AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• In March 2016, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) filed an abuse and neglect petition against a mother, her live-in boyfriend, and the children's biological father. The petition alleged that the children, aged twelve, eight, and six, had been exposed to drugs and witnessed domestic violence in the home. A specific incident leading to the petition involved a fight between the mother and her boyfriend, during which both were intoxicated, and the boyfriend commanded their dog to bite the mother (paras 2-3).

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Petitioner-Appellee (CYFD): Argued that the mother and her boyfriend had not ameliorated the conditions leading to the neglect of the children, despite efforts to assist them, including a treatment plan aimed at addressing issues of substance abuse and domestic violence (paras 3-12).
• Respondent-Appellant (Mother): Challenged the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the termination of her parental rights, arguing that CYFD did not make reasonable efforts to assist her in addressing the conditions and causes of neglect and that she had made significant progress under the treatment plan (paras 14, 18-25).

Legal Issues

• Whether CYFD made reasonable efforts to assist the mother in addressing the conditions and causes of neglect to support reunification (para 16).
• Whether the mother had ameliorated the conditions and causes of neglect and would do so in the foreseeable future (para 14).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s termination of the mother's parental rights and remanded for further proceedings (para 27).

Reasons

• The Court of Appeals found that CYFD treated the mother and her boyfriend as a unit throughout the proceedings, even after it became clear that the boyfriend was not making progress under the treatment plan. The court noted that the mother had made substantial progress, including obtaining employment, securing a home, ending drug use, and complying with counseling. Despite this, CYFD's efforts were deemed unreasonable because they were not directed at the causes and conditions that gave rise to the neglect, particularly failing to suggest or make explicit that the mother's ability to reunite with her children depended on her separation from her boyfriend. The court concluded that there was not clear and convincing evidence that CYFD made reasonable efforts to assist the mother, nor that the conditions and causes of neglect were unlikely to change in the foreseeable future (paras 18-25).