Filed 7/28/26 In re B.S. CA2/1
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
In re B.S., et al., Persons Coming B349857
Under the Juvenile Court Law.
__________________________________ (Los Angeles County
Super. Ct. No. 20CCJP05745)
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN
AND FAMILY SERVICES,
Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
J.M.,
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles
County, Stacy Wiese, Judge. Affirmed.
Maryann M. Goode, under appointment by the Court of
Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Dawyn R. Harrison, County Counsel, Jacklyn K. Louie,
Assistant County Counsel, and Eden Oxford, Deputy County
Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Defendant and appellant J.M. (Mother) appeals from an order
of the juvenile court removing her three children from her custody.
We affirm.
BACKGROUND
Mother and C.S. (Father), not a party to this appeal, have
three children together: B.S. (now six years old, born in September
2019); M.S. (now five years old, born in May 2021); and J.S. (now
three years old, born in April 2023).
Mother and Father have a history of domestic violence and
intervention by respondent Los Angeles County Department of
Children and Family Services (DCFS) that spans several years.
A. 2021 Dependency Proceedings and
Precipitating Events
The family first came to the attention of DCFS in May 2020,
when DCFS received a referral reporting Father threw a cookie
sheet at Mother while she held then one-year-old B.S., hitting
her in the knee. The referring party further reported Father had
grabbed Mother by the shirt and chest, resulting in scratches to
her chest. The referral was closed as inconclusive.
In September 2020, police arrested Father for domestic
violence after he placed his hand on Mother’s throat and
applied pressure while Mother was holding B.S. Mother
obtained a temporary restraining order against Father based
on his “constantly” threatening her with a knife and having hit,
punched, and choked her. Mother reported Father’s alcohol use
fueled these behaviors, and that she believed he needed substance
abuse treatment. This led DCFS to file a Welfare and Institutions
2
Code section 300 petition,1 alleging, inter alia, that Father had
assaulted Mother and was abusing alcohol and marijuana. In
February 2021, the juvenile court sustained the petition.
Reports before the court during these dependency proceedings
reflect additional domestic violence incidents, some of which B.S.
witnessed. For example, Mother called the police on May 13, 2020
to report Father hit her, locked her and B.S. out of the home, and
scratched her, leaving a visible injury.
The court ordered Mother to participate in a domestic
violence support group and individual counseling. It ordered
Father to participate in a domestic violence batterers’ program,
individual counseling, a 12-step program, and drug testing.
Mother fully participated in all services offered; Father participated
in none.
In December 2021, the court terminated jurisdiction over
B.S. with family law orders granting full legal and physical custody
to Mother and monitored visits to Father. The court issued a
restraining order protecting Mother from Father until February
2024.
B. Instant Dependency Proceedings
1. July 2024 Detention and Precipitating
Events
Between April and July 2024, police received seven calls
regarding instances of domestic violence between Mother and
Father. On multiple occasions in July 2024, Father reported
Mother assaulting him, including by hitting him with a hot comb,
spraying him in the eyes with bleach and perfume, and biting him.
1 All further statutory references are to the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
3
On July 2, 2024, Father obtained a temporary restraining order
against Mother based on allegations she beat him, slapped him,
kicked him out of the residence, and threatened to change the locks.
The order lapsed on July 18, 2024, and Father did not seek a new
one.
In August 2024, DCFS obtained removal warrants for all
three children and placed them in foster care.
2. August 2024 Section 300 Petition
On August 22, 2024, DCFS filed a section 300 petition on
behalf of all three children. The court sustained the petition with
interlineations and asserted jurisdiction over the children based
on (1) a July 26, 2024 incident in which Father drove under the
influence of alcohol with the children in the vehicle and (2) the
parents’ “history of engaging in violent physical altercations in the
presence of the children.”
