Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Dec 5, 2023
In Re: J.A.F., Juvenile; Juvenile Officer and Department of Social Services, Children's Division vs. J.J.J.F.
J.J.J.F., the father of J.A.F., appealed a circuit court judgment that maintained J.A.F.'s placement with a non-relative foster family and continued the permanency plan of reunification with the mother. Father argued the judgment modified placement, triggering a right to interlocutory appeal under § 211.261.2(2). The appellate court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the statute only permits appeals from orders that change or modify a child's placement, not those that merely maintain the existing placement. The court also noted that permanency hearing orders under § 210.720 are generally not appealable.