In
re A.D.
Filed 3/11/13 In re A.D.
CA2/6
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for
publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115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
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION SIX
In re A. D. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.
2d Juv. No. B240929
(Super. Ct.
Nos. J1395750, J1395751, J1395752, J1395753)
(Santa
Barbara County)
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
CHILD WELFARE SERVICES,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
PETER D.,
Defendant and Appellant.
Welfare
& Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (c)
juvenile court to take jurisdiction of a child who is either suffering or at
substantial risk of suffering "serious emotional damage, evidenced by severe
anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward
parent."
title="">[2] Peter D. appeals from the
daughter, A., and three sons, Peter, James and Joseph, to be dependents of the
juvenile court, based on its findings that they suffered or were at risk of
suffering serious emotional harm.
(§ 300, subd. (c).) Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the
evidence to support the court's findings.
We affirm.
BACKGROUND
Appellant
and Z. (mother) have a daughter, 13-year-old A., and three sons: 10-year-old
Peter, 8-year-old James, and 6-year-old Joseph.
In 2007, mother filed a petition to dissolve their marriage. The dissolution proceedings were pending for
years. With some exceptions, the parents
had equal custody of the children from mid-2009, until early 2012. The children usually lived together, and
moved weekly between their parents' homes.
On
January 18, 2012, CWS filed
four dependency petitions (one for
each child) alleging that appellant caused serious emotional damage to his
child, or that the child was at substantial risk of suffering such damage. (§ 300, subd. (c).) The petitions further allege, among other
things, that A. contacted the child abuse hotline on December 27, 2011,
reported that appellant emotionally abused her, and said that she could not
"take it anymore"; that appellant failed to acknowledge A.'s
emotional state, including her "thoughts of self harm" and prevented
CWS from screening her mental health; and that CWS had received four prior
referrals that appellant abused one or more of the children, and that the prior
referrals were unfounded. CWS had placed
the children in its protective custody on January 13, 2012, and placed them with mother.
On
January 25, 2012, Amy
Wilborn, a licensed marriage and family counselor and a CWS screener, met with
mother and each of the children. A. told
Wilborn about her suicidal thoughts and appellant's abusive conduct. Wilborn
concluded that each of the four children was a victim of emotional abuse, with
a parent-child relational problem, and was at continued risk of abuse and
further damage without protective interventions. Wilborn also concluded that Peter, James and Joseph each had an
unspecified adjustment disorder, and that A. suffered from post-traumatic
stress disorder, a dysthymic disorder, and a major recurrent severe depressive
disorder , without psychotic features.
CWS submitted a jurisdiction/disposition report recommending that the
juvenile court declare the children to be its dependents and order their
continued placement with mother.
Appellant requested a contested hearing.
During
contested proceedings, A. testified regarding appellant's abusive conduct, her
suicidal feelings and her suicide attempts.
Among other things, appellant kicked her in the stomach weekly, and
threatened to slap her "fucking head off." The juvenile court admitted a copy of a
hand-written document A. called her journal.
That journal described appellant's treatment of his children, and its
impact on A. Wilborn testified that A.
reported feeling lonely and hopeless, had suicidal thoughts, had attempted
suicide, and feared that appellant might "hurt [her] or
something."
Appellant
testified and denied the allegations of the petition, including those
incorporated from the unfounded prior referrals. He also testified that in 2009, when she was
fighting with mother, A. chose to live with him 100 percent of the time, for
several months. A. acknowledged that she
lived with him voluntarily for several months that year. Appellant did not think that A. was suicidal.
The
children's karate teacher testified that he knew the children well, regularly
saw them with appellant, and never saw him abuse them. Paternal grandmother gave similar
testimony. She also testified that she
saw A.'s wrists during the period that she reportedly had cut them, and they
had no cut marks.
CWS
urged, and counsel for the children agreed, that "there [was] more than
ample evidence . . . of the emotional damage" that the children had
suffered. CWS also argued that it was
"very clear that this child [A.] has suffered emotional damage [and that
it was] clear that her brothers have been subjected to similar
treatment . . . ."
The juvenile court found the allegations of the petition to be true, and
declared the children to be dependents of the court pursuant to section 300,
subdivision (c). It also ordered family
maintenance services for mother, reunification
services for appellant, and a psychological assessment of A. and appellant.
DISCUSSION
We
reject appellant's claim that the evidence does not support the juvenile
court's findings that his children suffered, or were at substantial risk of
suffering, serious emotional damage. In
reviewing a juvenile court's jurisdictional orders, we must determine whether
they are supported by substantial evidence.
(In re Heather A. (1996) 52
Cal.App.4th 183, 193.) "In making
this determination, we draw all reasonable inferences from the evidence to
support the findings and orders of the dependency court; we review the record
in the light most favorable to the court's determinations; and we note that
issues of fact and credibility are the province of the trial court." (Ibid.)
When
jurisdiction is asserted on the ground of parental conduct causing emotional
harm, CWS has the burden of proving three elements by a preponderance of the
evidence: "(1) serious emotional
damage as evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal or untoward
aggressive behavior or a substantial risk of severe emotional
harm if jurisdiction is not assumed; (2) offending
parental conduct; and (3) causation."
(In re Brison C. (2000) 81
Cal.App.4th 1373, 1379; In re Shelley J.
(1998) 68 Cal.App.4th 322, 329.)
CWS
presented substantial evidence to support the finding that appellant's children
suffered or were at risk of suffering serious emotional damage as a result of
his conduct. A. testified about his
abusive conduct, which led to her suicidal feelings and suicide attempts. Her testimony and journal together described
appellant's abusive treatment of all four children. The licensed marriage and family counselor
who assessed them concluded that each child was a victim of emotional abuse,
with a parent-child relational problem, and at least one psychological disorder;
and that each child was at continued risk of abuse and further damage without
protective interventions.
DISPOSITION
We
affirm the jurisdictional orders.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
PERREN,
J.
We concur:
GILBERT,
P.J.
YEGAN, J.
>
Arthur A. Garcia, Judge
Superior
Court County of Santa Barbara
______________________________
Joseph
D. MacKenzie, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
Appellant Peter D.
Dennis
A. Marshall, County Counsel, Maria Salido Novatt, Sr. Deputy County Counsel,
Toni Lorien, Deputy County Counsel for Plaintiff and Respondent.
All undesignated
statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.
following descriptions is within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which
may adjudge that person to be a dependent child of the court:
[¶] . . . [¶] (c) The child is suffering serious emotional
damage, or is at substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage,
evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive
behavior toward self or others, as a result of the conduct of the parent or
guardian or who has no parent or guardian capable of providing appropriate
care."
