Matter of M.l.o.-L., Yinc

Summary

The court affirmed the District Court’s approval of adoption as the permanency plan and denial of the maternal grandmother’s placement request. It held that the District Court applied the governing abuse-and-neglect statutes despite using imprecise “change in circumstances” terminology, adequately incorporated prior findings, and reasonably relied on evidence that changing the child’s placement would harm her mental and emotional health. The court also upheld the District Court’s reasonable-efforts determination because the evidence supported modifying or pausing services for safety and therapeutic reasons.