In re C.B.

── In re C.B. ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: April 24, 2026 Category: General 2026 IL App (4th) 251291-U NOTICE FILED This Order was filed under April 24, 2026 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is NO. 4-25-1291 Carla Bender not precedent except in the 4th District Appellate limited circumstances allowed IN THE APPELLATE COURT under Rule 23(e)(1). Court, IL OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT In re C.B., a Minor ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of (The People of the State of Illinois, ) Tazewell County Petitioner-Appellee, ) No. 25JA48 v. ) Andrea Z., ) Honorable Respondent-Appellant). ) Katherine G. P. Legge, ) Judge Presiding. JUSTICE LANNERD delivered the judgment of the court. Justices Doherty and DeArmond concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: The appellate court granted appellate counsel’s motion to withdraw and affirmed the trial court’s judgment, concluding no issue of arguable merit could be raised on appeal. ¶2 In April 2025, the State filed a petition pursuant to section 2-3(1)(b) of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 (Juvenile Court Act) (705 ILCS 405/2-3(1)(b) (West 2024)), alleging C.B. (born October 2010), the child of respondent, Andrea Z., and Joshua B., was a neglected minor. (When the State filed its petition, C.B. was in the custody of his grandmother, Melinda R., who served as his short-term guardian. Melinda R.’s guardianship was vacated by the trial court, and she is not a party to this appeal.) Following a joint adjudicatory and dispositional hearing, the court entered orders adjudicating C.B. neglected and finding respondent fit but unable to care for C.B. Respondent timely filed a notice of appeal, and counsel was appointed to represent her. (Joshua B., who was found unfit and unwilling, is not a party to this appeal.) Respondent’s counsel now moves to withdraw pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), contending “an appeal in this case would be meritless.” See In re S.M., 314 Ill. App. 3d 682, 685 (2000) (holding Anders “applies to findings of parental unfitness and termination of parental rights”). We agree and grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and affirm the court’s judgment. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 A. The State’s Shelter Care Petition ¶5 On April 8, 2025, the State filed a petition alleging C.B. was a neglected minor pursuant to section 2-3(1)(b) of the Juvenile Court Act (705 ILCS 405/2-3(1)(b) (West 2024)). We note portions of the petition were later stricken by the State without objection. Because of this, we have omitted references to those portions of the petition below. The remaining portions of the petition alleged: “a. On or about March 20, 2025, [the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)] received an online referral for service assessment for the family due to reported concerns including that [C.B.] had missed multiple medical appointments, that [C.B.] was discharged from his [primary