In re L.A.-O.

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 19, 2022
DocketE077196M
StatusPublished

This text of In re L.A.-O. (In re L.A.-O.) 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 L.A.-O., (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Filed 1/19/22 (unmodified opn. attached) CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

In re L.A.-O. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY E077196 CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, (Super.Ct.Nos. J279705, J279706 Plaintiff and Respondent, and J285540)

v. ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR REHEARING AND M.A. et al., MODIFYING OPINION

Defendants and Appellants. [NO CHANGE IN JUDGMENT]

THE COURT

The petition for rehearing filed on January 10, 2022 is DENIED.

The opinion filed in this matter on December 27, 2021 is MODIFIED as follows.

1. On page 13, change this paragraph:

In their reply briefs, both parents argue that the trial court erred by reasoning, at least in part, that they did not occupy a “parental role” whereas the prospective foster parents did. They assert that “[w]hile courts have traditionally required parents to . . . show[] . . . that they have acted in a parental role [citations] . . . this is no longer required in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Caden C.”

to:

1 Both parents argue that the trial court erred by reasoning, at least in part, that they did not occupy a “parental role” whereas the prospective foster parents did. They assert that “[w]hile courts have traditionally required parents to . . . show[] . . . that they have acted in a parental role [citations] . . . this is no longer required in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Caden C.” The father raised this issue somewhat obscurely — but adequately — in his opening brief. The mother joined in it and stated it more clearly in her reply brief.

2. Delete the next paragraph on page 13, beginning “The parents forfeited this argument . . . .”

Except for these modifications, the opinion remains unchanged. This modification does not effect a change in the judgment.

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

RAMIREZ P. J.

We concur:

MILLER J.

FIELDS J.

2 Filed 12/27/21 (unmodified opinion) CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

In re L.A.-O. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY E077196 CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, (Super.Ct.Nos. J279705, J279706 Plaintiff and Respondent, and J285540)

v. OPINION

M.A. et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Annemarie G.

Pace, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions.

Valerie N. Lankford, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant

and Appellant M.A.

Jill S. Smith, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and

Appellant A.O.

Michelle D. Blakemore, County Counsel, and Kaleigh L. Ragon, Deputy County

Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

1 M.A. (mother) and A.O. (father) appeal from an order terminating their parental

rights to their three children. They contend that the juvenile court erred by finding that

the parental-benefit exception did not apply. (See § 366.26, subd. (c)(1)(B)(i).)1

We publish this case to address two novel issues.

First, the parents contend that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in In re

Caden C. (2021) 11 Cal.5th 614 (Caden C.) overruled lower appellate court decisions

holding that a parent asserting the parental-benefit exception must show that he or she

occupies a “parental role.” Caden C. did not use the words “parental role,” and there are

good reasons not to do so. The “parental role” requirement, though well-established, is

not well-defined; it can be understood in ways that conflict with Caden C. and in ways

that do not. Here, the trial court found that the parental-benefit exception did not apply

partly because the parents “ha[d] not acted in a parental role in a long time” and partly

because the prospective adoptive parents “ha[d] been acting in a parental role.” Because

it used this terminology, we cannot tell whether its ruling conformed with Caden C.

Hence, we will remand for reconsideration of the parental-benefit exception.

Second, the parents contend that the juvenile court erred by “ignor[ing]” evidence

in social worker’s reports filed in connection with earlier hearings and that these reports

established that the parental-benefit exception applied. We disagree. These reports were

not introduced into evidence at the section 366.26 hearing; hence, neither we nor the

1 This and all further statutory citations are to the Welfare and Institutions Code, except as otherwise indicated.

2 juvenile court could consider them. The parents will be free to introduce them on

remand.

I

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

At the beginning of 2019, the mother and the father had two children; their son

N.A.-O. (N.) was five, and their daughter G. A.-O. (G.) was four. The family was living

in a trailer outside the maternal grandparents’ house.

In January 2019, Children and Family Services (Agency) received a report that the

home was filthy. It then received a separate report that the maternal grandparents hit the

children and the parents were methamphetamine addicts. Both parents had prior arrests

for possession of a controlled substance.

When social workers visited the home, the maternal grandparents were there, but

the parents and children were not. The maternal grandparents were “combative”; they

denied knowing where the parents and children were. The home was extremely filthy,

unsafe, and “uninhabitable.”

Accordingly, in February 2019, the Agency filed dependency petitions and

obtained detention warrants. When it tried to execute the warrants at the home, the

maternal grandmother said the mother had left because “[s]he knew [the Agency] is

looking for her.”

3 In June 2019, a police officer on an unrelated call found the family at the home

and detained the children. The trailer was still filthy. The children were “very dirty”;

they had bruises, scratches, and head lice. G., at age four, was still wearing diapers.

In July 2019, at the jurisdictional/dispositional hearing, the juvenile court found

that it had jurisdiction based on failure to protect. (§ 300, subd. (b).) It formally

removed the children from the parents’ custody and ordered reunification services.

Initially, the children were placed in a foster home in Fontana. Later in July 2019,

however, they were placed in a foster home in Hemet, with a Mr. and Ms. B. In October

2019, they were placed with the mother’s cousin in Victorville.

In May 2020, the parents had a third child — L.A.-O. (L.), a daughter. In June

2020, the Agency detained L. and filed a dependency petition as to her. In July 2020, at

the jurisdictional/dispositional hearing as to L., the juvenile court found that it had

jurisdiction based on failure to protect, failure to support, and abuse of a sibling. (§ 300,

subds. (b), (g), (j).) It formally removed L. from the parents’ custody and ordered

reunification services.

In July 2020, the mother’s cousin asked that N. and G. be removed. In August

2020, after a brief placement elsewhere, they were placed back with the B.’s.

Meanwhile, also after a brief placement elsewhere, L., too, was placed with the B.’s.

Throughout the dependency, the parents continued to use methamphetamine

(sometimes testing positive, sometimes failing to test).

4 In August 2020, at the 18-month review hearing as to N. and G., the juvenile court

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