Dep't of Human Servs. v. K. J. (In re K. L. J.)Dep't of Human Servs. v. K. J. (In re K. L. J.)
We review the juvenile court's legal conclusions for errors of law and its findings for any evidence. Dept. of Human Services v. B. W. ,
K was born in 2015. In March 2017, the juvenile court asserted jurisdiction over K based on admissions by mother and father. Because mother is not a party to this appeal, we limit our discussion to the jurisdictional bases pertaining to father. The original basis for jurisdiction was that father has "significant medical issues that interfere with his ability to parent and needs assistance from the court and state to ensure the welfare of the child." In March 2018, the court added as an additional basis for jurisdiction that "father currently lacks sufficient and stable housing for the child."
On April 24, 2018-more than a year after it first asserted jurisdiction over K-the juvenile court held a permanency hearing at which Stan, a DHS caseworker,
Stan began her testimony about father by saying that there had been "some concerns about [father's] medical needs in the beginning" but that DHS had "kind of got past that when his doctor signed a release stating that he's only being seen for diabetes, hypertension
Stan next addressed father's housing, which she identified as the main barrier to reunification: "But it's mainly housing, and we've dealt with the housing now for probably six to eight months." At the time of the hearing, father was living with his mother in a senior living community that does not allow children. Father, who lacks financial resources, was waiting for a decision on his social security application. In the weeks before the hearing, father had followed through on most or all of DHS's housing recommendations, including getting on "the housing list" (which had a four-year wait) and interviewing for Oxford House housing. Stan did not dispute that father had done so but indicated a belief that father should have acted sooner on DHS's recommendations. Father needed "to obtain safe appropriate housing for himself and his child" before DHS would return K to father's care. In response to questioning by DHS's attorney,
At the end of the permanency hearing, the juvenile court ruled that it was going to continue jurisdiction over K. It then asked whether DHS was requesting a psychological evaluation, and DHS answered affirmatively. Father objected that "there's nothing even close to a rational relationship between [the jurisdictional bases] and a psychological evaluation." Father argued that he had been trying to get housing, had a plan to get housing, and was not at fault for not yet having housing. The court asked K's attorney for K's position. K's attorney conceded that a psychological evaluation was not rationally related to the jurisdictional basis regarding housing but suggested that father's "psychological and emotional wellbeing" could be viewed as a "medical" issue.
The juvenile court ordered father to undergo a psychological evaluation, stating:
"In my reviewing of the case law regarding psychological evaluations, * * * it doesn't require a kind of a specific mental health allegation. It simply needs to have some rational relationship. And frankly, you know, Father does have a right to say whatever he wants to about his medical condition, but if he's talking about medical conditions that would affect his ability to care for a child, then he shouldn't be upset when other people make decisions based on what he's saying.
"And so, it also causes me * * * some concern about what's going on. What * * * is that a reflection of? And as far as his functioning, if he feels like he needs to tell people that he has these medical conditions if he does not have them.
"And so, I am going to * * * order a psychological evaluation for Dad."
On appeal from the permanency judgment, which incorporates that order, father contends that there is no rational relationship between a psychological evaluation and the
We recently discussed the origin of the "rational relationship" requirement and our existing case law applying that requirement to orders of psychological evaluations of parents in dependency cases in Dept. of Human Services v. A. F. ,
We have applied the rational-relationship standard in several published opinions over the past decade, including, most notably, G. L. ,
In this case, we conclude that the juvenile court's order of a psychological evaluation of father does not rationally relate to the jurisdictional bases. DHS requested an evaluation-and offered evidence about the relevance of an evaluation-only in connection with the second jurisdictional basis, which related to father's housing situation. However, given the court's ruling and the parties' arguments on appeal, we will first address the original jurisdictional basis, i.e. , that father had "significant medical issues that interfere with his ability to parent and needs assistance from the court and state to ensure the welfare of the child."
With respect to the original jurisdictional basis, we begin with an observation about its scope. The parties have not identified what father's "significant medical issues" were when the juvenile court took jurisdiction in March 2017, but we understand the jurisdictional basis to refer to physical health issues, and DHS does not argue otherwise on appeal. It is apparent from Stan's testimony that DHS (which filed the jurisdictional petition) understood "medical issues" to mean physical health issues and that the recent letter from father's doctor, regarding father's current physical health, effectively resolved the original jurisdictional basis from DHS's perspective.
With that in mind, we turn to the merits. As described in its ruling, the juvenile court ordered a psychological evaluation of father because father was "talking about medical conditions that would affect his ability to care for a child" and because it had "some concern" as to why father would feel a need "to tell people that he has these medical conditions if he does not have them." However, the only relevant evidence at the hearing was that father did not currently have any medical conditions that would interfere with his ability to care for K, that DHS did not view the misrepresentation of a medical condition itself as a barrier to reunification, and that any misrepresentations were relevant only insofar as they highlighted the need for "accurate information about [father's] medical condition." Accurate information about father's physical health is not something that a psychological evaluation would provide. Rather, it is the subject of evidence such as the letter from father's doctor. In other words, the court was correct that it is relevant
In the course of a dependency proceeding, it might come to the court's attention that a parent has engaged in puzzling or questionable behavior-such as feigning medical conditions-but not every aspect of a parent's behavior needs explanation. Whether a mental health issue is contributing to particular conduct by a parent is relevant only if the conduct itself pertains to a jurisdictional basis. For example, in G. L. ,
That brings us to the second jurisdictional basis, which is that "father currently
The court did not identify a rational relationship between a psychological evaluation of father and father's lack of suitable housing for K, and we are unpersuaded by DHS's attempts to do so. DHS has not identified any evidence that reasonably suggests that a mental health issue might be contributing to father's housing situation. Stan's conclusory testimony agreeing that a psychological evaluation "might
Accordingly, we conclude that the juvenile court erred in ordering a psychological evaluation of father. The evaluation is not rationally related, for purposes of ORS 419B.337(2), to either of the bases on which the court took jurisdiction of K.
Reversed and remanded.
Notes
The jurisdictional basis regarding father's housing is reflected in a judgment in a related case, Marion County Circuit Court Case No. 18JU01138. Father has provided copies of court documents from that case in an appendix to his opening brief. The parties and the juvenile court treated the two jurisdictional bases as equally at issue for purposes of deciding whether to order a psychological evaluation of father, so we do the same and take judicial notice of the court documents provided by father. See Dept. of Human Services v. S. A. B. O. ,
In his reply brief, father argues for the first time that the juvenile court failed to consider ORS 419B.387 in ordering the psychological evaluation. See ORS 419B.387 (requiring a finding that "treatment or training" is "needed" by a parent for specific purposes before the court "may order the parent to participate in the treatment or training"). That issue was not preserved in the juvenile court or raised in the opening brief, so we do not address it. See ORAP 5.45(1).
We note that father's apparent misrepresentations about medical conditions occurred long after jurisdiction was taken. There is no evidence, and DHS does not argue, that father did not have significant physical health issues in March 2017, when jurisdiction was taken. The only evidence related to misrepresentations about medical conditions for which a time frame was provided was dated to about six months before the permanency hearing, which would have been about seven months after the court took jurisdiction. Despite Stan's testimony that the letter from father's doctor had largely resolved the original jurisdictional basis from DHS's perspective, neither father nor DHS moved to dismiss that jurisdictional basis at the April 2018 permanency hearing, and its ongoing propriety is not before us in this appeal.
We express no opinion on whether "medical issues" could be construed to include mental health conditions in other circumstances. See Dept. of Human Services v. D. D. ,