In re A.R. CA4/2
J.G. (sometimes father) begat a child with a woman who was already in a long-standing relationship with another man. Due to the mother’s drug use and child welfare history, Children and Family Services (CFS) detained the child at birth and filed a dependency petition concerning her. At the time, the father was incarcerated, serving a sentence for second degree burglary; he was due to be released four months after the jurisdictional/dispositional hearing. Nevertheless, he appeared at all relevant hearings. He requested a paternity test, which showed that he was indeed the child’s father. He then requested reunification services, which the juvenile court denied.
We will hold that, because the evidence showed that reunification services were likely to overcome the father’s criminality and drug use, this was an abuse of discretion.
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