In re Y.G.

Filed 5/8/06  In re Y.G. 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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  This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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 Riverside County.  H. Morgan Dougherty, Judge.  Affirmed.

            Konrad S. Lee, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

            Joe S. Rank, County Counsel, and Carole A. Nunes Fong, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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

1.  Introduction

            Defendant and appellant Annette G. (mother) is the natural mother of Y.G. and five other children.  She appeals after the trial court denied her petition under Welfare and Institutions Code[1] section 388 (section 388) to change dependency orders based upon changed circumstances.  The juvenile court denied mother's petition and terminated her parental rights.  We conclude that mother's grounds of appeal are unpersuasive and we affirm the juvenile court's orders. 

2.  Factual and Procedural Background

            Mother gave birth to twins in early 2003.  The twin boys, Rudy and Ruben, were born prematurely and both had been exposed to opiates and cannabinoids.  They had respiratory distress and had to be transferred to neonatal intensive care.  There were four older children, Francisco, Y.G., David and Destiny.  The Riverside County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS) later received referrals about the older children.  A social worker visited and found the home dirty and inadequate for the children.  The social worker reported that, in the past, mother had participated in voluntary family maintenance services because of mother's prior drug use.  Obviously, mother had not benefited from past services, as she continued to use drugs and had taken marijuana and opiates while pregnant with the twins.  Rodolfo M. was the father of all the children except Y.G.  Y.G.'s alleged father, Paul T., had not been located.

            The children were taken into custody and DPSS filed a dependency petition in the juvenile court.  At a detention hearing on March 5, 2003, the court found that the children came within section 300, subdivisions (b) (failure to protect) and (g) (failure to provide, based on a parent's incarceration).  The court ordered the children detained and ordered reunification services for mother. 

            Mother entered a drug treatment program.  She was required as part of that program to participate in counseling, take parenting classes, participate in outpatient substance abuse treatment and submit to random drug testing. 

            A contested jurisdictional and dispositional hearing occurred on April 10, 2003.  The court found the allegations of the petition to be true, declared the children dependents of the juvenile court, and removed them from parental custody.  However, the court ordered that the children be placed with mother under family maintenance services, after she completed a 30-day drug treatment program and obtained approved housing.

            On May 13, 2003, these steps were apparently met, as the children were returned to mother's care under a family maintenance plan. 

            Within two or three months, however, DPSS received another referral alleging that mother had returned to using drugs, and that incidents of domestic violence had taken place.  Rodolfo M., father of all the children except Y.G., had put a gun to mother's head; this incident was witnessed by the children.  The children also reported that mother sometimes hit Rodolfo M. with her hands.  Mother also hit some of the children. 

            In July 2003, the social worker made a home visit.  The home was again in a dirty condition.  When the social worker came, Rodolfo M., who was not supposed to be in the home, escaped through a back window, taking Francisco with him.  Mother lied to the social worker, denying that Rodolfo M. had been at the home.  Renewed efforts to find Paul T. had been unsuccessful.  Mother had been discharged from her substance abuse program for excessive absences.  She had also tested positive twice for methamphetamine.  She and Rodolfo M. had engaged in incidents of domestic violence.  She had stabbed him in the wrist, and he was alleged to be stalking her. 

            The children were again removed from mother's care and placed with a maternal aunt.  DPSS filed a supplemental petition under section 387 for all six children.  The petition alleged that mother had engaged in domestic violence, and had failed to provide a safe, clean, drug-free environment for the children.  It also alleged that she failed to protect the children from Rodolfo M. 

            A new detention hearing was held on July 22, 2003.  The court found that the children were in substantial danger of physical or emotional abuse if they remained with mother.  The court ordered them removed from her custody.  The court ordered reunification services for mother; mother would be allowed visitation when she was â€