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

• The Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) filed a petition alleging a child, approximately seven-and-a-half years old, was abused and neglected by his father. The district court found the child to be abused and neglected and adopted CYFD’s proposed treatment plan for the father, which included participation in visitations, drug tests, a family dependency drug court program, and following recommendations from a psychological evaluation and domestic violence assessment. Despite efforts, the father failed to comply with the treatment plan, tested positive for methamphetamine during the evidentiary hearing, and did not complete required programs, leading CYFD to move for the termination of his parental rights (paras 2-3, 5-6).

Procedural History

• District Court of Cibola County: Found the child to be abused and neglected and adopted CYFD’s proposed treatment plan for the father. Later, terminated the father's parental rights due to non-compliance with the treatment plan and ongoing issues (paras 2, 7).

Parties' Submissions

• Petitioner-Appellee (CYFD): Argued that the father was unable or unwilling to utilize its services, failed to comply with the treatment plan, and that the causes and conditions that brought the child into CYFD’s custody were unlikely to change in the foreseeable future despite CYFD’s reasonable efforts (para 2).
• Respondent-Appellant (Father): Testified about his attempts to comply with his treatment plan, including completing a program at Villa de Esperanza and attending counseling. He argued that CYFD did not support his decision to pursue his own treatment plan and that the requirement for drug testing before visitations lacked therapeutic value (paras 3-4, 12-13).

Legal Issues

• Whether CYFD made reasonable efforts to assist the father in ameliorating the causes of his abuse and neglect of the child.
• Whether there was sufficient evidence that the father would not be able to change those causes within the foreseeable future.
• Whether the district court erred in finding that the father presumptively abandoned the child (para 8).

Disposition

• The New Mexico Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s termination of the father’s parental rights to the child (para 16).

Reasons

• The Court of Appeals, per Judge Jacqueline R. Medina, with Judges M. Monica Zamora and Julie J. Vargas concurring, found that clear and convincing evidence supported the district court’s termination of the father’s parental rights. The court concluded that CYFD made reasonable efforts to assist the father, considering the totality of circumstances and the efforts directed to remedy the conditions of neglect and abuse. Despite these efforts, the father failed to meaningfully engage in services required by his treatment plan, did not complete the parenting and domestic violence programs, and continued to use drugs. The court also noted the father's lack of participation in visitations after being required to pass drug tests, further evidencing his inability to change the causes of neglect and abuse in the foreseeable future. The court did not address the issue of presumptive abandonment, as the termination was affirmed on other grounds (paras 9-15).