The sustained petition described examples of parents’
domestic violence that occurred in July 2024. On July 10, 2024, in
the presence of the children, Mother struck the left side of Father’s
face with an open palm, and sprayed Father with pepper spray,
causing the children to cough. On July 26, 2024, while in a parked
vehicle with the children, Mother repeatedly struck Father’s face
with her cell phone, and Father repeatedly poked and struck
Mother’s chest, then attempted to forcibly push her out of the
vehicle. On July 27, 2024, “[F]ather forced entry after . . . [M]other
locked herself into the bedroom,” struck Mother’s right arm and
face with a towel, and threw a plastic cup at her.
3. October 2024 Removal
On October 17, 2024, the court removed the children from
both parents’ custody with monitored weekly visits. The court
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found both parents’ progress in services had been “unsubstantial.”
It ordered Mother to participate in a domestic violence victims
support group and individual counseling. It ordered Father
to participate in a domestic violence prevention program and
individual counseling, and to submit to random on-demand drug
and alcohol testing. At Mother’s request, the court issued a stay-
away order requiring the parents to stay 100 yards away from each
other and prohibiting communication of any type.
4. April 2025 Return to Mother’s Custody
As of January 2025, Mother was in full compliance with her
case plan, having completed a 16-week domestic violence program,
four-hour online parenting class, 12-week parenting program,
and individual counseling. Mother admitted to violating the 2021
restraining order, but expressed a commitment to adhering to the
stay away order in effect. Father had participated in some services,
including individual counseling, domestic violence classes, and
parenting classes. His drug tests had mixed results, including some
positive tests for marijuana and several no-shows. Father reported
that he smoked marijuana for pain management following an
injury.
On January 15, 2025, the court ordered unmonitored visits for
Mother.
At the six-month review hearing on April 21, 2025, the court
returned the children to Mother’s custody. Mother and Father
reported they intended to reunify, and the court granted their
request that it terminate the stay away order.
The court denied Father’s requests for custody or
unmonitored visits, based on the levels of marijuana in his drug
test results. The court prohibited Father from having his monitored
visits in the family home and prohibited Mother from monitoring or
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being present for the visits. It further prohibited Father from
moving back into the family home.
5. September 2025 Detention
Police call logs reflect that, between May and August of 2025,
Mother called the police several times regarding Father. On
August 28, 2025, Mother requested a restraining order, alleging
Father repeatedly came to the family home uninvited and would not
leave until she called the police.2 In one instance, Father broke a
door to enter the home. During some of these incidents, Father
appeared to be under the influence.
Soon after Mother requested the restraining order, DCFS
obtained removal warrants and placed the children in foster care.
At the detention hearing, the court ordered monitored visits for
each parent separately, retaining the restrictions that Father
was not to have visits in the family home and neither parent was
to be present during the other’s visits. The court issued Mother’s
previously requested temporary restraining order against Father,
which prohibited contact and communication of any kind.
6. September 2025 Petitions
On September 4, 2025, DCFS filed a subsequent petition
under section 342 and a supplemental petition under section 387.
The section 342 petition alleged as additional bases for jurisdiction
several instances of domestic violence in July and August 2025,
Father’s history of marijuana use, and Father’s current alcohol
abuse. (See § 342, subd. (a) [authorizing a petition “alleg[ing] new
facts or circumstances . . . sufficient to state that [a person already
2 It does not appear from the record that this request was
granted, because Mother filed another request on September 5,
2025.
6
under juvenile court jurisdiction] is a person described in
Section 300”].) The section 387 petition alleged the previous
disposition—placement with Mother and court-ordered restrictions
on parents’ contact—had not been effective in protecting the
children, because the parents failed to comply with these
restrictions, resulting in the July and August 2025 domestic
violence incidents. (See In re T.W. (2013) 214 Cal.App.4th 1154,
1161 (T.W.) [section 387 provides the proper vehicle to invoke
when DCFS seeks to change the previously ordered placement of
a dependent child from the physical custody of a parent to a more
restrictive level of court-ordered care].)
