In re I.H.
I.H. was taken into protective custody in January 2011, several days after she was born. She had been one month premature, and both I.H. and her mother, P.H. (Mother), tested positive for amphetamines. The juvenile dependency petition included two counts: count 1 was for failure to protect under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b) (further code references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise noted), and count 2 was for abuse of sibling under section 300, subdivision (j).
At the 18‑month review hearing in July 2012, the juvenile court brought its own motion under section 350, subdivision (c) (section 350(c)). After giving the parties the opportunity to argue, the court granted the motion, found the Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) failed to carry its burden under section 366.22, subdivision (a), and ordered that I.H. be returned to Mother’s custody under SSA’s supervision. I.H. appeals from this order. SSA has filed a letter brief stating it will not file a respondent’s brief but does not oppose I.H.’s appeal.
Applying the relevant standard of review, described in detail in the discussion section, we conclude the juvenile court did not err by granting the motion under section 350(c) at the 18‑month review hearing and ordering that I.H. be returned to Mother’s custody. We therefore affirm. Because the only issue presented by this appeal is whether the juvenile court erred by granting the section 350(c) motion, we start with an explanation of that code section and other relevant law, provide an abbreviated procedural history, and limit our recitation of the facts to the evidence presented at the 18‑month review hearing.
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