Case Title: Dept. of Human Services v. J. R. F.

Citation: 

Docket Number: S059732

State: oregon

Court: Oregon Supreme Court

Date: 2012-02-16T00:00:00Z

Document:
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Filed:  February 16, 2012 
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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON 
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In the Matter of 
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D. S., a Child.  
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DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, 
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Respondent on Review, 
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v. 
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J. R. F., 
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Petitioner on Review. 
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(CC 100350J; CA A147396; SC S059732) 
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En Banc 
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On review from the Court of Appeals.* 
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Argued and submitted January 5, 2012. 
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Mary Shannon Storey, Senior Deputy Public Defender, Salem, argued the cause 
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and filed the brief for petitioner on review.  With her on the brief was Peter Gartlan, 
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Chief Defender, Appellate Division, Office of Public Defense Services. 
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Inge D. Wells, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Salem, argued the cause and 
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filed the brief for respondent on review.  With her on the brief were John R. Kroger, 
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Attorney General, and Anna M. Joyce, Solicitor General. 
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LANDAU, J. 
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The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed.  The order of the circuit court is 
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vacated, and the case is remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings. 
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*Appeal from Clackamas County Circuit Court, Douglas V. Van Dyk, Judge. 244 
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Or App 363, 261 P3d 42 (2011). 
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LANDAU, J. 
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At issue in this dependency case is the lawfulness of an order of the 
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juvenile court that requires a father not to interfere with the ability of a child who is a 
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ward of the court to visit other children who live with father but are not wards of the 
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court.  The Court of Appeals concluded that the juvenile court possesses authority to 
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enter the order under ORS 419B.337(3), which authorizes the court to "make an order 
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regarding visitation by the ward's parents or siblings."  Father in this case contends that 
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the Court of Appeals erred in so concluding, because the order at issue does not involve 
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visitation "by the parents or the siblings."  The Department of Human Services (DHS) 
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contends that the Court of Appeals was correct, because, although ORS 419B.337(3) 
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does not explicitly authorize the order at issue, the dependency statutes, taken as a whole, 
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authorize the court to "make any order designed to further the best interest of a ward and 
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advance the reunification of the family."   
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We conclude that, even if the state is correct about the scope of the 
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authority that the statutes confer on the juvenile court, the record in this case is 
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inadequate to support the order at issue.  We therefore reverse the opinion of the Court of 
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Appeals and vacate the order of the juvenile court.    
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The record discloses the following facts.  D is 14 years old and lived with 
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her father before DHS intervened.  D's mother is currently incarcerated.  Father lives with 
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his girlfriend, Ms. Samuel.  There are at least three children living with father and 
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Samuel:  R, G, and S.  R is the biological brother of D and is approximately 12 years old.  
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G is Samuel's son and apparently is not biologically related to D at all.  He is either five 
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or six years old; the record is unclear about his age.  Last, S is the child of father and 
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Samuel and, therefore, D's half-sister.  S is less than two years old. 
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D called a DHS hotline and reported that father had physically abused her.  
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DHS responded by removing D from her father's home.  DHS could not locate a relative 
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willing to be a placement resource.  Consequently, DHS placed D in foster care.  Shortly 
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thereafter, the juvenile court established jurisdiction over D and her parents.   
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Eight months later, the juvenile court held a review hearing pursuant to 
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ORS 419B.449, to determine whether it should continue its jurisdiction or order 
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modifications to the care, placement, or supervision of D.  Father and D were not present 
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at the hearing, but both were represented by separate counsel.  A DHS caseworker and a 
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Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) also attended.   
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For purposes of the review hearing, the trial court reviewed three reports: a 
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DHS report, a CASA report, and a Child Welfare Case Plan.  The contents of the three 
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reports can be summarized as follows.  During the eight months prior to the review 
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hearing, D's interaction with father was limited.  The CASA report notes that the state 
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brought criminal charges against father regarding the alleged physical abuse of D.  It also 
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reports that "[n]either [D] nor [father] wish to have contact with each other at this time," 
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and that father said that "he wanted [D] to remain in foster care and he did not wish to 
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participate in the court process."  The Child Welfare Case Plan also indicates that father 
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told a DHS representative that D was lying about the physical abuse and was an "out of 
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control" teenager.  