Both petitions alleged the details of the July and August
2025 domestic violence incidents. On July 6, 2025, Mother
scratched Father’s eyes, resulting in a bruise on his eye socket and
burst blood vessels in his eye. On August 19, 2025, Mother invited
Father to the home while the children were there, and an argument
ensued in the garage, during which Mother threw Father to the
ground and shut the garage door on him, breaking his nose. Mother
locked the home, leaving Father naked outside. He reentered the
home by breaking a window. Father appeared intoxicated during
the incident. Father returned to the home early the next morning
and, “[w]hile . . . [M]other was lying down in the bedroom, . . .
placed [his] body on top of ” her. She pushed him off, and “[he]
struck [her] . . . face with an open palm.” Father left the home after
Mother called the police.
7. October 16, 2025 Hearing
On October 16, 2025, the court held a combined hearing on
the petitions.
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a. Evidence at hearing
The court accepted several police records and DCFS reports
into evidence at the hearing. These reflect the following:
On July 5, 2025, Mother told police that Father was
living with Mother and the children. B.S. likewise told DCFS
interviewers in August and October 2025 that Father lived with
them and took B.S. to school and football practice. Mother denied
Father resided in the home, stating he instead “ ‘stop[ped] by when
[she] and the children [were not] home.’ ” Mother later added that,
“ ‘Technically yes he lives here but he can’t be here with this court
order in place.’ ” Mother and Father were expecting their fourth
child together in August 2026.
Mother denied the children were present for parents’ domestic
violence. The children, however, confirmed having witnessed
physical violence between the parents. B.S. told interviewers that
“daddy [had] pushed mommy out the door,” and that the parents’
fighting upset him and caused M.S. to cry. M.S. also reported
seeing Father push Mother out the door. M.S. stated, “[Y]eah I
cryin’ cause daddy pushed mommy out the door, like this (Mason
then pushed the air and fell to the floor).”
Mother also denied some aspects of the domestic
violence incidents as outlined in the petition and police reports
and maintained she was complying with all court orders. She
contended Father was violating the orders; he was still contributing
to the mortgage payments and felt entitled to access the home.
Mother told DCFS she was sufficiently protecting the children
by calling the police when necessary. When the police offered
her an emergency protective order after the August 2025 incident,
however, she declined.
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Father denied Mother’s version of the incidents, providing
a different account of events. He maintained Mother was the
aggressor in all domestic violence. Father stated he had no
intention of following court orders, which had rendered him
homeless despite his contributing to the mortgage on the family
home, and that DCFS intervention was only causing problems and
traumatizing the children.
Mother told DCFS she believed Father had an alcohol
problem, and that this contributed to the domestic violence. She
also stated Father needed, and requested DCFS provide him,
substance abuse treatment. Mother reported Father smoked
marijuana for the injuries he sustained from a motorcycle accident
in 2017. Although Father had told DCFS in October 2024 that
he “[had] an issue with ‘beer’ ” and wanted “substance use/abuse
services in the form of an outpatient program to assist with his
sobriety,” when DCFS interviewed him in October 2025, he denied
having any issues with alcohol or substance abuse.
Mother reported she continued to participate in individual
therapy, but would not permit DCFS to verify this with her
therapist. She was otherwise fully compliant with her case plan.
Father was not testing consistently, tested positive for
marijuana on some occasions, and was not consistent in visiting
the children. He was enrolled in a domestic violence program
and had completed 32 classes, was participating in counseling,
and had completed a parenting program. Mother and Father also
participated in 15 couples therapy sessions, from May 8, 2025
through August 18, 2025.
DCFS recommended the court remove the children from
parental custody and that the juvenile court order Father to
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complete a substance abuse treatment program due to his
inconsistent drug testing.
b. Jurisdiction hearing
The court sustained the allegations of domestic violence
allegations by both Mother and Father in the section 342 petition
as additional bases for jurisdiction. It dismissed the allegations
regarding Father’s marijuana and alcohol use.
