Department of Human Services v. K. V., 276 Or. App. 782

Background

Parents (mother and father) appealed juvenile court jurisdiction under ORS 419B.100(1)(c) over their 2-year-old child A after DHS alleged A’s welfare was endangered.
Mother was found to have inflicted abusive head trauma on another child in the home, S (eight months), causing severe brain injury; parties do not contest jurisdiction as to mother.
Father had an earlier domestic-violence-related arrest (wallet thrown while A was present), violated a no-contact order, pled to harassment, completed anger-management but not batterer’s intervention or documented substance-abuse treatment.
S showed unexplained, fresh bruising while living with parents; medical testimony concluded injuries were non-accidental and consistent with abuse.
DHS presented evidence that father (1) previously failed to protect S, (2) likely would fail to protect A from mother, (3) had ongoing alcohol problems that impaired parenting, and (4) had committed domestic violence in A’s presence. Juvenile court found allegations against father proven and assumed jurisdiction; parents appealed as to father only.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Parents)	Defendant's Argument (DHS)	Held
Whether juvenile court had jurisdiction over A based on father likely failing to protect A from mother	Father’s separation from mother and lack of contact for seven months made future risk speculative	Father previously lived with mother when S was bruised/injured, violated no-contact order, and did not accept mother abused S — supports likely future failure to protect	Court held evidence supported finding father likely would fail to protect A and that created current risk of serious harm; jurisdiction proper
Whether father’s alcohol use created a current risk to A	Father completed an assessment showing no treatment needed; separation reduced risk	Assessment was not in the record; community reports indicated ongoing alcohol problems; father hadn’t taken steps to address substance abuse	Court held record supported finding father remained in need of treatment and that alcohol use posed current risk
Whether father’s prior domestic violence posed a current risk to A	Harassment incident was isolated and remote in time; no recent incidents in seven months	Incident occurred in A’s presence, father violated court order, mother reported recurrent intoxication-related anger; anger-management alone insufficient	Court held father’s domestic violence, in context of alcohol and failure to remediate, supported finding of current risk
Nexus requirement: whether DHS proved connection between father’s conduct and current risk of serious loss or injury to A	Parents argued DHS failed to show nexus or present non-speculative risk	DHS relied on medical opinion that abuse of one child predicts risk to other children and on father’s failure to protect S plus domestic-violence and substance-use evidence	Court held DHS met nexus requirement: mother’s proven abuse plus father’s likely failure to protect/domestic violence/substance abuse created present risk to A

Key Cases Cited

Dept. of Human Services v. N. P., 257 Or App 633 (standard for reviewing juvenile court jurisdictional findings)
Dept. of Human Services v. C. J. T., 258 Or App 57 (definition of welfare endangerment under ORS 419B.100)
Dept. of Human Services v. D. H., 269 Or App 863 (requirement that conditions give rise to current threat of serious loss or injury)
Dept. of Human Services v. C. Z., 236 Or App 436 (substance abuse alone insufficient for jurisdiction without nexus)
Dept. of Human Services v. A. B., 264 Or App 410 (nexus and contemporaneous risk requirement)
State ex rel Juv. Dept. v. T. S., 214 Or App 184 (failure to protect one child supports risk to others)
State ex rel SOSCF v. Imus, 179 Or App 33 (jurisdiction where one parent abused child and other failed to protect)
Dept. of Human Services v. L. C., 267 Or App 731 (continuing jurisdiction where parent likely to reengage in past conduct that risks child)