Dept. of Human Services v. S. G., 341 Or. App. 119

The Department of Human Services (DHS) petitioned for, and the juvenile court established, general guardianships over three children (ages 11, 9, and 5) whose mother and all children are enrolled in the Makah Tribe.
The case is governed by both the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the Oregon Indian Child Welfare Act (OICWA).
The juvenile court took dependency jurisdiction due to mother's substance abuse, father's inability to protect the children, exposure to domestic violence, and lack of stable housing or consistent medical/dental care.
Among the children’s circumstances: DG was born with drugs in his system, domestic violence occurred in their presence, and older children had untreated PTSD and received little to no medical care.
Parents appealed the guardianship determination, arguing that guardianship was not in the children’s best interests and that continued custody by parents did not pose imminent harm.

Issue	Appellants' Argument	DHS/Respondent's Argument	Held
Whether continued custody by parents would likely harm children	No imminent risk; evidence insufficient	Evidence and expert established likely serious harm	Affirmed: Sufficient harm
Whether guardianship is in the best interests of the children	Guardianship not best; children need parental contact	Guardians empowering, supported by tribe, meet needs	Affirmed: Best interests
Adequacy of expert testimony and causal relationship	Insufficient causal link	Expert from tribe testified to direct link	Affirmed: Sufficient proof
Sufficiency of proposed guardians’ willingness for parental contact	Contact would be unduly limited	Proposed guardians allow appropriate correspondence	Affirmed: Adequate contact

Dept. of Human Services v. J. G., 260 Or App 500 (Or. Ct. App. 2014) (standard for reviewing juvenile court factual findings)
Dept. of Human Services v. T. C. A., 251 Or App 407 (Or. Ct. App. 2012) (abuse of discretion standard for best interests determination)