In re Interest of Nizigiyimana R.

Appellants privately adopted the younger sister of Nizigiyimana R. (Ziggy) and sought the placement and eventual adoption of Ziggy. Ziggy’s younger sister who was born after Ziggy was removed the mother’s home and placed in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services but before the court terminated the parental rights of Ziggy’s parents. Appellants sought to intervene, on their daughter’s behalf, in the dependency proceeding, claiming a right to intervene because Neb. Rev. Stat. 43-1311.02 requires the Department to make reasonable efforts for a joint sibling placement. The juvenile court denied Appellants’ leave to intervene, concluding, inter alia, that the Nebraska statutes implementing the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act did not give appellants or their daughter any cognizable interests in the dependency proceeding. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the juvenile court correctly denied Appellants leave to intervene in this dependency proceeding. View "In re Interest of Nizigiyimana R." on Justia Law