Opinion ID: 889757
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Adjudication of R.M.T. as a Youth in Need of Care.

Text: ¶ 9 The State charged mother with partner or family member assault of R.M.T. in 2007. R.M.T. moved in with Conn and Debra Hellebust (Hellebusts) on a farm outside of Havre while Mother spent time incarcerated. Hellebusts' son, Kane, had dated Mother. R.M.T. thinks of Kane as his Father. R.M.T. considers Hellebusts his grandparents even though they are not biologically related to him. R.M.T. spent one school year with Hellebusts before returning home to Laurel with Mother. ¶ 10 R.M.T. went to the Yellowstone County Attorney's office for help shortly after returning to Mother's home in Laurel in July of 2008. R.M.T. feared that Mother's abuse would continue. R.M.T. had just turned fourteen. R.M.T. reported Mother often would return home drunk and that she had hit him in the past. A social worker with the Department confirmed R.M.T.'s allegations. The District Court granted emergency protective services. The Department placed R.M.T. with his maternal uncle in Laurel. ¶ 11 The court also appointed a guardian ad litem (GAL) pursuant to §§ 41-3-112 and -425(2)(b), MCA. The GAL served as R.M.T.'s attorney in accordance with practice in Yellowstone County. The court assigned counsel to Mother and Father. ¶ 12 Father's counsel had not located Father before the initial show cause hearing in August 2008. Father traveled to Montana from Vermont for a subsequent hearing on October 7, 2008. Father indicated at the hearing that he would like the Department to consider him as a potential placement for R.M.T. Father later admitted to smelling of alcohol at the hearing. Father met fourteen-year-old R.M.T. for the first time during this trip. ¶ 13 Father stipulated that R.M.T. qualified as a youth in need of care. The District Court adjudicated R.M.T. a youth in need of care and granted the Department temporary legal custody on October 28, 2008. The court told Father to work with R.M.T.'s social worker, Joe Gradney (Gradney), in order to establish a relationship with R.M.T. ¶ 14 The court approved a treatment plan for Father in February of 2009. The treatment plan first required Father to provide a safe, sober, and stable home environment. The plan required Father to attend age-appropriate parenting classes and to develop a relationship with R.M.T. The plan also required Father to complete a psychological evaluation and to maintain monthly contact with Gradney. The plan's final goal required Father to write a personal history. ¶ 15 The Department requested an extension of temporary legal custody in April of 2009. Father had not made any progress on his treatment plan. Father had not maintained regular contact with R.M.T. or Gradney. Father had attempted to call R.M.T. a few times, but claimed that he had been unable to reach R.M.T. Father appeared by phone at the April 2009 hearing and stipulated to an extension of temporary legal custody. ¶ 16 The Department requested a permanency plan hearing in July of 2009. The court held a hearing on the permanency plan in September of 2009. Father's counsel sent him notice of the hearing, but counsel had not heard back from Father. The court approved the permanency plan. The Department placed R.M.T. with his friend's parents in Laurel. ¶17 The court held another hearing for an extension of legal custody in December of 2009. Father's counsel informed Father of the hearing, but counsel again did not hear from Father. The court granted another extension of temporary legal custody on December 22, 2009. R.M.T. had been in the Department's custody for approximately fifteen months by that point. Mother informed Gradney that she did not intend to complete her treatment plan. Gradney had minimal contact with Father. ¶ 18 Gradney requested a study of R.M.T.'s placement with Father through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). The Vermont Department of Children and Families (VDCF) completed the report in February 2010. The VDCF denied permanent placement with Father because he lacked a permanent residence. The report approved Father for unsupervised visits. The report also indicated that Father had been cited for driving under the influence of alcohol in Vermont in 1995 and in 2008. Father also had been charged with domestic assault of an ex-girlfriend in 2004.