Opinion ID: 1837556
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: disposition and review hearings

Text: The proceeding at which evidence is adduced to determine if a rehabilitative plan is necessary is the disposition hearing. In re Interest of J.H., 242 Neb. 906, 497 N.W.2d 346 (1993). At a disposition hearing, a juvenile court must determine reasonable provisions material to the parental plan's rehabilitative objective of correcting, eliminating, or ameliorating the situation or condition on which the adjudication has been obtained. Id. But see In re Interest of Tabatha R., 255 Neb. 818, 587 N.W.2d 109 (1998) (discussing exception to this requirement when court determines that reunification is not in child's best interests). Once a plan of reunification has been ordered to correct the conditions underlying the adjudication under § 43-247(3)(a), the plan must be reasonably related to the objective of reuniting the parents with the children. See In re Interest of Ty M. & Devon M., 265 Neb. 150, 163-64, 655 N.W.2d 672, 685 (2003). Furthermore, [t]he record of proceedings before a juvenile court shall contain the evidence presented at the dispositional hearing held for the purpose of the parental rehabilitative plan. In re Interest of J.H., 242 Neb. at 911, 497 N.W.2d at 352. See In re Interest of J.S., A.C., and C.S., 227 Neb. 251, 417 N.W.2d 147 (1987) (pronouncing procedural rule requiring evidentiary hearing on record before court adopts rehabilitative plan, and reversing judgment and remanding matter for juvenile court to determine whether custody would be returned to parent, whether supervision of parental custody was warranted, and whether rehabilitation plan was necessary). Although the record includes a disposition order dated June 20, 2001, our de novo review leads us to conclude that no evidentiary hearing was held on the record prior to its entry. See In re Interest of J.S., A.C., and C.S., supra . Fundamental fairness, at the very least, requires the adducing of appropriate evidence as a factual foundation for a rehabilitative plan which eventually may be used as a ground or condition for termination of parental rights. In re Interest of J.H., 242 Neb. at 912, 497 N.W.2d at 352. In addition, the juvenile court's specific findings of fact supporting the provisions contained in the parental rehabilitative plan shall be stated in the record. Id. Although it appears that a rehabilitative plan was adopted on June 20, no findings of fact supporting its provisions are discernible from our de novo review of this record. We once again reiterate that juvenile courts are courts of record and that a verbatim record of all proceedings is required. In re Interest of D.M.B., 240 Neb. 349, 481 N.W.2d 905 (1992) (concluding that juvenile court's failure to find facts supporting rehabilitative plan it ordered was plain error). The absence of any evidentiary record of the disposition proceeding leaves this court unable to reconcile what appear to be inconsistent findings. Contrary to the court's adjudication order of April 9, 2001, that reasonable efforts to preserve and unify the family were not required, the case plan approved by the court in its written disposition order dated June 20, 2001, included reunification as its only permanency objective. However, the only stated goal in the case plan was to find long-term placement for the children. Although the June 20 disposition order includes a checkmark indicating that the provisions of the case plan were reasonably material to the rehabilitative objective of correcting, eliminating, or ameliorating the situation or condition on which the adjudication has been obtained, the case plan does not include any rehabilitative goals or tasks directed toward that objective. The only exhibit in the record that appears to have been submitted to the court at the disposition proceeding is the case manager's court report which accompanied the case plan. That report stated that reasonable efforts were not required because of the court's adjudication order and that adoption would be pursued if placement of the children with Mercedes' brother in Alabama were inappropriate due to Mercedes' deportation. We are left to speculate as to why the court's adjudication order found that reasonable efforts were not required, yet the disposition order adopts a permanency objective of reunification. No evidentiary record or factual findings exist to help explain these orders or support an order calling for reunification without an accompanying rehabilitation plan with goals or tasks to achieve that objective. Unless the provisions in a case plan tend to correct, eliminate, or ameliorate the situation or condition on which the adjudication has been obtained, a court-ordered plan is nothing more than a plan for the sake of a plan, devoid of corrective and remedial measures. In re Interest of J.S., A.C., and C.S., 227 Neb. 251, 268, 417 N.W.2d 147, 158 (1987). These apparent inconsistencies continue throughout every review hearing in this case. Each case plan called for reunification without requiring DHHS to make any effort toward that objective. Although the record indicates that at a March 2002 review hearing, the court stated that [r]easonable efforts were not made to reunify the family and that reunification wasn't possible, the FCRB report suggests that DHHS knew the identity of people in possession of Mercedes' address. In any event, the court reports and case plans prepared by DHHS are devoid of any showing that DHHS attempted to contact Mercedes, determine what rehabilitative steps could be taken in spite of her deportation, or determine whether visitation of some sort was possible. Although the guardian ad litem stated at oral argument that the first goal was to find Mercedes, none of the case plans stated that contact with Mercedes was a goal, nor did the case manager discuss in the court reports any efforts to contact Mercedes. The inadequacy of this record is not due to the failure of Mercedes to provide a record in support of claimed errors. See In re Interest of R.R., 239 Neb. 250, 253, 475 N.W.2d 518, 520 (1991) ([i]t is incumbent upon the party appealing to present a record which supports the errors assigned). The praecipe for the bill of exceptions filed by Mercedes requests all evidence, including testimony and exhibits offered at the hearings conducted in this matter on or about March 23, 2001 through June 27th, 2002. Rather, this appeal presents us with an inadequate record due to the court's failure to conduct evidentiary hearings when such were required by due process and statute. See, § 43-1313; In re Interest of J.H., 242 Neb. 906, 497 N.W.2d 346 (1993); In re Interest of R.G., 238 Neb. 405, 470 N.W.2d 780 (1991); In re Interest of J.S., A.C., and C.S., supra . We conclude upon our de novo review of the record that the court's approval of a permanency objective of reunification without any means by which Mercedes could achieve that goal, without any requirement that DHHS make reasonable efforts to provide services toward that objective, and without conducting disposition and review hearings on the record, was fundamentally unfair, denied Mercedes due process in these proceedings, and is plain error. Cf. In re Interest of J.S., A.C., and C.S., supra (reversing termination of parental rights based on failure to comply with provisions of rehabilitative plan that were not material to plan's objective of correcting conditions that led to adjudication); In re Interest of L.J., J.J., and J.N.J., 220 Neb. 102, 368 N.W.2d 474 (1985) (concluding that case plan was not reasonable when mother was financially and physically unable to comply).