Dept. of Human Services v. V. G.

── Dept. of Human Services v. V. G. ── Court: Court of Appeals of Oregon Date: May 13, 2026 Author: Aoyagi Category: General 452 May 13, 2026 No. 402 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF OREGON In the Matter of J. Y. S., a Child. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, Petitioner-Respondent, and J. Y. S., Respondent, v. V. G., Appellant. Deschutes County Circuit Court 25JU01098; A188726 Bethany P. Flint, Judge. Argued and submitted March 19, 2026. Gabe Newland, Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause for appellant. Also on the brief was Shannon Storey, Chief Defender, Juvenile Appellate Section, Oregon Public Defense Commission. Jeff J. Payne, Assistant Attorney General, argued the cause for respondent Department of Human Services. Also on the brief were Dan Rayfield, Attorney General, and Paul L. Smith, Solicitor General. Erica Hayne Friedman argued the cause for respondent Child. Also on the brief was Youth, Rights & Justice. Before Aoyagi, Presiding Judge, Egan, Judge, and Pagán, Judge. AOYAGI, P. J. Affirmed. Cite as 349 Or App 452 (2026) 453 454 Dept. of Human Services v. V. G. AOYAGI, P. J. Mother appeals a juvenile court judgment assert- ing dependency jurisdiction over her son, J, who was seven years old at the time of the jurisdiction trial. She raises two assignments of error. First, mother challenges the court’s assertion of dependency jurisdiction based on mother being “unable or unwilling to consistently meet the child’s basic needs” (allegation 4A). Second, mother contends that the court plainly erred in taking judicial notice that “the basic needs of a child include freedom from physical, sexual or emotional abuse.” For the reasons explained below, we affirm. FACTS In February 2025, J was in first grade and living with mother. Mother and father were separated, and father lived elsewhere. J made suicidal statements at school that led to a meeting with a school psychologist, in which J reported physical abuse by mother. That in turn led to the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) opening an investigation. J was interviewed by an ODHS caseworker and, later, at KIDS Center. He made statements regarding physical abuse and lack of food in the home. ODHS petitioned for dependency jurisdiction, alleg- ing six jurisdictional bases relating to mother and additional bases relating to father. The juvenile court held a contested hearing in September 2025 and ultimately asserted juris- diction over J on four bases related to mother and two bases related to father. The jurisdictional bases relating to mother are that mother is unable or unwilling to consistently meet J’s basic needs (allegation 4A); that mother engages in a pattern of physical abuse of J; that mother’s mental health impairs her ability to safely parent; and that mother’s pat- tern of volatile behavior, including engaging in a domesti- cally violent relationship with father, impairs her ability to safely parent. Regarding mother’s inability to meet J’s basic needs—the only jurisdictional basis at issue on appeal—the juvenile court found that mother was able to meet J’s basic needs for shelter, food, and the like, but not his basic need Cite as 349 Or App 452 (2026) 455 to live in a home free of abuse. The court began its discus- sion of the basic-needs allegation by acknowledging that “it was hard for me to really identify what those basic needs were identified as for [J].” The court then went through the evidence, finding that mother was employed and financially independent, had lived in the same house for a significant time, and had transportation—“[r]eally, all of those basic things that would meet a child’s basic needs.” As for food, given inc