# Jenkins v. Department of Social & Health Services

> Washington Supreme Court · May 26, 2011 · 171 Wash. 2d 568

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4714614

## Case

- **Full name:** In the Matter of the Dependency of K.N.J. Michael Jenkins v. The Department of Social and Health Services
- **Court:** Washington Supreme Court
- **Decided:** May 26, 2011
- **Citations:** 171 Wash. 2d 568; 257 P.3d 522
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurring in part by Stephens
- **Judges:** Alexander, Chambers, Fairhurst, Johnson, Madsen, Only, Owens, Stephens, Wiggins
- **Cited by:** 143 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4714614

## Opinion text

Stephens, J.
¶37 (concurring in dissent) — I concur in Justice Alexander’s dissent. RCW 13.34.180(l)(a) unambiguously requires a finding of dependency before the State may bring a petition seeking termination of a parent and child relationship. The proceedings in this case demonstrate that the parties and the lower court were aware of the need for a dependency finding, as they relied entirely on what turned out to be a void dependency order.
¶38 I share the majority’s concern for K.N.J., who is nearly six years old and has never been in her father’s custody. There is a legitimate desire in cases such as this to find a solution rather than disrupt a child’s life based on what some may label a “technicality.” But, this is not the first case in which a defect in subject matter jurisdiction has surfaced to thwart the interests of certainty and finality, nor is it likely to be the last. I cannot reconcile the majority’s solution with the requirements of the statute, which does not authorize an appellate court to make an after-the-fact dependency determination based on facts *587 found at the termination trial. I therefore concur in the dissent.
After modification, further reconsideration denied August 2, 2011.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/4714614. Public record. Not legal advice.