In re Alyssa G. CA2/7

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 23, 2021
DocketB306721
StatusUnpublished

This text of In re Alyssa G. CA2/7 (In re Alyssa G. CA2/7) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Alyssa G. CA2/7, (Cal. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Filed 6/23/21 In re Alyssa G. CA2/7 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION SEVEN

In re ALYSSA G., A Person Coming B306721 Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 20CCJP03419) LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

CAROLINA G.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Martha A. Matthews, Judge. Affirmed. Benjamin Ekenes, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rodrigo Castro-Silva, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Tracey Dodds, Principal Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. INTRODUCTION

Carolina G. appeals from the juvenile court’s disposition order removing her 16-year-old daughter Alyssa G. from her custody. Carolina contends substantial evidence did not support the court’s finding under Welfare and Institutions Code section 361, subdivision (c)(1),1 that there were no reasonable means to protect Alyssa other than removal. Carolina also contends the juvenile court erred by failing to state the facts supporting its finding the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services made reasonable efforts to prevent removal and by failing to consider alternatives to removal. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Alyssa Runs Away from Home and Reports Abuse; the Department Investigates On June 17, 2020 Alyssa ran away from home after Carolina pushed her in the car during an argument. Carolina was “extremely angry” and, while she was driving, hit herself in the face and said to Alyssa, “‘You see what you made me do? You make me want to kill myself.’” Alyssa reported the abuse to her father, Derek S., who contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which in turn contacted the Department. Alyssa told a Department social worker she was “tired of the ongoing physical and emotional abuse” by Carolina. Alyssa said Carolina “hits her all the time when angry or upset.” Alyssa reported a May 31, 2020 incident where Carolina hit her in the face, near her right eye, causing redness and swelling. Alyssa stated, “‘My

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

2 mother has hit me before. This time was different. I did not feel safe.’” Alyssa also reported that Carolina was “unstable” and “unpredictable” and that Carolina exhibited behavior that caused Alyssa to be “concerned for her safety,” such as gluing closed the windows in their home, removing Alyssa’s bedroom door, and transferring “thousands of dollars” to Alyssa’s bank account and telling her, “‘Here is the money in case I have a heart attack or die.’” Alyssa said Carolina frequently called her derogatory names, such as “‘whore,’” “‘slut,’” “‘disgrace,’” and “‘bitch,’” and said she was going to disown Alyssa. Alyssa told the social worker she “is afraid” of Carolina and “no longer wants to live in her mother’s home.” Suzanne G., Alyssa’s maternal grandmother, corroborated Alyssa’s account of Carolina’s abuse. Suzanne told the social worker she witnessed Carolina hitting Alyssa, and she described a relatively recent incident where Carolina hit Alyssa “several times with a closed fist on different parts of her body.” Suzanne reported that Carolina had also physically and verbally abused her. Suzanne said Alyssa told her about the incident where Carolina hit her in the face and about the more recent incident where Carolina hit herself in the face while she was driving, later poked herself in the eye, and said she wanted die. Suzanne told the social worker that there was a history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in her family and that she believed Carolina had schizophrenia and was paranoid. Suzanne said Carolina hears voices of people talking about her, sees “things” that are not there, and gets on the floor and hits her forehead when she is angry or irritated. Suzanne stated Carolina has said that she was related to the President and that her father, who died more than 20 years ago, was working undercover for the President. In his interview with the social worker, Derek said Alyssa told him three weeks ago Carolina had hit her in the face. Derek

3 did not report the incident because, according to him, when he calls the police, “things turn[ ] against him and he gets arrested.” Derek also stated Alyssa told him Carolina “gets physical with her all the time over nothing.” Carolina denied the allegations of physical and emotional abuse. Carolina told the social worker that she has sole legal and physical custody of Alyssa and that she and Alyssa have a “‘fantastic relationship.’” Carolina stated Alyssa was merely “‘acting up a little bit,’” and Carolina blamed the pandemic for Alyssa’s frustrations. Carolina admitted that she had slapped Alyssa two weeks before the interview with the social worker, but explained that she had not allowed Alyssa to go out because “there was a lot of looting going on” with “the protests” and that, when Alyssa “kept taunting her,” Carolina “slapped her on the face once.” Carolina denied she had any mental illness or experienced auditory or visual hallucinations. She explained she glued “some of the windows” in her home closed to prevent other people, including Derek, from breaking in. Carolina summed up Alyssa’s allegations as “‘just one disagreement.’”

