In re J.Y.

FACTS

1. The Background and the Parties J.Y. was detained from his parents in July 2019, when he was two months old, and placed with his foster parents, April and Jordan K. When J.Y. first arrived in their home, he suffered a flat head. April K. is a NICU nurse. She raised the issue at J.Y.’s first appointment with his pediatrician, and obtained a helmet that J.Y. wore for four months to correct his head shape. April and Jordan K. provided all the care and attention that J.Y. needed as an infant.

3 April and Jordan K. became J.Y.’s de facto parents two years later, at their request, in May 2021. J.Y. has lived with them since he was two months old; theirs is the only home he has ever known. J.Y. has a loving and secure attachment with his de facto parents, and he has thrived in their care. April and Jordan K. have wanted to adopt J.Y. since November 2019. In April 2020, the Department reported the plan was for April and Jordan K. to adopt J.Y. if reunification efforts failed. The Department provided reunification services to J.Y.’s birth parents for more than a year, but these were unsuccessful. During this period (as we will describe, post), the Department communicated with…