In re M.G.

Citations

• 2023 Ohio 1396

Syllabus

CHILDREN — TEMPORARY CUSTODY — DEPENDENCY— INVITED ERROR — EVIDENCE — REASONABLE EFFORTS — MOOTNESS — JURISDICTION: Mother invited any error in the juvenile court's adjudication of mother's child as dependent where mother's other child was charged as delinquent for committing a sex offense, mother stipulated to the granting of temporary custody to the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services (\JFS\), the parents agreed that the juvenile court's intervention was in the child's best interest, mother later requested that the juvenile court remand custody of the child to the parents with protective orders, mother subsequently agreed to the juvenile court's termination of temporary custody and protective orders, and the case was eventually closed. [But see DISSENT: The juvenile court erred in adjudicating mother's child dependent where mother did not invite the error because she did not invite the dependency finding as she sought only temporary orders under Juv.R. 13, which are not predicated on a finding of dependency, and where JFS did not provide clear and convincing evidence of any specific harm to the child or that the parents' support of their other child against sexual-offense allegations adversely affected the child.] Mother's appeal of the juvenile court's finding that JFS made reasonable efforts to prevent the removal of her child from the home and to effectuate his return to his parents was made moot where the child had been returned to the parents' home, there were no collateral consequences to a reasonable-efforts finding, and there was no relief that the appellate court could afford mother.