Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative

Filed on June 26, 2009
767 N.W.2d 74, 277 Neb. 984
SUMMARY: Termination of the parental rights of a deported mother was improper because the State did not prove parental unfitness especially as the mother submitted overwhelming evidence in two home studies of her fitness as a parent. The “best interest” standard does not mean finding [...]

Filed on June 2, 2009
768 N.W.2d 472, 17 Neb. App. 645
SUMMARY: The father did not abandon the child for purposes of 43-292 as he reasonably believed at birth that he was not the biological father of the child, had no contact with the mother or DHHS until the termination petition was filed, and made efforts [...]

Filed on May 19, 2009
Not designated for permanent publication
A-08-1007
SUMMARY: The mother’s consistent and substantial progress in the 17 months between the filing of the termination petition and the completion of the TPR trial make it error to terminate her parental rights.  
Dannie, DOB 10/30/02, was removed from her mother Michelle on April 26, 2004, after [...]

Filed on April 28, 2009
766 N.W.2d 424, 17 Neb. App. 544
SUMMARY: The time a parent spends incarcerated shall not be excluded from the determination of whether a child has been out-of-home 15 of the most recent 22 months. As the father did not take steps to undergo sex offender treatment in the two months [...]

Filed on March 24, 2009
Not designated for permanent publication
A-08-1153
SUMMARY: The father’s testimony as to his paternity of the child was sufficient to establish paternity. Reasonable efforts were not required to be proven in the termination of parental rights as the bases for termination were 43-292(1) and (7).  
Laquisha, DOB 3/17/97, is the child of [...]

Filed on March 24, 2009
Not designated for permanent publication
A-08-1090
SUMMARY: It is a violation of procedural due process to proceed with a hearing on the termination of parental rights in the absence of the parent and the parent’s attorney, more so when the parent’s attorney had been suspended from the practice of law.  
The mother, Christine, [...]

Filed on February 24, 2009
Not designated for permanent publication
A-08-915 through A-08-918
SUMMARY: Termination was in the children’s best interests because the mother did not make significant progress toward rehabilitation and reunification and the children need safety and permanency that the mother cannot provide.  
The children, Jesse (DOB 9/23/96), Gabriel (DOB 9/29/98), Seth (DOB 3/29/00) and [...]

Filed on February 24, 2009
Not designated for permanent publication
A-08-914
SUMMARY: Termination of the father’s parental rights was proper given the length of time in foster care and the absence of the father from the majority of the child’s life.  
The child, Andrea J. (DOB 8/13/95), was removed from the mother’s home in August 2003. Andre [...]

Filed on February 3, 2009
Not designated for permanent publication
A-08-866
SUMMARY: Termination of parental rights was in the children’s best interests because the mother is incapable of providing a stable and permanent home now and in the near future.  
The children, Keijuan, DOB 4/24/98, and Keijon, DOB 10/30/00, were placed in the state’s custody on September 27, [...]

Filed on November 4, 2008
Not designated for permanent publication
A-08-422
SUMMARY: Although the father had not had contact with the child six months prior to the filing of the termination petition, he did not abandon the child as he was not included in the case for 4 years, received information he did not fully understand and was [...]