Matter of K.S., YINC

── Matter of K.S., YINC ── Court: Montana Supreme Court Date: May 12, 2026 Category: Direct Appeal 05/12/2026 DA 25-0531 Case Number: DA 25-0531 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF MONTANA 2026 MT 105N IN THE MATTER OF: K.S., A Youth in Need of Care. APPEAL FROM: District Court of the Second Judicial District, In and For the County of Butte-Silver Bow, Cause No. DN-2022-11 Honorable Robert J. Whelan, Presiding Judge COUNSEL OF RECORD: For Appellant: Gregory D. Birdsong, Birdsong Law Office, Santa Fe, New Mexico For Appellee: Austin Knudsen, Montana Attorney General, Cori Losing, Assistant Attorney General, Helena, Montana Matthew C. Enrooth, Butte-Silver Bow County Attorney, Butte, Montana Jim Reintsma, Assistant Attorney General, Child Protection Unit, Helena, Montana Submitted on Briefs: March 11, 2026 Decided: May 12, 2026 Filed: __________________________________________ Clerk Justice Ingrid Gustafson delivered the Opinion of the Court. ¶1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(c), Montana Supreme Court Internal Operating Rules, this case is decided by memorandum opinion and shall not be cited and does not serve as precedent. Its case title, cause number, and disposition shall be included in this Court’s quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana Reports. ¶2 Appellant, J.S. (Mother), natural mother of K.S., appeals from the District Court’s Decree of Guardianship asserting it was made in error as: (1) the District Court erred by failing to provide Mother a treatment plan and make reasonable efforts towards reunification after remand; (2) the District Court erred in taking judicial notice of prior proceedings; (3) the District Court erred by failing to timely hold a dispositional hearing or order a treatment plan, denying visitation, and failing to provide reasonable reunification efforts; and (4) the District Court erred in finding further efforts at reunification would be unproductive. We affirm. ¶3 On February 28, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services, Child and Family Division (the Department) removed K.S., then 7 years old, from Mother’s care. On that same date, Mother was arrested for possession of dangerous drugs and obstruction of a law enforcement officer. K.S. was placed with his maternal grandparents, with whom he and Mother had previously lived. On August 22, 2022, following a contested adjudication hearing which Mother did not attend, the District Court adjudicated K.S. as a youth in need of care (YINC). On April 10, 2024, the Department petitioned for the maternal grandparents to be appointed K.S.’s co-guardians. Following a contested guardianship 2 hearing, the District Court granted the guardianship petition on September 24, 2024. Mother appealed. On February 5, 2025, the State filed a notice of concession with this Court, in which the Department sought reversal of the September 24, 2024 Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Decree of Guardianship and vacation of the August 31, 2022 order adjudicating K.S. a YINC and granting temporary legal custody to the Department. Based on Mother’s appeal and the State’s concession, this Court issued its order of February 11, 2025, reversing the District Court’s adjudication and guardianship order and remanding the matter for a new adjudication hearing. ¶4 Following remand and upon Mother’s stipulation, on May 1, 2025, the District Court again adjudicated K.S. as a YINC. On May 16, 2025, the Department filed anothe