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All three reports state that D wanted to visit R, G, and S.  The CASA report 
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notes that D mentioned that her family connections, with the exception of father, are 
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"extremely important to her" and that she would "love to be able to see her younger 
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siblings."  The Child Welfare Case Plan details that D "has a strong attachment to her 
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younger ½ sister, [S]," but that she "is not as close" to R.  The DHS report states that, 
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although father and Samuel facilitated one supervised visit between D, R, G, and S, they 
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declined to allow further visitation, stating that, "if [D] isn't willing to see her father, then 
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they are not willing to bring her siblings in for a visit."  At the same time, in none of the 
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three reports does CASA or DHS recommend or request that the juvenile court order 
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father to facilitate visitation between D and the other children. 
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At the review hearing, the juvenile court and the DHS caseworker 
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discussed how D was faring in foster care.  The court then turned to the "very concerning 
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circumstance" raised in all three reports -- that is, the fact that D was not having regular 
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contact with R, G, and S. The court commented: 
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"It is unfortunate enough that [D] has been out of home placement, 
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but to deprive her of the opportunity to have sibling visits strikes me as 
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cruel.  If the father doesn't want to participate, so be it.  It seems to me that 
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the father is before the Court, so I suppose the Court could make an order 
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around that." 
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The caseworker responded that DHS had not requested such an order 
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because prior judges had told her that the court did not have authority to order those 
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visits.  D's counsel agreed, stating that, because "those other children are not subject to 
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jurisdiction of the Court, the Court has in the past been unwilling to make the other kids 
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have visits with their sister if the custodial parent is disagreeing or saying they don't want 
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to." 
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Father's attorney concurred, stating, "I don't believe there is any authority to 
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make those orders without the children -- without those children being before this Court 
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and would encourage the Court not to do so."  He also asserted that the reports by DHS 
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were "not really accurate" in describing father's position.  His attorney stated that father 
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was not happy with not having a relationship with D and was not trying to "ostracize" 
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her. 
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Father's attorney asserted that there were two issues causing father 
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difficulty in participating in DHS services and facilitating visitation with D.  First, the 
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criminal charges pending against father, he argued, were a serious barrier to contact, 
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because, either on recommendation of criminal defense counsel or by criminal trial court 
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order, father was prohibited from contacting D during the pendency of those charges.  
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Second, father was struggling financially and was the only person available to provide 
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childcare for R, G, and S.  Those two factors, he concluded, made it difficult for father 
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either to participate in DHS services or to facilitate visitation between D and the young 
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children.  Father's attorney indicated that father was "willing to do family therapy" but 
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was unsure "specifically what [father's] response would be in regards to visits between 
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the other siblings and [D] or what structure he might or might not approve of."   
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The juvenile court expressed sympathy for father's situation, but stated that 
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interaction with her siblings was "necessary for [D's] well being."  Still, the court 
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explained that, based on the pending criminal charges, it was not "making a finding 
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without [father] even being present that he ha[d] obstructed [visitation] in the past."    
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The court then discussed with the DHS caseworker the proper scope of the 
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proposed visitation order.  She mentioned a holiday party hosted by DHS that she hoped 
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D and her siblings could all attend.  She also explained that there was some complexity in 
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ordering visitation: 
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"The complexity to [visitation without father being present] is that I believe 
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the sibling who D most wants to see and who would be most inclined to see 
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[D] is less than two years old.  I don't believe that Ms. Samuel -- it is Ms. 
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Samuel's daughter with [father] -- I don't believe she is comfortable with 
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giving her child over to me to facilitate a visit." 
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The court responded, "Then we won't.  That's a little too young," and then inquired about 
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the other siblings.  The caseworker explained that R was a biological sibling, who she 
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"believe[d]" was 12 years old.  She also explained that G "is also in the home.  He is not a 
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biological sibling, but he is five or six."  The court then concluded that it did not "have 
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any authority with regard to [G's] circumstance, except it is still available to me to say 
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that father will not interfere."   
