L.T. v. Superior Court
The three children of appellant L.T. (Mother), M.M., age 23 months, and Ru.M. and Ri.M., twins one month old (minors), were the subject of a November 2011 dependency petition. The petition alleged neglect, failure to protect, and failure to support due to serious domestic violence between Mother and her husband, the minors’ presumed father (Father), and substance abuse by Mother and Father. (Welf. & Inst. Code,[2] § 300, subds. (b) & (g).) At the time of filing, both parents were incarcerated.
The minors were found to be dependents of the court in December 2011. Reunification services were denied to Father as a result of his history of chronic substance abuse. (§ 361.5, subd. (b)(13).) At the time of the six-month review in June 2012, the Sonoma County Human Services Department (Agency) recommended terminating reunification services to Mother as a result of her continued contact with Father, erratic compliance with a substance abuse program, and inability to accept responsibility for her conduct. After a contested six-month review hearing in September 2012, the juvenile court granted Mother an additional six months of services. The Agency again recommended termination of Mother’s reunification services at the time of the 12-month hearing in December. After a series of evidentiary hearings in February, March, and April 2013, the court terminated her services and scheduled a permanency planning hearing pursuant to section 366.26, explaining its decision in a written order.
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