In re Raven H.

Filed 2/5/07  In re Raven H. CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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  This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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 THREE

                        Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, John C. Gastelum, Judge.  Affirmed.

                        Lori A. Fields, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

                        Benjamin P. de Mayo, County Counsel, Dana J. Stits and Jeannie Su, Deputies County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

                        Jay H. appeals from the order finding the allegations of a subsequent petition true, declaring his daughter Raven H., a dependent child due to his failure to protect her, and continuing her under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.  (Welf. & Inst. Code, §  300, subd.  (b).)[1]  We reject his contention that insufficient evidence supports the jurisdictional finding, and we affirm the order.

FACTS

                        In late May 2005, then five‑ year‑ old Raven was taken into protective custody and a petition was filed to declare her a dependent child,  under section 300, subdivision  (b) (failure to protect), because of the unsafe and unsanitary conditions of the family's home.  Raven's parents, Jay and Mary H.,[2] eventually pled no contest to an amended petition which alleged the following circumstances (among others):  the family's home was so cluttered with debris and trash it was difficult to walk through; video racks were stacked in an unsafe and hazardous condition; there was a nine‑ inch hole in the wall of Raven's bedroom; her bed sheets were dirty and brown; there were sick cats in the house, and a cat litter box in the bathroom was overflowing with fecal matter; there was a bucket of urine on the bathroom counter with underwear in it, and the bathroom floor was filthy; the kitchen counter was filthy, and covered with dishes of cat food and dirty dishes; bags of rotting garbage hung from knobs in the kitchen; electrical wires were nailed to walls within Raven's reach; the front porch was covered with trash and animal cages (one of which had seven rats inside); and the deplorable â€