Oregon Appellate Court - Feb 26, 2014

by: Abassos • February 28, 2014 • no comments

Dependency – Order to Participate in a Psych Eval

The juvenile statutes authorize a court to order a parent to participate in a psychological evaluation if the evaluation "bears a rational relationship to the bases the court found for taking jurisdiction.” Thus, the juvenile court erred when it found it could only order an evaluation (1) where there is proof that someone suffers or may suffer from a psychological condition that an evaluation would assist to find services to address, and (2) where a parent has been offered services for a period of time and has not appeared to benefit from those services. Remanded for the court to determine whether there is a rational relationship between the bases of jurisdiction and the evaluation. State v. A.E.F 261 Or App __ (Feb 2014).

Dependency Jurisdiction – Sufficient evidence

The evidence on the record supported the juvenile court’s jurisdiction over defendant’s children where (1) mother had a history of medically abusing her children; (2) mother maintained regular contacts with sex-offender father; (3) mother’s newborn was found malnourished; and (4) expert testimony indicated mother’s mental health was fragile. State v. N.B 261 Or App __ (Feb 2014).