Dept. of Human Services v. F.L.B

Termination of mother's parental rights is appropriate under ORS 419B.504 when the state proves by clear and convincing evidence that the mother is unfit to provide her children with a safe home and not likely to be able to provide her children with a safe home within a reasonable time because of her own mental illness and incarceration.

Mother and Father appealed from the juvenile court's termination of their parental rights of two children, M and J (the children), for unfitness under ORS 419B.504. Mother argued that the record does not support the finding that she was unfit to provide a safe home for her children. The Court disagreed and found that the record supported the findings of the juvenile court because the juvenile court based their termination on the mother's mental illness, incarceration, and failure to protect her other daughter from sexual abuse by the daughter's step-father. Further, the Court found that terminating the mother's rights was in the best interest of the children because of the children's need for permanency and the unlikeliness of mother's ability to provide a safe home in the reasonably foreseeable future. The Court affirmed termination of Father's rights without discussion. Affirmed.