malouff, Pueblo, Colorado, for Respondent-Appellant.

Opinion by Judge GABRIEL.

In this dependency and neglect case, S.C. (father) appeals from an order allocating parental responsibilities for his daughter, E.C. (child), to the child's maternal aunt, J.H. (aunt). Because we cannot determine from the record whether the Pueblo County Department of Social Services (Department) complied with the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-1963 (2010) (ICWA), we remand for further proceedings.

I. Background

This case began in August 2009 as a result of the Department's investigation into the circumstances surrounding I.M.'s (mother's) visit to the Family Services Center. Mother informed the Center's staff that father had severely beaten and abused her in Texas, which resulted in her fleeing to Pueblo with the child to live with aunt. Mother said she had suffered domestic violence at father's hands for the last nineteen years and that father kept her and the child isolated and would not allow the child to attend school. Mother also reported that she had fourteen children, lost her parental rights to four of them, and was not sure where the rest were. In fact, further investigation disclosed that mother had previously lost her parental rights to six, not four, of her children.

A case manager from the Family Services Center accompanied mother to district court, where mother obtained a civil protection order against father. Mother also requested from the district court an allocation of parental responsibilities for the child. See § 14-10-123(1)(a)(II), C.R.S.2010.

Thereafter, mother had difficulties with aunt, and she and child left aunt's home and moved to a YWCA. They left the YWCA after several days, however, and resumed living with father, notwithstanding the existing protection order. The Department then filed a motion in a separate district court (D & N court) proceeding, seeking emergency custody of E.C. because of safety concerns. The D & N court granted temporary custody to the Department, which placed the child in a foster home.

A shelter hearing was held in the D & N court on September 9, 2009. At this hearing, the parents informed the court that the child may be a member of, or may have been eligible for membership in, an Indian tribe. The Department was instructed to investigate in accordance with the ICWA. In addition, the court authorized, and the Department subsequently filed, a dependency and neglect petition. Finally, the court found that (1) it would not be in the child's best interests to be returned to the parents' custody because return would "subject the child to a substantial and immediate danger or threat of such danger," (2) out-of-home placement was appropriate "in order to prevent imminent physical damage or harm to the child," and (3) reasonable efforts had been made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child. Thus, the court ordered the parents to cooperate with the Department; submit to urinalysis testing and a domestic violence evaluation; attend supervised visits with the child three times per week; arrange for a determination of foster care fees; and provide information regarding relatives so *1275 that the Department could assess potential placements for the child.

On October 5, 2009, father failed to appear for a pretrial conference in the D & N court, and that court adjudicated the child dependent and neglected as to father by default. On October 19, 2009, mother stipulated to the dependency and neglect petition, and the child was adjudicated dependent and neglected as to her as well. At that time, the parties agreed that aunt would be added to the case as a special respondent.

The D & N court then approved a treatment plan that, among other things, required the parents to cooperate with the Department by signing releases for all treating agencies and by keeping in contact with the caseworker. In addition, father was required to comply with urinalysis testing, participate in any recommended substance-abuse treatment, and remain substance-free. The parents were also to participate in parenting classes, attend therapy sessions, and report immediately any changes in their residences.

On October 23, 2009, the district court, which still had mother's petition for an allocation of parental responsibilities before it, entered an order noting the pending D & N court proceeding and certifying (i.e., transferring) the allocation of parental responsibilities issue to the D & N court, which had exclusive jurisdiction to decide custody issues. See § 19-1-104(4)(a), C.R.S.2010; C.R.J.P. 4.4; see also People in Interest of D.C., 851 P.2d 291, 293 (Colo.App.1993) (dissolution of marriage statutes cease to apply when a petition for custody filed pursuant to section 14-10-123, C.R.S.2010, is certified to be determined as part of a pending dependency and neglect action).

The parents' compliance with their treatment plan was poor. They did not communicate with the Department or return messages. They did not enroll or participate in most of the required services. They also continued to violate the existing restraining order, and mother admitted that she had resumed living with father. The parents did, however, actively participate in supervised visitation with the child.

In December 2009, the Department filed a motion in the D & N court for a permanency planning hearing. In that motion, the Department alleged that the child could not be returned home at that time and that there was no substantial probability that she could be returned home within six months. A hearing was scheduled for February 5, 2010, and notice of this hearing was sent to the parents. Thereafter, however, the parents' efforts to comply with their treatment plan improved, and the D & N court continued the hearing to May 7, 2010.

On March 31, 2010, the Department issued a report recommending that the child be placed with aunt and her husband. The report also specified separate visitation schedules for each parent. Although the report stated that mother and father both agreed to this arrangement, it contained a notation that father "did not sign the agreement due to his absence at a scheduled visit on 3/27/10."

The D & N court conducted a permanency planning hearing on May 7, 2010. At this hearing, father testified that he objected to placement of the child with aunt and that he wanted custody of the child returned to him. After hearing testimony from father and the caseworker, the court concluded that aunt should receive an allocation of parental responsibilities for the child, although father should be allowed visitation. Pursuant to aunt's request and under section 19-1-104(6), C.R.S.2010, the D & N court further ordered that the case be transferred back to the district court, and the court certified its order as a custody-allocation of parental responsibilities order in the domestic relations case. See

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Bluebook (online)
259 P.3d 1272, 2010 WL 4241599, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-ec-coloctapp-2010.