## Facts

- The State, through the Denver Department of Human Services (DDHS), initiated a dependency-and-neglect proceeding involving two children: N.A.T. (about two months old) and J.M.T., Jr. (about two years old).
- One child was hospitalized for bronchitis; hospital staff observed both children appeared malnourished and reported the mother arrived intoxicated.
- The juvenile court adjudicated the children dependent and neglected and approved a treatment plan requiring the mother to address substance abuse, obtain a mental-health evaluation, maintain stability (including employment), and demonstrate appropriate parenting during visitation.
- The mother entered a short residential substance-abuse program but did not complete recommended follow-up outpatient services.
- The mother failed to obtain steady employment and did not complete the required mental-health evaluation.
- The mother relapsed, including a documented positive test for cocaine.
- Caseworker observations during supervised visits indicated the mother could not adequately meet the children’s needs.
- The mother proposed placing the children with relatives (a cousin, the maternal grandmother, and a paternal cousin), but DDHS and the court found those options unsuitable for long-term placement.
- The juvenile court terminated the mother’s parental rights under Colorado’s termination statute after finding continued unfitness, inadequate progress under the treatment plan within a reasonable time, and no appropriate less drastic alternative.

## Issues

1. Whether clear and convincing evidence supported the findings that the mother remained unfit and had not reasonably complied with or benefited from the court-approved treatment plan within a reasonable time.
2. Whether the juvenile court erred by terminating parental rights without adopting a less drastic alternative, including placement with proposed relatives.
3. Whether the termination order satisfied the statutory requirements for termination and constitutional due process protections, including the clear-and-convincing standard and best-interests determination.

## Decision

- The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the order terminating the mother’s parental rights.
- The court held the record supported findings of ongoing parental unfitness and failure to achieve adequate treatment-plan compliance and progress within a child-centered reasonable time.
- The court held the juvenile court adequately considered and reasonably rejected proposed relative placements as unsuitable, so termination was not barred by the existence of suggested relatives.
- The court concluded the statutory criteria for termination and required evidentiary and best-interests findings were satisfied.

## Legal Principles

- Parental rights may be terminated upon clear and convincing evidence that the child has been adjudicated dependent or neglected and the parent is unfit with no reasonable prospect of becoming fit within a reasonable time, as evaluated under the statutory framework governing termination.
- A parent’s substantial failure to comply with, and benefit from, a court-approved treatment plan—especially regarding substance abuse treatment, mental-health assessment, and stability—may support findings of continued unfitness and lack of prospects for timely change.
- The “reasonable time” analysis is child-focused and considers the child’s need for permanency and stability rather than an open-ended period for parental rehabilitation.
- Before termination, courts must consider less drastic alternatives, including relative placement, but may reject them when the proposed relatives are not suitable to provide a safe, stable, and permanent home.
- Appellate review generally defers to supported juvenile-court factual findings on unfitness, treatment-plan progress, and suitability of alternatives when the correct legal standards are applied.

## Conclusion

The Court of Appeals upheld termination because the evidence showed persistent unfitness and insufficient improvement under the treatment plan within a timeframe consistent with the children’s needs, and because the juvenile court reasonably rejected proposed relative placements as unsuitable, leaving termination as the appropriate permanency option.


People ex rel. N.A.T., 134 P.3d 535 (Colo. App. 2006)