Opinion ID: 888831
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

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

Text: ¶ 5 The Department removed J.M. from D.M.'s care at birth under emergency circumstances and placed her at Benefis Hospital in Great Falls due to medical conditions. The Department attempted to contact the Blackfeet Social Services to seek culturally-appropriate placement options for J.M. on her release based on the Department's belief that J.M. might be an Indian child for purposes of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). ¶ 6 The Department petitioned for adjudication of J.M. as a youth in need of care and temporary legal custody on February 7, 2008, in response to alleged neglect and ongoing drug abuse by D.M. The Department also cited the failure of prior efforts to provide remedial services and rehabilitation programs to D.M. The Department notified the Blackfeet Tribe of the proceeding and the possibility that J.M. might be an Indian child. The Department based its belief that J.M. might be a member of the Blackfeet Tribe on D.M.'s identification of three possible putative fathers, including V.D., to whom D.M. was married at the time of J.M.'s conception. D.M. and V.D. divorced before the Department initiated these proceedings. Montana law presumes J.M. to be the natural child of V.D., however, because she was born within 300 days of the termination of D.M.'s marriage to V.D. Section 40-6-105(a), MCA. D.M.'s marriage to V.D. does not determine definitively J.M.'s status for purposes of ICWA. We nevertheless note D.M.'s marital status as it prompted the Department to notify the Blackfeet Tribe of J.M. as a possible Indian child. The Department had not completed DNA testing of V.D. or the other surviving putative father at the time of the petition. ¶ 7 The Department appeared at the adjudicatory hearing on May 13, 2008, with a social worker and an ICWA expert who were prepared to testify on the need for temporary legal custody of J.M. D.M. instead stipulated through counsel to the adjudication of J.M. as a youth in need of care and temporary legal custody. D.M. stipulated to granting temporary legal custody of J.M. to the Department for a period of up to six months to allow D.M. to complete her court approved treatment plan. Counsel for D.M. also recognized the potential application of ICWA and waived testimony of the Department's ICWA expert. ¶ 8 The court adjudicated J.M. as a youth in need of care on May 15, 2008, and granted the Department temporary legal custody. The court observed that the Blackfeet Tribe had not indicated whether J.M. was an Indian child for purposes of ICWA and noted D.M.'s stipulation pursuant to § 41-3-434(1)-(2), MCA. The court concluded that based on these facts and the stipulation of the Mother, a legal basis exists for continued court and [D]epartment intervention. The court cited D.M.'s continuing substance abuse, the prior terminations of her parental rights, and her stipulations in the instant case as clear and convincing evidence in support of its adjudication and temporary custody order.