M.L. v. Superior Court

249 Cal. Rptr. 3d 633, 37 Cal. App. 5th 390
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedApril 2, 2019
DocketA156130; A156149
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 249 Cal. Rptr. 3d 633 (M.L. v. Superior Court) 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
M.L. v. Superior Court, 249 Cal. Rptr. 3d 633, 37 Cal. App. 5th 390 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

Sanchez, J.

*635*392In this consolidated juvenile writ proceeding, both M.L. (mother) and M.C. seek extraordinary relief from the juvenile court orders *393removing their daughter K.C. for a second time-after an extended period of child welfare services-and setting a permanency planning hearing pursuant to section 366.26 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.1 Mother also seeks similar writ relief with respect to her older son, K.B.2 Specifically, petitioners argue that the juvenile court's setting order must be reversed because the court's decision to remove K.B. and K.C. from the family home went beyond the scope of the modification request before the court, there were reasonable means short of removal to protect the minors, and the minors' possible Indian heritage was not properly investigated or notice provided to relevant tribes as required under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq. Finding no merit to any of the petitioners' contentions, we deny the petitions.

I. BACKGROUND

These proceedings began on May 1, 2014, when Contra Costa County Children & Family Services (Contra Costa CPS) filed dependency petitions pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (g) of section 300, seeking the detention of both K.B. (born in 2008) and K.C. (born in 2011). On March 4, 2014, San Francisco police encountered mother, who had been wandering the streets aimlessly with the two minors for over 12 hours. Both children appeared disheveled, the minors were complaining they were hungry, and mother had no food or extra clothing for them. The maternal grandfather *636picked up the children from the police station and took them home, but mother refused to accompany them. After the maternal grandparents failed to hear from mother for a month, they filed a missing persons report. The whereabouts of both fathers, D.B. and M.C., were also unknown. According to the maternal grandparents, mother had struggled with drug abuse for several years and was in a relationship with M.C. that was characterized by domestic violence. The children were formally detained by the juvenile court on May 2, 2014.

Mother and M.C. were located at the home of the paternal grandparents in San Mateo County. They appeared before the juvenile court at a hearing in early July, and the court declared M.C. to be K.C.'s presumed father. Petitioners did not contest the petition, a modified version of which was sustained at the jurisdictional hearing on July 25, 2014. The matter was then transferred to San Mateo County for disposition.

The dispositional report filed by the San Mateo County Human Services Agency (Agency) indicated that mother was homeless after an August 2014 *394domestic violence incident with M.C., which led to arrests for both on domestic violence and drug possession charges. Mother reported M.C. " 'punched and stomped her in the chest' " and so she " 'cracked him over the head' " with a bong. Mother admitted consistent past methamphetamine use with M.C. She told the social worker she no longer used methamphetamine, but did drink alcohol. She reported a diagnosis of schizophrenia and stated she often heard voices. Mother was pregnant with M.C.'s second child and, according to the social worker, her focus appeared to be on rekindling her relationship with M.C.

Disposition was contested and continued several times. While the matter was pending, mother cooperated with the social worker, attended counseling, and tested clean for all controlled substances. Given mother's progress, she was allowed to live in the maternal grandparents' home along with the children, who were reported to be thriving. At the dispositional hearing held on February 10, 2015, the juvenile court removed K.B. and K.C. from parental custody, declared the minors juvenile court dependents, and placed them in the home of the maternal grandparents. Reunification services were ordered.

In advance of the June 2015 combined six-and 12-month review, the social worker reported that mother continued to do well and had given birth to her third child in February 2015. At the June hearing, the juvenile court authorized mother to have unsupervised visits with K.B. and K.C., gave the Agency discretion to return the children to mother, and continued the matter for further hearing. At the continued hearing in September 2015, the juvenile court returned the minors to mother's custody, ordered family maintenance service for mother, terminated family reunification services for both M.C. and D.B., and ordered the case transferred back to Contra Costa County.

Family maintenance reviews continued for several years. In March 2016, the family remained in the home of the maternal grandparents. Mother admitted using a belt to physically discipline the minors, was educated by the social worker, and agreed to refrain from using further physical discipline. Intensive family preservation services were provided to mother to support her in parenting the minors. In September 2016, mother and her children moved in with M.C. at the home of the paternal grandparents, after being locked out by the maternal grandparents. As a result, family maintenance services were ordered for both mother and M.C. in October *6372016. By March 2017, mother sought additional assistance from K.B.'s therapist due to incidents of enuresis (bed wetting) and encopresis (soiling). She reported M.C. had been yelling and hitting K.B. In May 2017, M.C. admitted smacking K.B. on the side of the head once or twice. K.B. confirmed physical punishment from M.C. and almost daily verbal arguments in the house. Mother gave birth to her fourth *395child (her third with M.C.) in August 2017. Mother had recently stopped K.B.'s therapy services, as she believed they were not helpful. Thereafter, K.B. was psychiatrically hospitalized in September 2017 after he expressed suicidal ideation at school and disclosed plans to cut himself with a kitchen knife. He was discharged with prescribed medications and a diagnosis of, among other things, ADHD, nocturnal enuresis, and posttraumatic stress disorder. In October 2017, M.C. reported mother was drinking and did not feed the infant. In December 2017, the case was transferred back to San Mateo County.

In advance of the July 2018 six-month review hearing in San Mateo County, the Agency social worker recommended continuing family maintenance services due to a number of unresolved family issues, including the way both mother and M.C. communicated with and disciplined the children, their parenting techniques, and their ability to respond to the children's emotional needs. The social worker was assisting the family in a move to shelter housing as the paternal grandmother was not being supportive of the parents and it was not a good environment for the family.

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Bluebook (online)
249 Cal. Rptr. 3d 633, 37 Cal. App. 5th 390, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ml-v-superior-court-calctapp5d-2019.