In re Interest of Jeremy T.
| Decision Date | 24 September 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. S-98-066.,S-98-066. |
| Citation | 257 Neb. 736,600 N.W.2d 747 |
| Parties | In re Interest of JEREMY T., a child under 18 years of age. State of Nebraska, Douglas County, appellee, v. Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, appellant. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
Don Stenberg, Attorney General, Royce N. Harper, and Karen A. Anderson, Special Assistant Attorney General, for appellant.
James S. Jansen, Douglas County Attorney, and Patrick R. Guinan, Omaha, for appellee.
This case presents one primary question: Should the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) be ordered to reimburse Douglas County for the costs of placing and caring for a particular juvenile when the separate juvenile court of Douglas County (juvenile court) issued a set of orders under one docket placing the juvenile in the custody of the Department and another order under a different docket placing the juvenile at Clarinda Academy and in the custody of the Douglas County Separate Juvenile Court Chief Probation Officer? The juvenile court answered this question in the affirmative, and the Department appeals. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the juvenile court's order, as modified.
On November 23, 1994, the Douglas County Attorney's office (county attorney) filed a petition with the juvenile court, alleging that two brothers, Jeremy T. and Christopher T., were neglected juveniles pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 43-247(3)(a) (Reissue 1993). This petition created docket 90, No. 331, at the juvenile court, which will hereinafter be referred to as the "neglect docket." The juvenile court held a detention hearing on the neglect docket and ordered that both juveniles be placed into the temporary custody of the Department for appropriate care and placement on December 8. The juvenile court found that Jeremy and Christopher were juveniles within § 43-247(3)(a) and continued the December 8 order at a pretrial hearing on December 21, a disposition hearing on February 17, 1995, and review hearings on April 17 and August 10.
On January 8, 1996, the county attorney filed another petition with the juvenile court alleging that Jeremy had committed a number of criminal acts that brought him within § 43-247(1). This petition created docket 93, No. 236, at the juvenile court, which will hereinafter be referred to as the "delinquency docket." Based on an ex parte motion for immediate custody filed by the county attorney and a letter by a case manager at the Department, the juvenile court ruled on the delinquency docket that Jeremy was a danger to himself and others as well as a flight risk. As such, the juvenile court ordered that the Douglas County sheriff detain and place Jeremy at the Douglas County Youth Center (Youth Center) on February 9.
After a simultaneous neglect docket and delinquency docket review hearing on February 23, 1996, the juvenile court reissued the delinquency docket order that Jeremy be placed at the Youth Center. Moreover, the juvenile court ordered that a previous neglect docket order of August 10, 1995 (continuing the Department's custody of Jeremy), remain "in full force and effect." On February 28, 1996, the juvenile court held a first hearing on the delinquency docket, wherein Jeremy admitted to various charges against him. The juvenile court simultaneously held a detention hearing on the neglect docket. The juvenile court ordered that Jeremy remain at the Youth Center under both the delinquency and neglect dockets.
Pursuant to the delinquency docket, the juvenile court ordered Jeremy into the custody of the Office of Juvenile Services on April 18, 1996. The juvenile court also ordered that Jeremy be transferred to the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center (Rehabilitation Center) in Geneva, Nebraska, for an evaluation. Additionally, the juvenile court ordered that the cost of Jeremy's care be borne by the State of Nebraska to the extent that it is not covered by Jeremy's parent's insurance. Finally, the juvenile court ordered that Jeremy be returned to the custody of the juvenile court when released from the Rehabilitation Center. Jeremy was released from the Rehabilitation Center and returned to the Youth Center on May 1. On May 14, the juvenile court issued an order that Jeremy remain in detention at the Youth Center and that "probation ... make application to Clarinda Academy," located in Clarinda, Iowa.
At a hearing on the delinquency docket on June 6, 1996, the juvenile court placed Jeremy in the temporary custody of the Douglas County Separate Juvenile Court Chief Probation Officer (Douglas County CPO) and ordered Jeremy placed at the Clarinda Academy. Moreover, the juvenile court ordered that the cost of Jeremy's care and placement—to the extent that it is not covered by medicaid or another state or federal fund, or by his parent's insurance or ability to pay—be borne by the Douglas County General Assistance Fund. No representative of the Department was present at this hearing. Nevertheless, on August 23, the juvenile court issued an order on the neglect docket, with a representative from the Department present, placing Jeremy "in the temporary custody of [the Department] for continued appropriate care and placement."
On December 5, 1996, the juvenile court held a delinquency docket hearing, again with a Department caseworker present, wherein it ordered that Jeremy "remain as placed." Then, on February 25, 1997, the juvenile court again issued a neglect docket order that Jeremy "remain in the temporary custody of [the Department] for continued appropriate care and placement."
The county attorney filed a motion for support in the juvenile court against Jeremy's mother on March 31, 1997; however, the county attorney withdrew the motion to pursue a different avenue of reimbursement on May 1. On May 14, the county attorney filed another motion for support in the trial court, this time against the Department. After a delinquency docket hearing on June 5, the juvenile court ordered that Jeremy be placed on probation for 90 days, released from the Clarinda Academy on June 13, and returned to his father's home. At a hearing on the neglect docket on August 25, the juvenile court terminated the Department's custody of Jeremy.
In orders filed on December 12, 1997, the juvenile court terminated its jurisdiction over Jeremy under the delinquency docket. Moreover, the juvenile court sustained Douglas County's motion for reimbursement and ordered the Department to pay Douglas County for the costs of Jeremy's stays at the Youth Center and the Clarinda Academy. It is from the second order that the Department timely appeals.
The Department asserts that the juvenile court erred in (1) finding that the Department must reimburse Douglas County for the costs of placing and caring for Jeremy, (2) failing to explicitly relieve the Department of its custodial responsibilities for Jeremy, and (3) entering an order for the specific placement of Jeremy.
In other words, the Department claims that the Nebraska Juvenile Code, Neb.Rev.Stat. ch. 43, art. 2 (Reissue 1993, Cum.Supp.1994 & Supp.1995) (now found at ch. 43, art. 2 (Reissue 1998)), does not allow for "dual custody," and that the juvenile court should have terminated the Department's custody over Jeremy and relieved the Department of its obligations upon placing Jeremy at the Clarinda Academy and into the custody of the Douglas County CPO.
Questions of law and statutory interpretation require an appellate court to reach a conclusion independent of the decision made by the court below. Schmidt v. State, 255 Neb. 551, 586 N.W.2d 148 (1998).
As noted above, the trial court found that Jeremy was a neglected juvenile within § 43-247(3)(a) on December 21, 1994. Then, on February 9, 1996, the juvenile court adjudged Jeremy to be a juvenile under § 43-247(1). These rulings, taken together, present some confusion as to which statute controls in this matter—be it § 43-290, § 43-284, or § 43-286. Because we are aware that some of the subsections of the foregoing statutes have recently changed while the controlling text has not, we will cite to the current subsections for the sake of simplicity and convenience. As such, those statutes are set out here, in pertinent part, as follows:
Under § 43-247:
Next, § 43-290 states:
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