In re H.R.
Filed 11/4/13
In re H.R. CA4/1
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts
and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or
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COURT
OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION
ONE
STATE
OF CALIFORNIA
In re H.R., a Person Coming
Under the Juvenile Court Law.
SAN DIEGO
COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
GRISELDA R.,
Defendant and Appellant.
D064002
(Super. Ct.
No. CJ1111)
APPEAL from
an order of the Superior Court
of
County, Laura J. Birkmeyer, Judge. Affirmed.
Jamie A.
Moran, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Thomas E.
Montgomery, County Counsel, John E. Philips, Chief Deputy County Counsel and
Lisa M. Maldonado, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
After the juvenile court declared H.R. a dependent of the
court under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (c),
and removed him from the custody of his father, the court found that H.R.'s noncustodial
mother, Griselda R., was not capable of caring for him and placed him in a
licensed group home. Griselda appeals
from the court's order and challenges the court's denial of H.R.'s placement
with her. We affirm.
FACTUAL AND
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A. Factual Background
Born in
1997, H.R. has been diagnosed with autism,
anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and mild mental
retardation. Some of his resulting issues
include self-injurious behavior, property destruction, and obsessive compulsive
behaviors. He functions best in a
structured environment and with a stable routine. However, the story of H.R.'s life over the
past 10 years has not been one of stability.
In 2003,
the court granted H.R.'s father full custody of H.R. after H.R. overdosed on medication
while under Griselda's care and after another incident when Griselda left H.R.
alone at home. These incidents, combined
with H.R.'s behavioral issues, prompted the
Agency (the Agency) to open and monitor a voluntary case while H.R.'s
father maintained primary custody and Griselda was allowed supervised
visitation. Additionally, based on H.R.'s
autism and mild retardation, he became a client of the San
Diego Regional Center
in May 2003 and has continued as a patient there since that time. The Agency closed this voluntary case in
October 2004 after H.R.'s behavior appeared to stabilize under his father's
care.
In October
2009, the Agency opened a second voluntary case when H.R. was hospitalized
after experiencing a "psychotic break." This voluntary case involved more services
and goals for Griselda than were provided in the first voluntary case. Under this plan, Griselda underwent a
psychiatric evaluation that resulted in a diagnosis of personality disorder
NOS, posttraumatic stress disorder, and generalized anxiety. The plan also required Griselda to participate
in support groups for parents with autistic children, participate in in-home
behavior modification services, and to maintain daily routines to provide H.R. structure. However, Griselda failed to comply with these
requirements, causing H.R. to be absent from school, experience crisis
escalations, and fail to receive his proper medication. When the second voluntary plan was closed in
January 2011, Griselda had not made progress with the case plan, but H.R.'s father
had adequately participated and demonstrated the ability to meet H.R.'s needs.
However, in
March 2011, H.R.'s father voluntarily placed him in a group home through the San
Diego Regional Center.
behavioral issues included self-injurious behavior (e.g., hitting himself,
pulling on his ears, and picking or scratching his skin); disruptive behavior (e.g.,
tantrums, screaming, yelling, and pacing); uncooperative behavior (e.g.,
refusal to participate in essential routines); and property destruction. H.R.'s first group home placement was a
highly-structured environment with staff trained to address his issues. Once he entered this home, his behavioral
issues decreased almost immediately.
However, since
2011, H.R. has been placed in several different group homes as a result of
Griselda's involvement. At least three homes
have terminated H.R.'s placement after, among other things, Griselda failed to
follow visitation plans and returned him to the homes much later than required
by court order, causing him to miss his medication and resulting in disruption
of his sleep pattern. Griselda also
brought numerous unfounded allegations, including allegations of abuse, against
the homes and staff and was generally a disruptive presence in the homes.
During this
time, Griselda also demonstrated difficulty in managing H.R.'s behavioral
issues. For example, H.R. frequently
refused to leave Griselda's home or get out of her car, making him late for
school on several occasions. During a
trial placement of H.R. in Griselda's home, she stopped taking him to school because
the school bus service had not yet begun. Moreover, at an unannounced home visit on May 3, 2013, a social worker saw H.R.
slam a door, constantly yell "don't tell me to relax," grab and shake
Griselda, and try to slap her.
Additionally,
H.R. has often become unstable and violent after visitations with Griselda. On March
25, 2013, he was hospitalized after he became very agitated and kicked
the walls of the foster home upon returning from an unsupervised visit. On April
10, 2013, H.R. again kicked walls, destroyed his room, and hit
himself. Finally, on April 15, 2013, H.R. had a "major
meltdown," as he destroyed furniture and a television in his room.
