L.H. v. Super. Ct. CA1/3

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 8, 2022
DocketA164376
StatusUnpublished

This text of L.H. v. Super. Ct. CA1/3 (L.H. v. Super. Ct. CA1/3) 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
L.H. v. Super. Ct. CA1/3, (Cal. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

Filed 4/8/22 L.H. v. Super. Ct. CA1/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

L.H., A164376

Petitioner, v. (Contra Costa County Super. Ct. No. J2100376) THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,

Respondent,

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES BUREAU, et al.,

Real Parties in Interest.

L.H. (mother)1 seeks extraordinary writ relief from a January 13, 2022 order that denied her reunification services for her seven-year-old son K.H. (the child) and set a hearing to consider termination of her parental rights and the child’s permanent placement under Welfare

1 The child’s father is not a party to this writ proceeding.

1 and Institutions Code section 366.26.2 Pending our resolution of the petition, mother requests a temporary stay of the section 366.26 hearing set for May 5, 2022. Real party in interest Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Bureau (agency) opposes the petition. Mother challenges the juvenile court’s denial of reunification services under section 361.5, subdivisions (b)(10) and (b)(11). Under this statute, in pertinent part, the court “need not” provide reunification services for a child when a parent’s reunification services or parental rights have been terminated in an earlier proceeding concerning a half-sibling and the parent “has not subsequently made a reasonable effort to treat the problems that led to removal” of the half- sibling. (Id., subds. (b)(10) & (11).) Once a court has found that a parent is described in subdivision (b)(10) or subdivision (b)(11) of section 361.5, it “shall not order reunification” for the parent unless it further “finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that reunification is in the best interest of the child.” (Id., subd. (c)(2).) Mother does not challenge the juvenile court’s finding that she was a person described in subdivisions (b)(10) and (b)(11) of section 361.5. She challenges only the court’s denial of services after finding reunification would not be in the child’s best interest. We deny the petition for an extraordinary writ on the merits and deny as moot the related request for a temporary stay of the section 366.26 hearing.

2 All undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

2 FACTS In August 2021, the agency took K.H. into protective custody, and filed a section 300 petition (later amended), based on allegations that (1) mother had serious and unresolved mental health issues that placed the child at substantial risk of abuse or neglect (§ 300, subd. (b)) and (2) mother had failed to reunify with K.H.’s older half-sibling D.M., “due to physical abuse;” mother’s parental rights had been terminated on August 31, 2007 and D.M. had been adopted on June 23, 2008 (§ 300, subd. (j)). The detention/jurisdiction report noted the agency had received a report that mother had been diagnosed with “Bipolar Disorder and possibly Schizophrenia;” she was “not taking medication to stabilize;” she had been observed displaying increasingly irrational and paranoid behavior by family members, school personnel, law enforcement, and agency workers; and she had refused to seek treatment and said her mental health was fine and she had no problems. At the detention hearing, the juvenile court found the child came within sections 300, subdivisions (b) and (j), and ordered the agency to retain custody of the child; the child was placed in the home of his maternal grandmother, who had adopted the child’s half-sibling. Mother was granted supervised visits of a minimum of two one-hour visits each week, subject to a consideration of the child’s wishes. Additionally, the court directed the agency to provide the following services to mother: alcohol and drug testing; parenting education; mental health assessment; and counseling. Thereafter, on September 9, following an in-camera hearing, the court found it was necessary to appoint mother a guardian ad litem, and did so the next day. At the

3 jurisdiction hearing held on October 7, 2021, the court sustained the petition, as amended, and K.H. was adjudged a dependent of the court. Before the January 13, 2022 disposition hearing, the agency filed an initial disposition report. When the case was continued, the agency filed a memorandum to provide the court with an update regarding the family. The agency recommended the court deny mother reunification services based on her failure to reunify with the child’s half-sibling D.M. under section 361.5, subdivisions (b)(10) and (11). While the report did not attach D.M.’s case file, the agency provided the following details: “In [mother’s] prior child welfare case, [mother’s] family was brought to the attention of the Bureau due to [mother] striking her infant child, [D.M.], and then [mother] was hospitalized for a psychiatric evaluation. [Mother] has a history of learning disabilities which entitles her to Social Security Disability Insurance. [Mother] has a history of substance abuse and unaddressed mental health issues. [¶] [Mother] failed to reunify with . . . [D.M.], despite receiving eighteen months of Family Reunification Services to stabilize her mental health. [D.M.] was detained on or about April 18, 2005 and Family Reunification Services were ordered on July 21, 2005. [Mother] was ordered to complete parent education classes, domestic violence therapy, individual therapy, a psychiatric evaluation, and drug testing. Per Status Review Report dated June 5, 2006: on May 16, 2006, [Mother’s] individual therapist . . . terminated her therapy services due to excessive absences. Per the Status Review Report dated October 5, 2006, [Mother] denied the need for mental health services and she had been discharged from [a program] on August 28, 2006 due to poor

4 attendance. [Mother’s] participation in substance abuse testing dropped and she tested one time out of six in the months of June 2006 and August 2006. During her medication evaluation on November 21, 2005 [it was] reported that [Mother] was defensive, in denial, blamed her problems on stress, and stated that ‘everything in those reports is a lie.’ [Mother] receives Supplemental Security Income every month due to a mental health disability, but she states that she does not know why she is eligible for this benefit and denies having a diagnosis. [Mother] did not complete her psychiatric evaluation. Family Reunification Services were terminated on April 6, 2007. Parental rights were terminated on August 31, 2007. The child was adopted and the case was vacated and dismissed on June 23, 2008.” The agency also reported on the family’s circumstances since the October 2021 jurisdiction hearing. The agency social worker had made several attempts to engage mother in the court ordered recommended case plan services. On October 4, November 2, December 1, 2021 and January 3, 2022, the agency social worker mailed mother letters with case plan service referrals for counseling, drug testing, substance abuse intake, and parent education. On November 11 and December 8, 2021, the agency provided mother with the case plan service referrals during mother’s in-person visits with the child. However, mother failed to return the agency social worker’s telephone messages, refused to meet with the worker, and did not provide the agency with any verification that she was enrolled or participating in case plan services.

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Bluebook (online)
L.H. v. Super. Ct. CA1/3, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lh-v-super-ct-ca13-calctapp-2022.