In re C.A.

California Court of Appeal·Decided June 13, 2018·No. D073229·Published

Opinion

Filed 5/23/18; Certified for Partial Publication 6/13/18 (order attached)

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

In re C.A., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

D073229

SAN DIEGO COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY, (Super. Ct. No. J519280)

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

C.T. et al., Defendants and Appellants.

APPEALS from orders of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Kimberlee Lagotta, Judge. Affirmed.

Elena S. Min, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant, C.T.

Paul A. Swiller, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant, D.A.

Thomas E. Montgomery, County Counsel, John E. Philips, Chief Deputy County Counsel, and Jesica Fellman, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

C.T. and D.A. appeal the juvenile court's order terminating C.T.'s parental rights to her minor daughter, C.A., and earlier orders finding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA; 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.) did not apply to C.A.'s presumed father, D.A., or C.A.'s biological father, D.R. We reject these challenges and affirm the orders.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On December 1, 2015, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (Agency) filed a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b),1 after C.T. and C.A. tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine at C.A.'s birth. C.T. also tested positive for marijuana and admitted that she had used methamphetamine and other drugs during her pregnancy. At birth, C.T. reported that D.A. was C.A.'s father. At the detention hearing, the juvenile court appointed counsel for D.A. and C.A. The Agency's attorney, however, informed the court that D.A. was not C.A.'s biological father. As a result, the court deferred the issue of paternity to the next hearing. D.A. reported that he had Cherokee heritage, and the court deferred ICWA issues and ordered D.A. to complete the standard ICWA form. The court also added C.T.'s ex-boyfriend, D.R., to the petition as an alleged father. The court ordered C.A. detained and she was placed with a foster family.

1 Subsequent undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

At the December 22, 2015 jurisdiction and disposition hearing, the Agency recommended the juvenile court make a true finding on the petition, remove C.A. from C.T.'s care, and that C.T. participate in reunification services. C.T. contested the Agency's recommendations and the court set the matter for trial. At the contested jurisdiction and disposition hearing, the juvenile court adopted the Agency's recommendations, continuing C.A.'s placement in foster care. D.A. did not request to elevate his paternity status and, despite active efforts, the Agency had not yet located D.R. The juvenile court found ICWA did not apply without prejudice to D.R.

Once the Agency located D.R., it set a special hearing to establish paternity for C.A. At the March 22, 2016 special hearing, the court appointed counsel for D.R. D.R. told the Agency's social worker that he had been in a relationship with C.T. for a year and a half, believed he was C.A.'s biological father, and requested a paternity test. At the same hearing, D.A. requested reunification services because he and C.T. had recently married. The juvenile court ordered services and visitation to D.A., paternity testing for D.R., and set a special hearing for May 11, 2016, to address the test results.

The May 11, 2016 special hearing was continued because the Agency had not yet received D.R.'s paternity test results. After the test results confirmed D.R. was C.A.'s biological father, the court elevated D.R. to biological status at the continued special hearing. Due to D.R.'s extensive criminal and substance abuse history, severe mental health concerns, and lack of relationship with C.A., the Agency did not believe it was in C.A.'s best interest to offer D.R. services.

D.R. informed the court that although he thought he might have had Native American heritage through his biological father, he had since discovered that the man he thought was his biological father was actually not his father, and he did not have any Native American heritage.2 Because D.R. withdrew his claim of Native American heritage, the juvenile court found ICWA did not apply. D.R. did contest the Agency's recommendation that he be denied reunification services and the court set the matter for trial.

At the July 13, 2016 trial, D.R. withdrew his request for services. For the six-

month review hearing, which occurred at the same time, the Agency reported C.T. was participating in substance abuse treatment and was progressing with her recovery. Based on her progress with services, the Agency had also permitted C.T. to have unsupervised visits with C.A. D.A. was also participating in voluntary services, but had recently relapsed and had tested positive for methamphetamines. The Agency remained concerned about C.T.'s ability to protect C.A. if D.A. was not able to maintain his sobriety. As a result, the Agency recommended C.A. continue with her foster placement and that both C.T. and D.A. continue to receive reunification services. The court continued services for C.T and D.A., and also elevated D.A. to presumed father status.

