Peo in Interest of KS

── Peo in Interest of KS ── Court: Colorado Court of Appeals Date: May 14, 2026 Category: General 25CA1998 Peo in Interest of KS 05-14-2026 COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS Court of Appeals No. 25CA1998 Montrose County District Court No. 24JV30043 Honorable Valerie J. Robison, Judge Honorable D. Cory Jackson, Judge The People of the State of Colorado, Appellee, In the Interest of K.S., a Child, and Concerning P.S., Appellant. JUDGMENT AFFIRMED Division VI Opinion by JUDGE WELLING Schock and Lum, JJ., concur NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced May 14, 2026 Julie R. Andress, County Attorney, Ryan J. Dunn, Assistant County Attorney, Montrose, Colorado, for Appellee Jenna L. Mazzucca, Guardian Ad Litem Robin Tieman, Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel, Boulder, Colorado, for Appellant ¶1 In this dependency and neglect proceeding, P.S. (father) appeals the judgment adjudicating K.S. (the child) dependent or neglected. We affirm. I. Background ¶2 In December 2024, the Montrose County Department of Human Services received a referral regarding the then-newborn child based on concerns about the parents’ substance use, domestic violence, and unstable housing. At that time, the child was in the neonatal intensive care unit being treated for medical complications associated with his premature birth. After an initial investigation, the intake caseworker determined that it wouldn’t be safe for the child to be discharged from the hospital to either parent. Consequently, the Department filed a petition in dependency and neglect. ¶3 The juvenile court granted temporary custody of the child to the Department. When the child was discharged from the hospital, he was placed with kin — first with father’s brother and later with a non-relative kin provider. ¶4 For several months, the Department attempted to locate and serve father with no success. Thus, the juvenile court granted the 1  Department’s request to serve him by publication. Approximately five months after the case opened, father appeared in court for the first time. He then denied the allegations in the petition and requested an adjudicatory jury trial. ¶5 After a three-day trial, the jury rendered a verdict finding that the child’s environment was injurious to his welfare. Based on the jury’s verdict, the court adjudicated the child dependent or neglected. II. Legal Framework ¶6 The purpose of an adjudicatory jury trial is to determine whether the factual allegations in the dependency and neglect petition are supported by a preponderance of the evidence and whether the status of the child warrants intrusive protective or corrective state intervention into the familial relationship. People in Interest of G.E.S., 2016 COA 183, ¶ 13. A child may be adjudicated dependent or neglected if the government proves that one or more of the conditions set forth in section 19-3-102, C.R.S. 2025, exists. People in Interest of S.M-L., 2016 COA 173, ¶ 25, aff’d on other grounds sub nom People in Interest of R.S. v. G.S., 2018 CO 31. As 2  relevant here, a child is dependent or neglected if “[t]he child’s environment is injurious to his or her welfare.” § 19-3-102(1)(c). ¶7 Adjudication under section 19-3-102(1)(c) doesn’t require proof of parental fault. People in Interest of J.G., 2016 CO 39, ¶ 40. Rather, an adjudication may be entered when a child’s environment is injurious, regardless of the parents’ actions or failures to act. Id. ¶8 Moreover, adjudication under section 19-3-102(1)(c) can be based on prospective harm. People in Interest of S.N., 2014 COA 116, ¶¶ 15-16; People in Interest of S.G.L., 214 P.3d 580, 583 (Colo. App. 2009). To determine whether a child is dependent