In re A.P.

On December 27, 2022, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) filed a petition with the court alleging that the parties’ children were at substantial risk of harm because of, among other things, domestic violence between Mother and Father. The next day Mother filed a request for a restraining order in the juvenile court and a TRO was issued. Farther violated the TRO several times by contacting Mother. Though the trial court found Father committed domestic violence against Mother, it denied Mother’s request for a restraining order because the parties lived separately. When it denied the request, the juvenile court told the parties to stay away from each other. Mother appealed.

Noting that a court may not deny a restraining order just because the parties are no longer live together, the Court of Appeal reversed the juvenile court order denying Mother’s restraining order request. The Court also noted that the juvenile court’s admonishment to the parties to stay away from each other was not a proper substitute for a restraining order.