Before the 12-month review hearing, in August 2016, the Agency reported it was concerned with D.A.'s behavior, C.T.'s ability to set boundaries with D.A., and C.T.'s

2 Prior to this hearing, the Agency had sent notices based on earlier statements by D.R. and filed return receipts for the notices it sent to the Wichita Tribe and the Indian Bureau of Affairs (BIA) with the juvenile court.

failure to regularly participate in recovery meetings. By October 2016, however, C.T. had started divorce proceedings, was attending all services, testing clean, and was voluntarily participating in therapy. Based on her progress, in November 2016, the Agency approved C.T. for overnight visitation. The Agency continued to have some reservations about C.T.'s relationship with D.A. and her ability to set boundaries with him. The social worker reported, however, that C.T. and C.A. had developed a healthy bond, noting that C.A. reached for C.T. and smiled at her during visits, and C.A. would become upset if C.T. left the room.

In December, C.T. began a 60-day trial visit and at the January 3, 2017 12-month review hearing, the Agency recommended placement with C.T. The Agency recommended termination of D.A.'s voluntary services because he had relapsed, testing positive for methamphetamine and failing to report for drug testing. He had also been arrested for theft, shoplifting and using false identification and was incarcerated. The Agency noted in its report that D.R.'s sister, Michelle N., had maintained communication with the Agency and C.T. since the beginning of the dependency proceeding and stood willing to take custody of C.A. if C.T.'s reunification efforts were not successful. At the review hearing, the court followed the Agency's recommendations, placed C.A. with C.T. and set a family maintenance review hearing date.

Then, in February 2017, the Agency learned C.T. had relapsed and had used methamphetamine while caring for C.A. Despite efforts by the Agency to safety plan with C.T., between February and April 2017, she missed multiple drug tests, tested

positive for methamphetamine and alcohol, and failed to engage in drug treatment. As a result, the Agency filed a section 387 petition to again remove C.A. from C.T.'s custody.

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

In re C.A., (Cal. Ct. App. 2018).

In re C.A. (In re C.A.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

In Re Jason J.
175 Cal. App. 4th 922 (California Court of Appeal, 2009)
In Re Shane G.
166 Cal. App. 4th 1532 (California Court of Appeal, 2008)
People v. Williams
10 Cal. App. 4th 827 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
In Re Beatrice M.
29 Cal. App. 4th 1411 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
In Re Brandon C.
84 Cal. Rptr. 2d 505 (California Court of Appeal, 1999)
In Re Elizabeth M.
52 Cal. App. 4th 318 (California Court of Appeal, 1997)
In Re Jasmine D.
93 Cal. Rptr. 2d 644 (California Court of Appeal, 2000)
In Re Christopher M.
6 Cal. Rptr. 3d 197 (California Court of Appeal, 2003)
In Re Karla C.
6 Cal. Rptr. 3d 205 (California Court of Appeal, 2003)
Fresno County Department of Children & Family Services v. Gerardo A.
14 Cal. Rptr. 3d 798 (California Court of Appeal, 2004)
In Re Jonathan B.
5 Cal. App. 4th 873 (California Court of Appeal, 1992)
In Re Autumn H.
27 Cal. App. 4th 567 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
In Re Nicholas H.
46 P.3d 932 (California Supreme Court, 2002)
Orange County Social Services Agency v. M.C.
226 Cal. App. 4th 503 (California Court of Appeal, 2014)
El Dorado County Health & Human Services Agency v. J.S.
230 Cal. App. 4th 1183 (California Court of Appeal, 2014)
San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. Anthony B.
239 Cal. App. 4th 389 (California Court of Appeal, 2015)
San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. M.J.
243 Cal. App. 4th 41 (California Court of Appeal, 2015)
San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. Deborah M.
103 Cal. App. 4th 681 (California Court of Appeal, 2002)
Santa Clara County Department of Family & Children's Services v. Samphan P.
104 Cal. App. 4th 395 (California Court of Appeal, 2002)
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services v. Margaret M.
138 Cal. App. 4th 529 (California Court of Appeal, 2006)