In re Interest of Jagger L.

Caselaw Number
270 Neb 828
Filed On


SUMMARY: Adjudication was proper in a case involving a father who knew about the juvenile court proceedings involving his son for nearly two years, but “failed to put himself in a position to safely assume the parental care, support or protection of” his son.Termination was appropriate since the child had been in foster care for 70% of his life, continuously for 27 months, and the foster family was willing to provide permanency.

A father appealed the juvenile court’s order terminating his parental rights to his son Jagger claiming that the court incorrectly found that he had abandoned his son, and that he had “substantially and continuously or repeatedly neglected and refused to give Jagger necessary parental care and protection.”

The court upheld the order terminating the father’s rights, as the juvenile court properly adjudicated Jagger. The petition filed in 2004 indicated that the father “had been aware of the juvenile court proceedings involving Jagger since October 22, 2002, but had failed to put himself in a position to safely assume the parental care, support or protection of Jagger.” Further, the father had not had “face-to-face” contact with his son since “approximately March 2002. Also, the father lacked a “safe and secure home” for his son, as he “lacked plumbing, running water, and electricity.” Finally, the father was on probation for “Lewd or Lascivious Battery – Child Under 16.” The juvenile court did not err in terminating the father’s parental rights because Jagger had been in out of home placement “continuously since October 2002,…which was more than 27 months at the time of the juvenile court’s termination order.” Jagger had been in foster care for more than 70% of his life and he had bonded with his foster family and adoption and permanency would “provide Jagger with a happy and healthy life.” Thus, termination was in Jagger’s best interests.