In re Levi M.

Filed 4/11/06 In re Levi M. CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. James C. McGuire, Judge. Affirmed.

Kate M. Chandler, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Father.

Michelle L. Morris, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Mother.

Ronald D. Reitz, County Counsel, and James P. Morris, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Sharon S. Rollo, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Minors.

Louis M. (father) and Lori M. (mother) appeal from an order terminating their parental rights to Zacharia (four years old) and Levi (one year old). Father contends there was insufficient evidence that Zacharia is adoptable. He further contends the court erred in not applying the beneficial parent-child relationship exception under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26, subdivision (c)(1)(E).^[1] Mother joins father's arguments, asserting that, in the event judgment is reversed as to father, it should be reversed as to her as well.

We conclude there is sufficient evidence of adoptability and that, although father regularly visited Zacharia, father failed to establish that the benefit of his relationship with Zacharia outweighed the benefit of a permanent plan of adoption. We thus affirm the judgment.

1. Factual and Procedural Background

Mother has given birth to five children. At the time of the birth of her fifth child, Levi, in September 2001, only Zacharia was living with mother and father. Both Zacharia and Levi were drug-exposed infants. At the time of Levi's birth, mother admitted using methamphetamines two days before Levi's birth. She said she was tired of being pregnant so she induced labor by ingesting methamphetamines. Mother and father admitted to having a 20-year history of substance abuse and to using drugs in front of their children.

Following Levi's birth, he was placed in neonatal intensive care due to drug exposure. On November 4, 2004, the Department of Children's Services (DCS) filed a juvenile dependency petition on behalf of Levi and Zacharia. The DCS alleged mother â€