Griselda
has also demonstrated a questionable ability to effectively manage her own
mental health issues. Although she had been
treated for major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder, and a possible eating disorder, she did not attend her
mental health appointments regularly and did not take her medications as
prescribed. Griselda's failure to comply
with her own medication plan is particularly concerning to social workers because
it raises doubts that she will be able to maintain H.R.'s medication regimen.
Despite the
above issues, Griselda has declined to participate in services offered to her. Consequently, in a jurisdiction/disposition report
prepared for the juvenile court, social worker Monica Bonilla opined that "[d]ue
to [H.R.'s] extensive mental health issues and his mother also needing to
address her own mental health issues, she[,] at this time, is unable to provide
a safe, stable and structured environment which [H.R.] will be able to thrive
in."
B. Procedural Background
On December
18, 2012, the Agency filed a petition under section 300, subdivision (c),
alleging H.R. had emotional disorders requiring mental health treatment, which
his parents had failed to provide and were unable to provide. The petition also alleged H.R.'s father had
stopped participating in the family's voluntary case plan, that Griselda did
not have custody of H.R., and that his caregiver had given notice to terminate his
placement. On December 19 and 20, 2012,
the juvenile court held a detention hearing and detained H.R. in a licensed
group home.
On May 21,
2013, the court held a contested adjudication/disposition hearing with Griselda
and social worker Bonilla in attendance.
The court heard testimony from Bonilla and admitted into evidence a
December 19, 2012, detention report, a January 9, 2013, jurisdiction/disposition
report, and addendum reports filed in March, April, and May 2013. The court also received and considered a court-appointed
special advocate (CASA) report dated April 22, 2013. Together, these reports recommended that,
among other things, H.R.'s custody be removed from his father and H.R. be confidentially
placed in a group home.
After
considering the documents and testimony, the court made a true finding on the
petition, declared H.R. a dependent, removed H.R. from the custody of his
father, and found by clear and convincing evidence that Griselda was unable to
care for H.R. The court also ordered
that H.R.'s CASA hold educational rights due to Griselda's unwillingness to
acknowledge H.R.'s needs for specialized services. However, the court ordered that Griselda be
included in any educational meetings and be updated on H.R.'s progress.
DISCUSSION
Griselda challenges
the court's finding that placing H.R. with Griselda would have been detrimental
to his physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. She asserts that, "[w]hile matters in
this case may not have progressed to the point that the juvenile court should
have simply returned [H.R.] to mother and terminate jurisdiction, it should
have placed [H.R.] with mother."
We review
the juvenile court's findings for substantial evidence. (In re
Autumn H. (1994) 27 Cal.App.4th 567, 576.)
The appellant has the burden of showing there is no evidence of a
sufficiently substantial nature to support the finding or order. (In re
L.Y.L. (2002) 101 Cal.App.4th 942, 947; In
re Geoffrey G. (1979) 98 Cal.App.3d 412, 420.)
Here, the
juvenile court noted that H.R.'s case had "an extraordinarily long and
complex history" and that it had read "every single filing in the
case." Based on the evidence, the
court found Griselda was aware of H.R.'s "significant challenges,"
had a history of interfering with or sabotaging efforts to keep him on
appropriate medication management and to keep him engaged in school, and "most
importantly, impeding his ability to live peacefully and without incident in
various group homes and court-designated caregiver homes."
While the
long and complex history the juvenile court considered reveals Griselda's
concern for H.R., the evidence also demonstrates her inability to properly
manage his mental health and behavioral needs and her disruptive influence on
his behavior and progress. The evidence
also supports the juvenile court's finding that Griselda's own mental health
challenges hinder her ability to properly care for H.R. Moreover, Griselda's lack of participation in
voluntary services offered her further supports the juvenile court's findings. We conclude that substantial evidence supports
the juvenile court's finding that placing H.R. with Griselda would have been
detrimental to his physical, emotional, and psychological well-being.
DISPOSITION
The order is affirmed.
O'ROURKE, J.
WE CONCUR:
HALLER, Acting P. J.
McINTYRE, J.
name="_ftn1" title="">[1] All further statutory references are to the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
name="_ftn2" title="">[2] The father has since stopped participating in H.R.'s care
plan and has rarely communicated with the court or any other involved agencies
despite numerous attempts to contact him.
