Court Opinion

ID: 9526282
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:15:05.028291+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:19:17.266727
License: Public Domain

DONIELSON, Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. I would affirm the dispositional order of the juvenile court. I believe the juvenile court adequately considered and addressed the issues of reasonable efforts and of the least restrictive available placement. I would not remand these issues to the juvenile court.
The dispositional order placing Bob in a residential treatment facility is clearly the least restrictive option, based on the reasonable efforts that have been made to prevent an out-of-home placement during Bob’s two-year history with the juvenile justice system. Since October of 1989, when Bob was first adjudicated to be a delinquent child, Bob has been in and out of various placements, including placements in group homes, with his mother, with the Eldora State Training School, and finally with his father.
However, none of these placements has been successful. Since the adjudication in October 1989, Bob has run away from at least four previous placements, demonstrating Bob’s inability to handle any less restrictive options. He even briefly left his father’s home, the placement which Bob is now requesting, without permission. In addition, he has had his probation revoked two times, based on behavior such as: violating curfew, skipping school, not doing *794chores, drug use, and generally disobeying his mother. He has been implicated in several thefts, including being picked up in a stolen vehicle, and being picked up in a car which contained stolen compact discs and a stolen compact disc player.
I do not agree with the majority’s conclusion that there was no evidence to support the trial court’s findings that reasonable efforts had been offered to prevent the need for removal of the child from the child’s home. Furthermore, in light of the above findings, I find the juvenile court properly entered the least restrictive dispo-sitional order according to the factors as laid out in Iowa Code section 232.52(1) (1991). Under section 232.52(1), the court shall consider “the seriousness of the delinquent act, the child’s culpability as indicated by the circumstances of the particular case, the age of the child and the child’s prior record” (emphasis added).
Since October 1989, Bob has been placed back with his mother on two different occasions. Although Bob was only placed with his father on one occasion, it took less than a week for Bob to come into trouble with the law, when he was a passenger in a car in which the stolen compact discs and compact disc player were discovered. I agree with the juvenile court’s finding that such activity, at the least, demonstrated very poor judgment on Bob’s part.
I do not agree the short period of time which Bob spent with his father was inadequate to serve as an indicator of whether placement would be successful. In order to gauge the probability of a successful placement, the placement must be considered in light of not only the period of time Bob spent with his father, but also in light of Bob’s lack of success with previous in-home placements. The short amount of time which passed before Bob again found himself in trouble indicates a placement with his father probably would not have been any different.
I agree with the majority that Bob needs a placement which offers structure and direction. Bob needs counseling services and he needs to stay in the educational system. However, I do not agree placement with Bob’s father is warranted. The juvenile court properly considered the reasonable efforts which had been made in the previous two years. In light of these considerations, the juvenile court properly ordered the least restrictive disposition, placing Bob in a residential treatment facility.
I would affirm the order of the juvenile court.