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Court continues DFPS conservatorship, approves step-up visits as part of reunification plan for Adriel Ruiz
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Summary
At a review hearing, the court continued the Department of Family and Protective Services as temporary managing conservator for Adriel Ruiz, noted progress toward reunification with the father, and approved a plan of unsupervised visits moving toward overnight stays and monitored reunification steps.
A judge in the High Plains Child Protection Court continued the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) as temporary managing conservator of infant Adriel Ruiz and set a further hearing, while confirming a gradual reunification plan that started unsupervised visits and will move toward overnight visits if those go well.
DFPS permanency specialist Jennifer Campos told the court that Adriel is “doing really well,” has completed a normal swallow study and is crawling, and that the agency had begun unsupervised visits between the child and father, Marco Ruiz, with a second unsupervised visit expected the day after the hearing. Campos said the plan is to do about a month of unsupervised visits and then begin overnight visits, with the goal of slowly moving to reunification if placement and the child’s caregiver are comfortable.
The court found the father in compliance with his service plan and mother in partial compliance, noted barriers to the mother completing services while living in Colorado, and said the department should continue reasonable efforts toward reunification with the father. The judge ordered the case continued for a final hearing on July 8, 2025, on a 9:00 a.m. docket and emphasized the court’s interest in monitoring progress.
Defense counsel for father Javier Rivera and DFPS counsel were present; interpreter services were arranged for the father. DFPS supervisor Kayla Martinez and permanency specialist Campos participated in the hearing. The judge affirmed that any transition to overnight visits must account for the father’s work schedule and placement’s readiness and directed DFPS to coordinate visits and monitor the step-up plan.
The court’s continuing order keeps the child’s current placement in place and reiterates that the department will use reasonable efforts to reunify the family while protecting the child’s safety.
