In Re Tanis H.

59 Cal. App. 4th 1218, 69 Cal. Rptr. 2d 380
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 20, 1997
DocketD028003
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 59 Cal. App. 4th 1218 (In Re Tanis H.) 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 Tanis H., 59 Cal. App. 4th 1218, 69 Cal. Rptr. 2d 380 (Cal. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

59 Cal.App.4th 1218 (1997)

In re TANIS H., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
KAINE H., Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. D028003.

Court of Appeals of California, Fourth District, Division One.

November 20, 1997.

*1220 COUNSEL

Andrea R. St. Julian, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

John J. Sansone, County Counsel, Susan Strom, Chief Deputy County Counsel, Kathryn E. Krug and Gary C. Seiser, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Carol Archer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Minor.

[Opinion certified for partial publication.[*]]

OPINION

NARES, J.

In this juvenile dependency matter, Kaine H. (the father) appeals from the jurisdictional and dispositional findings and orders affecting his relationship with his now one-year-old child, Tanis H. The father contends (1) the court erred in denying his jurisdictional hearing request for presumed father status; and (2) the Welfare and Institutions Code[1] section 300 dependency petition was sustained in violation of his due process rights because it failed to give him notice of his alleged wrongdoing. The father also contends (3) the jurisdictional orders were not supported by substantial evidence; and (4) the dispositional orders were improper because (i) the court erred in removing Tanis from the father's custody under section 361, subdivision (b), rather than under section 361.2, subdivision (a), and (ii) the removal findings were not supported by substantial evidence. Finally, the father contends (5) the court abused its discretion in denying his request to place Tanis with the paternal grandfather. We affirm.

*1221 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Tanis was born on October 6, 1996. His mother Katie M. had a history with the San Diego County Department of Social Services (Department) and the juvenile court dating back to 1994 when, as a result of mental illness, she tried to suffocate her five-month-old daughter Breanna M., who escaped death when a relative intervened and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Breanna was removed from the mother's care and became a juvenile court dependent in April 1994. Although the mother was charged with attempted murder, she pleaded guilty to the lesser felony charge of willful cruelty to a child and received six years' formal probation. The mother failed to reunify with Breanna, who was adopted by her maternal aunt.

The mother's second child Jacob H. became a juvenile court dependent in September 1995 after she became involved in several violent physical confrontations with her live-in boyfriend while she was pregnant with Jacob. The boyfriend beat, strangled and threatened to kill her.

When Tanis was born in October 1996, the mother was living with the father. She was identified as a "very high risk" mother due to her mental health problems and juvenile court involvement. During her pregnancy with Tanis, she was only superficially complying with her reunification case plan, she did not obtain prenatal care until her seventh month, and she lived with the father in a filthy, flea-infested apartment with six cats.

A few months before Tanis's birth the father had outstanding warrants for petty theft and burglary. The mother disclosed there were three men who could be Tanis's father. Tanis was removed from his mother's custody before he left the hospital. The father thus never physically received Tanis into his home.

The Department filed a dependency petition on Tanis's behalf pursuant to section 300, subdivisions (b) (failure to protect) and (j) (sibling abuse), alleging the mother had a mental illness which rendered her incapable of providing regular care to Tanis; she had attempted to suffocate Tanis's oldest sibling Breanna; she had failed to demonstrate insight into her problem; and she had failed to show sufficient improvement to reunify with Breanna or Tanis's other sibling Jacob. With respect to the father, the petition alleged he was unable to protect and supervise Tanis.

A. The Detention Hearing

At the detention hearing the court found the Department had made a prima facie showing Tanis was a person described by section 300, subdivisions (b) *1222 and (j); placed Tanis in a licensed foster home; and gave the Department discretion to detain the child with the paternal grandfather Michael H. (Mr. H.) if he received a positive home evaluation. Tanis's parents continued to reside together.

B. Paternity Testing and Initial Placement Issues

At a hearing on October 29, 1996, the father submitted a signed admission of paternity, but Tanis's counsel and county counsel requested paternity testing, noting there were other possible fathers. The court continued the hearing and ordered blood testing for paternity determination. The court also amended the petition to add the name of "Kenneth R." as an alleged father, set a special hearing to determine the status and paternity of Kenneth R., and ordered that he be served with a copy of the petition and notice of the next hearing.

At the special hearing the court found proper notice had been given to Kenneth R., who did not appear. The parents renewed their request for Tanis's detention with the paternal grandfather Mr. H. The court set the placement issue for a contested hearing after Tanis's counsel and county counsel opposed the parents' request on the grounds the father's paternity had not yet been determined and there were concerns about Mr. H's suitability for placement.

The Department submitted a change of placement notice to the court indicating it planned to move Tanis from his foster home to the home of the maternal grandparents who were already caring for Tanis's half sibling Jacob H. Although the maternal grandparents had refused to accept Tanis for placement for many weeks, they changed their minds after a four-day visit with him.

The mother opposed Tanis's detention with his maternal grandparents, and the court held a special hearing at the request of the mother's attorney. The mother's counsel argued this detention placement was interfering with the reunification process. Counsel for Tanis supported the detention with the maternal grandparents because they were appropriate caretakers and they had been caring for Tanis's half sibling Jacob H. The court deferred the placement issue to the pending trial.

C. The Jurisdictional Hearing

The court held the contested jurisdictional hearing on January 8 and 9, 1997. Both parents were present with counsel. The court found the father *1223 was Tanis's "biological alleged father," but denied the father's motion that he be granted presumed father status based on the father's "Offer of Proof/Paternity Questionnaire," which indicated he had not received Tanis into his home. The court entertained oral argument on whether the father had standing to participate in the jurisdictional hearing notwithstanding his lack of presumed father status. The court granted the father standing to participate based on his status as a biological father.

1. Documentary Evidence

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
59 Cal. App. 4th 1218, 69 Cal. Rptr. 2d 380, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-tanis-h-calctapp-1997.