L. A. Cnty. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. v. A.S. (In re J.P.)

221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 748, 14 Cal. App. 5th 616
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedAugust 17, 2017
DocketB277756
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 748 (L. A. Cnty. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. v. A.S. (In re J.P.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
L. A. Cnty. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. v. A.S. (In re J.P.), 221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 748, 14 Cal. App. 5th 616 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

RUBIN, ACTING P. J.

*617When a dependency court declares children dependent and removes them from a parent's custody, is it within the court's discretion to order a reunification plan with which the parent indisputably *618cannot comply due to a language barrier? We find the answer rather self-evident and conclude that such a plan, doomed to fail, is an *750abuse of discretion. We therefore reverse the dispositional order that imposed it.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. Family History

In 2013, father A.S. (father) immigrated to the United States, from Myanmar, with two of his four children. His wife, A.Z. (mother), and their other two children, remained in a refugee camp in Thailand, awaiting permission to immigrate and rejoin the family. Father speaks only Burmese or Karen.1

When father came to the United States with two of his daughters, the divided family lived with paternal great uncle (uncle) and several other relatives. Uncle tried to help father get on his feet, but was stymied by father's drinking and lack of interest. Uncle signed up father for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, but father refused to attend. Uncle obtained a job for father, which father lost because he showed up drunk or not at all. Uncle bought father a used car, but father refused to pay for the car registration or insurance. After a year, uncle stopped trying to get father to work, and simply wanted him to focus on taking care of his children. This, too, failed, as father preferred to drink all night, rather than take care of his daughters. Uncle was an assistant pastor at his church, and many in the church community also tried to assist father, even going so far as helping to clean the room father shared with the girls. But father would not stop drinking and become a responsible parent. Uncle and other family members took up the cause, and cared for the two girls.

2. Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Involvement

Father's circumstance finally came to the attention of DCFS on April 18, 2016, with an anonymous call to a child abuse hotline. The reporter claimed that father got drunk every day and left uncle and other relatives to care for the children. Upon DCFS's investigation, it was clear that father did, in fact, have a serious drinking problem. The bedroom father shared with the two girls, then aged 9 and 5, had empty beer cans on the floor and smelled of urine. Both children reported that father drank beer regularly and smelled *619of beer and smoke. Uncle stated that all father did was drink. Uncle did not mind caring for the children, but wanted father to step up and do so. Uncle agreed that father was very good with the girls when he was not drinking, but essentially father drank all the time.

Father himself admitted drinking three to five cans of beer a day, but did not think this was a problem. When asked if he would give up custody of the children to uncle, father said that he would not, and instead said he would stop drinking.

Father stopped drinking for one or two days, but then returned to his old practice. Uncle agreed to take custody of the children.

3. The Children are Detained

On May 5, 2016, father met with the DCFS social worker. He admitted that he was still drinking and said he wanted to stop. Father stated that he understood he needed more help. He consented to placing the children in uncle's care and "agreed to either residential or outpatient drug/alcohol program." When told he would have to *751leave uncle's home, he agreed to stay at a family friend's residence. DCFS detained the children in uncle's care.

A petition was filed on May 10, 2016, alleging that both children were dependent under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b), on the basis that father's alcohol use rendered him incapable of providing them with regular care and supervision.2

At the detention hearing, on May 10, 2016, the court ordered reunification services. The court directed DCFS to provide father with referrals for an alcohol treatment program and for weekly random and on-demand alcohol testing. Father was granted monitored visitation.

4. DCFS Provides Minimal Services Due to Father's Language Barrier

On June 20, 2016, DCFS completed its report for the upcoming jurisdiction/disposition hearing. The report contained further evidence of father's drinking history, including uncle's statement that father had been abusing alcohol since he was a teenager. It also included an allegation by another relative that father's drinking in the refugee camp led to an act of domestic violence in which father kicked then-pregnant mother so hard she nearly died and the baby was born early.

*620Father admitted drinking, but attempted to minimize its extent. Nonetheless, father stated he was willing to participate in a treatment program.

The department's report conceded that "there is a problem in securing alcohol-related services for [father] because he only speaks Burmese." It went on to state that the "largest challenge in this case will be to find treatment for father that he can understand. It appears that a residential program would be the most helpful for father considering his reportedly ongoing alcohol use since a teenager. But once again, the effectiveness of his treatment would be based on his understanding of the treatment program's concepts-and at this point a program could not be found with a Burmese translator." The department suggested the possibility that father could attend 12-step meetings with a friend or relative who could translate for him.

DCFS recommendations included that father be ordered to complete a parenting class "if one exists in Burmese or with appropriate translation" and that father be ordered "to participate in an alcohol treatment program that would be appropriate to his needs, taking into account that he speaks only Burmese." DCFS also recommended that father participate in random drug testing.

A July 15, 2016 last minute information for the court noted that father had been unable to drug test randomly. The system required father to call in regularly and test when his "letter was called," but, despite trying to "listen for his letter," father's limited English prevented him from understanding when the letter was called. DCFS was working on a way to enable father to test using Google Translate.

The adjudication hearing, then set for July 15, 2016, was continued for another month. DCFS was directed "to assist the father with his weekly random and on demand drug and alcohol testing." The department was also ordered to prepare a supplemental report for the next hearing addressing "any services" that were put in place for father.

The August 12, 2016 last minute information from DCFS indicated that the social worker is "very good at using his *752

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
221 Cal. Rptr. 3d 748, 14 Cal. App. 5th 616, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/l-a-cnty-dept-of-children-family-servs-v-as-in-re-jp-calctapp5d-2017.