The court resolved the conflicting statements in DCFS
reports and found Mother and Father were still together, had been
having contact in violation of court orders, and that the children
were present for, and in some cases had witnessed, the parents’
domestic violence. Based on these findings, the court sustained the
allegations in the section 387 petition that the current placement
was not effectively protecting the children.
8. October 2025 Removal
At the disposition phase of the October 15, 2025 hearing,
the court found clear and convincing evidence established a risk of
substantial harm to the children if they were to return to Mother’s
home “where there is constant toxicity and fighting going on,
physical fighting and verbal fighting . . . [that was] putting them
in harm’s way consistently” and had been “for a very long time.”
The court emphasized that the domestic violence between parents
was “not a one-time incident,” and that despite the parents’
compliance with their case plans, their “progress . . . toward
mitigating the causes necessitating the children’s placement
in foster care has not been substantial.” Rather, after a year
of participating in services, they were “back at square one.”
Therefore, despite DCFS providing reasonable services to avoid
removal of the children from their parents, no means short of
10
removal could sufficiently address the risk of harm. (See § 361,
subds. (c)(1) & (e).)
The court removed the children from parental custody. It
granted each parent monitored visits and prohibited visits in the
family home and joint visits. Both parents’ case plans included
therapeutic individual counseling sessions to address the domestic
violence issues and Father’s substance abuse. The court did not
follow DCFS’s recommendation that it order a full substance
abuse treatment program for Father, and instead ordered Father
to submit to random drug and alcohol testing upon reasonable
suspicion.
Mother requested a permanent restraining order against
Father, arguing he was the aggressor in all domestic violence
and came to her home uninvited. The court issued a three-year
restraining order against Father, which permitted only brief and
peaceful communication regarding the children’s court-ordered
visits. The court stated it would consider a request for a restraining
order against Mother as well, should Father choose to file one.
Mother appealed.
DISCUSSION
On appeal, Mother does not challenge the court’s orders
sustaining the section 342 and section 387 petitions. Rather,
she challenges only the court’s removal order.
After sustaining a section 387 petition, a court must consider
“whether it is appropriate to change or modify the previous
placement order by removing the child from her current placement.”
(In re Brianna S. (2021) 60 Cal.App.5th 303, 312; Cal. Rules
of Court, rule 5.565(e)(2).) Where, as here, “the section 387
supplemental petition seeks to remove the child from her ‘parent’
or ‘guardian,’ ” in assessing the need for removal, the court must
11
assess whether the evidence supports the findings necessary to
justify removal under section 361, subdivision (c). (Brianna S.,
supra, at p. 312; T.W., supra, 214 Cal.App.4th at p. 1163, but see
In re A.O. (2010) 185 Cal.App.4th 103, 111–112 [not so requiring].)
Pursuant to section 361, subdivision (c)(1), the juvenile
court may remove a child from a custodial parent only if it finds, by
clear and convincing evidence, “[t]here is or would be a substantial
danger to the physical health, safety, protection, or physical or
emotional well-being of the minor if the minor were returned home,
and there are no reasonable means by which the minor’s physical
health can be protected without removing the minor from the
minor’s parent’s . . . physical custody.” (§ 361, subd. (c)(1).) In
addition, before the court orders the child removed pursuant to
section 361, “[t]he court shall make a determination as to whether
reasonable efforts were made to prevent or to eliminate the need
for removal of the minor from their home.” (§ 361, subd. (e).)
Mother argues substantial evidence does not support any
of these findings. A heightened version of substantial evidence
review applies to the findings for which section 361 requires clear
and convincing evidence. (See Conservatorship of O.B. (2020) 9
Cal.5th 989, 1005.) Namely, as to those—risk of harm and lack
of alternative means—we “must determine whether the record,
viewed as a whole, contains substantial evidence from which
a reasonable trier of fact could have made the finding of high
probability demanded by this standard of proof.” (Ibid.)