B. The Department Files a Petition Under Section 300, Subdivisions (a) and (b), and the Court Detains Alyssa On June 24, 2020 the Department filed a petition under section 300, subdivision (a), alleging Carolina physically abused Alyssa, which endangered Alyssa’s physical health and safety and placed her at risk of serious physical harm. The Department also alleged, under section 300, subdivision (b), that Carolina’s physical abuse of Alyssa, Derek’s failure to protect Alyssa from that abuse, and Carolina’s “mental and emotional problems, including paranoia, suicidal ideation, visual hallucinations and auditory hallucinations,” endangered Alyssa’s physical health

4 and safety and placed her at risk of serious physical harm.2 At the detention hearing, Carolina denied the Department’s allegations. The juvenile court detained Alyssa and placed her with Suzanne. The court ordered the Department to provide Carolina referrals for mental health assessment and treatment.

C. The Department Investigates Further In a follow-up interview, Alyssa reported Carolina had physically abused her for five years, approximately three times a week. On one occasion, Carolina pinched Alyssa’s nose so hard that “she could not breathe,” and on another Carolina yanked Alyssa’s ear “‘really hard.’” Alyssa stated her grandmother Suzanne cannot stop Carolina from physically abusing her because Carolina also physically abuses Suzanne. Suzanne has called law enforcement in the past but, according to Alyssa, law enforcement “‘does nothing.’” Carolina told the social worker she did not understand why Alyssa would make these allegations of abuse. Carolina continued to deny she abused Alyssa and said she slapped Alyssa only once to “‘wake her up’” because Alyssa wanted to go out during the protests and looting.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. J.J.
299 P.3d 1254 (California Supreme Court, 2013)
In Re Jason L.
222 Cal. App. 3d 1206 (California Court of Appeal, 1990)
LAURIE S. v. Superior Court
26 Cal. App. 4th 195 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
In Re Cole C.
174 Cal. App. 4th 900 (California Court of Appeal, 2009)
In Re Diamond H.
98 Cal. Rptr. 2d 715 (California Court of Appeal, 2000)
In Re Basilio T.
4 Cal. App. 4th 155 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
Renee J. v. Superior Court
28 P.3d 876 (California Supreme Court, 2001)
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. Josue E.
228 Cal. App. 4th 820 (California Court of Appeal, 2014)
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. Angela B.
231 Cal. App. 4th 663 (California Court of Appeal, 2014)
Sacramento County Department of Health & Human Services v. Carrie F.
3 Cal. App. 5th 283 (California Court of Appeal, 2016)
Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services v. A.E.
169 Cal. App. 4th 710 (California Court of Appeal, 2008)
Napa County Department of Health & Human Services v. Shanon K.
203 Cal. App. 4th 188 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. E.A.
209 Cal. App. 4th 787 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. Christopher T.
212 Cal. App. 4th 139 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. L.C.
212 Cal. App. 4th 1117 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. T.A.
225 Cal. App. 4th 803 (California Court of Appeal, 2014)
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. J.E.
1 Cal. App. 5th 331 (California Court of Appeal, 2016)
Sacramento Cnty. Dep't of Child, Family & Adult Servs. v. F.C. (In re D.D.)
244 Cal. Rptr. 3d 420 (California Court of Appeals, 5th District, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
In re Alyssa G. CA2/7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-alyssa-g-ca27-calctapp-2021.