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Father's attorney again objected, arguing that "this Court does have 
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authority with regard to father's participation with regard to [D], but the other children 
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and other aspects of his life are not within the Court's jurisdiction[.]"  The court reiterated 
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that "[t]he expectation is he will make the child sibling available for contact; make the 
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child sibling available for this holiday party."  The DHS caseworker requested the court 
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to clarify its holding to address to which children the court was directing its order.  After 
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reviewing the facts that G is not biologically related to D and that S was, at the time of 
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the hearing, under the age of two, the juvenile court held that "my order is going to 
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extend to [R].  You can explain that I turned the State down around [S] and the non-
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sibling[, G]."  Four days later, the court entered the order at issue, which provides:  
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"Father will not interfere or obstruct contact between [D] and siblings.  Father shall make 
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sibling ([R]) available for holiday party.  DHS will make gas card available." 
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Father appealed, arguing that the juvenile court lacked authority to force 
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him to make his other three children available for visitation with D and that doing so 
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violated his due process right to direct the upbringing of his children under Troxel v. 
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Granville, 530 US 57, 120 S Ct 2054, 147 L Ed 2d 49 (2000).  DHS responded that the 
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juvenile court had authority to order father to allow D to visit his other three children 
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because ORS 419B.387 requires a parent under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court to 
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participate in "treatment or training."  As to father's due process right, DHS 
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acknowledged that, under Troxel, there is a presumption in favor of a parent's exercise of 
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parental authority, but the presumption may be rebutted if the juvenile court finds 
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sufficient evidence that the parent is not acting in the best interests of the children.  In this 
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case, DHS asserted, the juvenile court did find such evidence based on the fact that father 
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did not allow his three children to have contact with D.  
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In a written opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed.  Dept. of Human 
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Services v. J. R. F., 244 Or App 363, 261 P3d 42 (2011).  The court noted that ORS 
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419B.385 grants the juvenile court authority to order a parent "to assist the court in any 
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reasonable manner in providing appropriate education or counseling for the ward."  
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Additionally, ORS 419B.387 provides that the juvenile court may order a parent to 
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participate in "treatment or training."  The court held that, although neither of those 
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provisions addressed the juvenile court's authority to direct a parent's conduct with 
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respect to children who are not within the juvenile court's jurisdiction, ORS 419B.337(3) 
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does authorize the court to make an order "regarding visitation by the ward's parents or 
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siblings."  The court held that the latter statute confers sufficient authority to support the 
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juvenile court's order.  As for father's contention that interpreting the order to confer such 
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authority would violate his due process rights, the court concluded, sua sponte, that father 
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had failed to preserve the contention and declined to address the matter.  J. R. F., 244 Or 
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App at 367. 
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On review, father contends that the Court of Appeals erred in concluding 
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that any of the statutes that it mentioned provide authority for the juvenile court's order in 
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this case.  In particular, father argues that the court's reliance on ORS 419B.337(3) was 
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misplaced because that statute, by its terms, pertains solely to juvenile court orders that 
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DHS allow visitation of the ward "by the ward's parents or siblings."  Nothing in the 
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record of this case, he argues, suggests that DHS is not permitting either the parents or 
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the siblings to visit D.  The state takes the position that, although no single statute 
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expressly authorizes the juvenile court's order in this case, the juvenile code, taken as a 
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whole, suggests that the court possesses authority to enter any order that it deems 
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necessary to the welfare of the child in its jurisdiction.   
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At oral argument, the court questioned whether the record was adequate for 
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review of the questions presented.  Counsel for DHS candidly expressed frustration with 
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the state of the record, because evidence about whether father in fact intended to deny 
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visitation and, if he had, the reasons for that intention could make a difference.  Without 
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such evidence, counsel stated, "it makes it difficult to sort of figure out what the court's 
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order is really doing."  At one point, counsel was asked what would be wrong with 
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vacating the order and remanding for proper development of a record, and counsel 
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replied, "I don't think there's anything wrong with that."  Counsel insisted that the narrow 
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issue that the Court of Appeals addressed -- whether purely statutory authority supports 
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the juvenile court's order -- could be resolved without reference to any problems with the 
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evidentiary record.  But, if this court considers the possible due process implications of 
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the order, counsel for DHS stated, the record is inadequate for review.   
