485 P.3d 316
Or. Ct. App.2021Background
- A (age 3) was in DHS dependency; parents previously lacked parenting skills and A developed a serious, complex feeding disorder while in foster care.
- Early 2020, A began therapy with an occupational therapist (Linden) and showed improvement; therapist attributed part of progress to "food play" provided by the foster mother.
- Linden concluded that the mother required in-person, hands-on coaching with A to learn to manage the feeding disorder; only one in-person session occurred before COVID-19 restrictions.
- Since March 2020 therapy proceeded by telehealth; parents attended most sessions remotely but could not obtain the required hands-on training due to the pandemic.
- Juvenile court changed the permanency plan from reunification to guardianship, finding DHS had made reasonable efforts; parents appealed, arguing DHS’s efforts did not give them a reasonable opportunity to become minimally adequate parents because COVID prevented needed in-person training.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether DHS made "reasonable efforts" under ORS 419B.476 to reunify by giving parents a reasonable opportunity to become minimally adequate parents given COVID restrictions. | DHS: Efforts over the life of the case (and immediately prior) were reasonable; parents had been inconsistent and could have adjusted despite COVID. | Parents: Pandemic prevented the in-person, hands-on training Linden said was necessary to learn to manage A’s feeding disorder; DHS therefore did not afford a reasonable opportunity. | Court reversed: DHS’s efforts were not reasonable here because COVID precluded the hands-on training essential for parents to demonstrate minimal adequacy. |
| Whether the pandemic relieves DHS of its obligation to provide reasonable efforts or shorten the time required to assess parents’ progress. | DHS: The pandemic does not change the legal standard; focus should include pre-pandemic efforts. | Parents: Pandemic is not analogous to incarceration; DHS must extend efforts long enough to allow parents to obtain the services blocked by COVID. | Court: Pandemic does not excuse DHS; where COVID prevents essential services, DHS must continue efforts long enough to allow meaningful assessment — here that did not occur, so reversal required. |
Key Cases Cited
- Dept. of Human Services v. V. A. R., 301 Or. App. 565 (explaining reasonable-efforts standard and that efforts must allow meaningful assessment of parental progress)
- Dept. of Human Services v. L. L. S., 290 Or. App. 132 (reasonable efforts must focus on ameliorating adjudicated bases and give a realistic chance to become minimally adequate)
- Dept. of Human Services v. S. M. H., 283 Or. App. 295 (temporal focus on efforts leading up to permanency hearing; efforts must continue long enough to assess progress)
- T. W. v. C. L. K., 310 Or. App. 80 (discusses how parental unavailability, such as incarceration, is treated in dependency/reunification analysis)