A. Risk of Harm
In considering whether DCFS has proven a risk of harm
sufficient to justify removal, “the juvenile court may consider
the parent’s past conduct and current circumstances, and the
parent’s response to the conditions that gave rise to juvenile court
12
intervention.” (In re D.B. (2018) 26 Cal.App.5th 320, 332; In re
A.S. (2011) 202 Cal.App.4th 237, 247.) “The parent need not be
dangerous and the child need not have been actually harmed for
removal to be appropriate. The focus of the statute is on averting
harm to the child.” (In re Cole C. (2009) 174 Cal.App.4th 900, 917.)
Here, substantial evidence supports a finding by clear and
convincing evidence that the children were at risk of suffering
substantial harm from the continuing domestic violence between
the parents. The record supports that the children were in the
home during some of the domestic violence incidents, and that
they have witnessed multiple instances of domestic violence as well.
This placed them at risk of substantial harm. (See In re Heather A.
(1996) 52 Cal.App.4th 183, 194 [“[o]bviously the children were put
in a position of physical danger from this violence [perpetrated
by the Father against the Mother], since, for example, they could
wander into the room where it was occurring and be accidentally
hit by a thrown object, by a fist, arm, foot or leg, or by [the Mother]
falling against them”]; In re T.V. (2013) 217 Cal.App.4th 126, 136
(T.V.) [“parents engaged in a pattern of domestic violence, some of
which [the child] heard or saw; thus, she was at substantial risk of
harm if returned home” even though she had never been injured by
the violence].)
Substantial evidence also supports a finding by clear and
convincing evidence that, if placed in Mother’s care, this risk of
harm will continue. The record reflects a pattern, spanning several
years, of Mother and Father remaining in contact despite court
orders forbidding it. This contact has consistently resulted in
domestic violence between the parents, even during periods of
DCFS supervision, and despite their participation in multiple
rounds of domestic violence prevention services.
13
Furthermore, Mother denies that her and Father’s domestic
violence placed the children in harm’s way. She told DCFS that
she was taking sufficient steps to protect the children by calling
the police when necessary. But Mother has repeatedly returned to
a relationship with Father after seeking police protection from him,
sometimes in violation of orders she herself requested. Mother’s
apparent denial as to the effect of her and Father’s actions
and her role therein creates a significant risk that she will not
feel compelled to make the changes necessary to avoid future
altercations. (See In re V.L. (2020) 54 Cal.App.5th 147, 156
[“[a] parent’s denial of domestic violence increases the risk of it
recurring”].) That Mother has already received extensive services
to address these issues but has not changed her behavior further
heightens that risk. (See T.V., supra, 217 Cal.App.4th at p. 136
[noting in affirming removal based on child witnessing domestic
violence that parent had “not successfully addressed his anger
issues even though he had previously participated in domestic
violence treatment and therapy” and “denied responsibility for
the violence, claiming [Mother] was the aggressor”].)
Mother argues substantial evidence does not support the
requisite finding of harm to the children because the parents “did
not appear to be particularly afraid of each other” and the domestic
violence incidents “were not aimed at the children.” She also notes
that both parents were participating in services, consistently
visiting with the children, that the visits were going well, and
that the children were never physically harmed while in Mother’s
custody. Finally, Mother argues she has a close relationship with
her children and that they want to return to her care. None of
these arguments undermines our conclusion; indeed, many of them
14
are irrelevant in assessing risk of harm under section 361,
subdivision (c)(1).
Nor do the cases Mother cites provide a basis for reversing
the court’s findings here. (See In re M.V. (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th
944; In re Basilio T. (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 155 (Basilio T.).) Mother
cites M.V. as an example of a court reversing removal based on a
history of domestic violence where the parents were participating
in services and visits with the children were going well. But in
M.V., a social worker testified at the disposition hearing that she
could not “ ‘think of any safety risk’ ” in placing the children with
the Father. (M.V., supra, at pp. 956, 954–956.) DCFS had based its
removal recommendation solely on the view that the parents denied
and minimized their domestic violence history. (Id. at pp. 954–956.)