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With the foregoing in mind, we turn to the order in dispute in this case.  At 
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the outset, we note that the record in this case is troubling in several respects.  First, at the 
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conclusion of the hearing, the trial court did not make any findings of fact, as required by 
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ORS 419B.449(2) ("At the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall enter findings of 
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fact.").  In fact, the court expressly declined to make a finding that father had interfered 
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with visitation.  Second, in a related vein, there appear to be some inconsistencies 
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between what the trial court said at the hearing and what it ordered.  For example, at one 
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point, the trial court stated that it did not intend to order father to take any action with 
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respect to S, the youngest sibling, yet the order itself requires father not to interfere with 
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D's visitation with any of her siblings.  Relatedly, the court asserted that it possessed 
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authority "to say that father will not interfere" with visitation with G and, apparently, 
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intended that its order extend to visitation with that child.  Yet the court acknowledged 
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that it lacked authority with respect to G, who is not even father's child and not D's 
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biological sibling.  See ORS 419A.040(27) (defining "sibling" for purposes of the 
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juvenile code). 
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We need not address any of those issues, however, because the record is 
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also inadequate to establish that the order is consistent with the rights of parents to make 
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decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children -- rights that the 
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legislature explicitly recognized in setting out the authority of the juvenile court.  ORS 
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419B.090(4) provides: 
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"It is the policy of the State of Oregon to guard the liberty interest of 
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parents protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States 
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Constitution and to protect the rights and interests of children * * *.  The 
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provisions of this chapter shall be construed and applied in compliance with 
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federal constitutional limitations on state action established by the United 
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States Supreme Court with respect to interference with the rights of parents 
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to direct the upbringing of their children, including, but not limited to, the 
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right to: 
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"(a) Guide the secular and religious education of their children; 
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"(b) Make health care decisions for their children; and 
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"(c) Discipline their children." 
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Thus, whatever authority may be said to have been conferred by the statutes that the 
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parties dispute in this case -- an issue that we do not resolve -- that authority is bounded 
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by the due process rights of parents.  As we have noted, DHS has conceded that, to the 
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extent that the due process rights of parents are implicated in this case, the record is 
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inadequate.    
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DHS's suggestion that we should narrow our focus and address the 
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authority of the juvenile court as set out solely in the particular statutes that the parties 
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have cited is untenable.  In assessing the authority that those statutes confer -- indeed, in 
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addressing any issue of statutory construction -- we do not address each statute in 
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isolation.  Rather, we address those statutes in context, including other parts of the statute 
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at issue.  See, e.g., Lane County v. LCDC, 325 Or 569, 578, 942 P2d 278 (1997) ("[W]e 
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do not look at one subsection of a statute in a vacuum; rather, we construe each part 
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together with the other parts in an attempt to produce a harmonious whole.").   
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DHS insists -- and the Court of Appeals agreed -- that father failed to 
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preserve a contention that the trial court's order violated his parental rights under the Due 
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Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.  Our decision, however, is not based on an 
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unpreserved constitutional claim.  Rather, it is based on our obligation to interpret the 
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statutes correctly, which includes an obligation to consider relevant context, regardless of 
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whether it was cited by any party.  See Stull v. Hoke, 326 Or 72, 77, 948 P2d 722 (1997) 
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("In construing a statute, this court is responsible for identifying the correct 
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interpretation, whether or not asserted by the parties.").  In this case, that relevant context 
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includes ORS 419B.090(4), which makes clear that the due process rights of parents are 
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always implicated in the construction and application of the provisions of ORS chapter 
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419B.  Accordingly, in light of the DHS acknowledgment of the inadequacy of the record 
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for review, we reverse the opinion of the Court of Appeals and vacate the order of the 
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juvenile court.   
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The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed.  The order of the circuit 
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court is vacated, and the case is remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings. 
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