Peo in Interest of OF

── Peo in Interest of OF ── Court: Colorado Court of Appeals Date: May 14, 2026 Category: General 25CA1652 Peo in Interest of OF 05-14-2026 COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS Court of Appeals No. 25CA1652 El Paso County District Court No. 24JV30461 Honorable Robin Chittum, Judge Honorable Hilary Gurney, Judge The People of the State of Colorado, Appellee, In the Interest of O.F., a Child, and Concerning R.M., Appellant. JUDGMENT AFFIRMED Division A Opinion by JUDGE BERNARD* Román, C.J., and Ashby*, J., concur NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced May 14, 2026 Kenneth Hodges, County Attorney, Melanie E. Gavisk, Senior County Attorney, Colorado Springs, Colorado for Appellee Josi McCauley, Guardian Ad Litem Andrew A. Gargano, Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel, Denver, Colorado for Appellant *Sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice under provisions of Colo. Const. art. VI, § 5(3), and § 24-51-1105, C.R.S. 2025. ¶1 In this dependency and neglect action, a father, R.M., appeals the judgment allocating parental responsibilities for his child, O.F., to the child’s paternal grandmother, A.K. We affirm. I. Background ¶2 In June 2024, the El Paso County Department of Human Services filed a petition in dependency and neglect naming the child, which was triggered by concerns about mother’s use of controlled substances. ¶3 This was the second dependency and neglect petition concerning the child, and it was, in part, based on concerns about father’s substance abuse and domestic violence. The El Paso County Department’s previous petition was closed in 2023 with an allocation of parental responsibilities to mother. Among other things, the allocation granted father supervised parenting time, and it indicated he should pursue treatment to address his substance abuse and domestic violence issues. The juvenile court later found father had not pursued treatment, so it authorized the El Paso County Department to file the 2024 petition. ¶4 Father asked for an adjudicatory jury trial. The jury returned special verdicts finding the child was dependent or neglected. The 1  court adjudicated the child dependent and neglected, and it adopted a treatment plan for father. See People in Interest of O.L.F., (Colo. App. No. 24CA1511, Mar. 20, 2025)(not published pursuant to C.A.R. 35(e)). ¶5 There was a conflict between father and the El Paso County Department. It arose from a third dependency and neglect case involving one of father’s other children. As a result, the Pueblo County Department of Human Services, which we shall call “the department,” and a special county attorney entered the case, replacing the El Paso County participants. ¶6 Father consistently asked the court throughout the case to allocate parental responsibilities to him. The court set father’s motion for a contested hearing, and the department later asked the court to allocate parental responsibilities to the paternal grandmother. Almost one year after the petition was filed, the court granted the department’s request. II. Personal Jurisdiction ¶7 Father contends the court lacked jurisdiction to allocate parental responsibilities for the child because he was not properly served. We disagree. 2  A. Relevant Law and Standard of Review ¶8 The Children’s Code requires summonses in dependency and neglect actions “be served personally, pursuant to the Colorado rules of civil procedure,” unless the respondent “cannot be found within the state.” § 19-3-503(7)-(8), C.R.S. 2025. But “[n]o summons shall issue to any respondent who appears voluntarily or who waives service.” § 19-3-503(2). ¶9 A parent may “appear specially to contest a court’s personal jurisdiction over [him