The Court of Appeal reversed on the basis that Father’s denials
were alone insufficient to justify removal by clear and convincing
evidence. (Id. at pp. 962–963.) Here, in contrast, DCFS reported
the children were at risk in Mother’s care. Moreover, the evidence
supports substantial danger that does not turn on Mother’s
minimization of domestic violence: Namely, evidence of Mother
and Father’s years-long cycle of domestic violence that the children
witnessed and/or were present for, despite both parents receiving
services to address these issues.
In Basilio T., supra, 4 Cal.App.4th 155, the Court of Appeal
deemed a history of domestic violence between parents that
had never physically harmed the children insufficient to support
removal. (Id. at pp. 160–163, 168, 171.) But in that case, unlike
here, the domestic violence had not persisted for several years.
(Id. at pp. 160–163.) Nor had it persisted despite the parents’
participation in services. (Ibid.) To the contrary, the court
in Basilio T. found significant that the parents had not yet
15
participated in services to address their domestic violence issues
and were not refusing to do so. (Id. at pp. 171–172.) Also unlike
here, in Basilio T., there was no basis for the court to conclude
that strict DCFS supervision would be ineffective in protecting
the children. (See ibid.)
B. Insufficiency of Alternative Protective
Measures
Mother argues that “there were other more reasonable
alternatives” to removal in this case because “[f]or the most part,
the parents were good citizens who had cooperated with service
requirements” and thus were “doing very well in many ways.”
The evidence does not support that Mother’s and Father’s continued
participation in services was a sufficient alternative means of
protecting the children. To the contrary, their participation in
these services has not abated their cycle of domestic violence
to date. Nor has DCFS supervision or court-ordered separation
deterred parents from continuing their violent altercations.
Substantial evidence supports that services and supervision were
insufficient to protect the children from the risk of harm in Mother’s
care.
Mother further argues that “order[ing] Father into a
substance abuse treatment program to help alleviate the cause
of the [domestic violence]” was a reasonable alternative means of
protecting the children. This argument is purely speculative and
based on numerous assumptions, some of which are inconsistent
with the evidence. First, it assumes Father has an alcohol problem,
something the court found the evidence did not establish. Second,
it assumes Father—who as of the most recent DCFS report was
denying he had an alcohol problem and threatening not to comply
with further juvenile court orders—would participate in substance
16
abuse treatment services, if offered. Third, it assumes that
addressing any issues Father has with alcohol would end a years-
long cycle of domestic abuse in which both parents were aggressors.
Moreover, it ignores the reality that substance abuse treatment
does not immediately result in behavioral changes. Whether
or not Father participating in a substance abuse program would
eventually assist in breaking the parents’ cycle of domestic violence,
it would not have sufficiently protected the children at the time the
court ordered it.
Substantial evidence supports the court’s finding that
removal was the only reasonable means of protecting the children.
C. Reasonable Efforts To Avoid Removal
Mother argues that, because DCFS did not offer Father
substance abuse services, it did not make reasonable efforts
to prevent the need for removal as section 361, subdivision (e)
requires. According to Mother, DCFS did not take seriously
the role of alcohol in the ongoing domestic violence, particularly
because Father had, at times, suggested he had an alcohol problem,
and Mother had repeatedly suggested he should receive treatment
for alcohol and substance abuse. Assuming Mother has not
waived this argument by failing to challenge the reasonableness or
sufficiency of the services offered below (see In re Lauren Z. (2008)
158 Cal.App.4th 1102, 1110; In re Kevin S. (1996) 41 Cal.App.4th
882, 885), we are not persuaded. As outlined above, Mother’s
argument that Father receiving substance abuse treatment would
have prevented the need for removal is speculative. Substantial
evidence amply supports that DCFS provided reasonable services
to assist the parents in addressing the domestic violence issues
that were the primary focus of the dependency proceedings.
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DISPOSITION
The orders are affirmed.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
ROTHSCHILD, P. J.
We concur:
WEINGART, J.
M. KIM, J.
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