Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 06/25/2021 08:08 AM CDT - 565 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 309 Nebraska Reports IN RE INTEREST OF MATEO L. ET AL. Cite as 309 Neb. 565 In re Interest of Mateo L. et al., children under 18 years of age. State of Nebraska, appellant, v. Juana L., appellee and cross-appellee, and Lucinda K. Bauer, guardian ad litem, for Mateo L. et al., appellee and cross-appellant. ___ N.W.2d ___ Filed June 25, 2021. No. S-20-626. 1. Juvenile Courts: Appeal and Error. An appellate court reviews juve- nile cases de novo on the record and reaches its conclusions indepen- dently of the findings made by the juvenile court below. 2. Juvenile Courts: Evidence: Appeal and Error. When the evidence is in conflict, an appellate court may consider and give weight to the fact that the juvenile court observed the witnesses and accepted one version of the facts over another. 3. Parental Rights: Proof. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-292 (Reissue 2016) con- tains 11 separate subsections, any one of which can serve as a basis for terminating parental rights when coupled with evidence that termination is in the best interests of the child. 4. ____: ____. To terminate parental rights, it is the State’s burden to show by clear and convincing evidence both that one of the statutory bases enumerated in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-292 (Reissue 2016) exists and that termination is in the child’s best interests. 5. Statutes. Statutory language is to be read according to its plain and ordinary meaning. 6. Parental Rights: Time. The period of out-of-home placement set in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-292(6) (Reissue 2016) as a ground for termination of parental rights was set by the Legislature as a guideline for what would be a reasonable time for parents to rehabilitate themselves to a minimum degree of fitness. 7. Parental Rights: Proof. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-292(7) (Reissue 2016) operates mechanically and, unlike the other subsections of the statute, - 566 - Nebraska Supreme Court Advance Sheets 309 Nebraska Reports IN RE INTEREST OF MATEO L. ET AL. Cite as 309 Neb. 565 does not require the State to adduce evidence of any specific fault on the part of a parent. 8. Parental Rights: Legislature. Out-of-home placement is itself defined by the Legislature as an independent ground for termination, since chil- dren cannot, and should not, be suspended in foster care or be made to await uncertain parental maturity. 9. Parental Rights: Juvenile Courts. Reasonable efforts to reunify a fam- ily are required under the juvenile code only when termination is sought under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-296(6) (Reissue 2016). 10. Parental Rights. Whereas statutory grounds are based on a parent’s past conduct, the best interests inquiry focuses on the future well-being of the child. 11. Constitutional Law: Due Process: Parental Rights: Proof. Showing that termination of parental rights is in the best interests of the child is necessarily a particularly high bar, since a parent’s right to …
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