Contra Costa Cnty. Children & Family Servs. Bureau v. R.S. (In re I.S.)
| Citation | 67 Cal.App.5th 918,282 Cal.Rptr.3d 597 |
| Decision Date | 16 August 2021 |
| Docket Number | A161417 |
| Parties | IN RE I.S., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Bureau, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. R.S., Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Attorney for Plaintiff and Respondent, Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Bureau: Contra Costa County, Sharon L. Anderson, County Counsel, Carol T. Nguyen, Deputy County Counsel
Attorneys for Defendant and Appellant, R.S.: Gorman Law Office, Seth F. Gorman, by appointment of the Court of Appeal through the First District Appellate Project, Independent Case System
Richman, Acting P.J. R.S. (Mother) appeals the juvenile court's orders declaring her daughter, I.S., a dependent child under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300,1 and removing I.S. from her custody pursuant to section 361, subdivision (c)(1). Mother contends the juvenile court erred and deprived her of due process by amending the dependency petition to conform to proof at the jurisdictional hearing. She also challenges the juvenile court's finding that reasonable efforts were made to prevent the need for I.S.’s removal under section 361, subdivision (e). We agree with Mother that the juvenile court's amendments to the petition to conform to proof deprived her of due process. Accordingly, we reverse the juvenile court's jurisdictional order and the dispositional orders that derived from it.
BACKGROUND
The Petition, Detention, and Jurisdiction
R.S. is the mother of minor I.S. I.S.’s father reportedly lives in Brazil and could not be located.
On October 29, 2019, the Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Bureau (Bureau) initiated these dependency proceedings with respect to then 14-year-old I.S. by filing a petition pursuant to section 300, subdivisions (b)(1) (failure to protect) and (d) (sexual abuse). The petition alleged D.B., a family friend and member of I.S.’s household, touched I.S. on her breast and vaginal area and then forced her to touch his genitals. The petition also alleged Mother "knew about the abuse," but maintained I.S. was " ‘a ‘liar’ " and " ‘[was] making this up.’ " Although Mother initially kicked D.B. out of the home, she later allowed him to move back in, thereby failing to protect I.S. Mother denied the allegations.
On October 30, the Bureau filed its detention and jurisdiction report. Days earlier, the Bureau interviewed I.S., who explained she was abused by D.B., the boyfriend of Mother's sister, approximately a year prior. After that incident, D.B. texted I.S. to not tell anyone about it. I.S. told Mother about the abuse two days afterward and forwarded her the text messages from D.B. At the time of the incident, D.B. lived with I.S., together with several other family members. After I.S. disclosed the abuse to Mother, Mother initiated a meeting with the adult family members in the household to discuss what happened. I.S. and D.B. were present at the meeting. The family members ended up "yelling, screaming and throwing things" and argued about whether they believed I.S. D.B. moved out of the house some time thereafter. However, Mother later asked I.S. "if it was alright for [D.B.] to move back into the home," a question that upset I.S. D.B. eventually moved back into the home in August or September 2019. Although D.B. had not made any advances toward I.S. since moving back, I.S. reported feeling afraid, anxious, and uncomfortable when he is at home. The adults living in the house also stopped speaking to I.S. I.S. often refused to go home and spent many days staying at her school friends’ homes. I.S.’s grades also suffered throughout the school year.
During her interview with the Bureau, Mother stated she did not know "why [she was] here." She claimed D.B. "didn't do anything to [I.S.]" and I.S. was a "liar," who was "just making this up because we got into it about her grades this morning." But when asked to elaborate, Mother did not state what I.S. was lying about. Mother confirmed D.B. was living in the family home.
On October 30, the juvenile court ordered I.S. detained, placed her with a foster family, and set a detention hearing for the following day. At the detention hearing, the juvenile court granted Mother weekly visitation, pending the Bureau's completion of a forensic interview. It scheduled a contested jurisdictional hearing for December 4 and a pretrial hearing on November 20.
At the November 20 hearing, the juvenile court was informed that the forensic interview of I.S. recently had been completed. Mother's counsel then requested visitation, which had not yet occurred because a scheduled visit was canceled after I.S. reported she was feeling emotional. I.S.’s counsel objected to the request, explaining that the forensic interview revealed "disturbing" information, which "illuminate[d] [I.S.’s] reluctance to want to see her mother." When the juvenile court asked counsel if the information was "[d]isturbing to the point that you think the visitation order should be revisited," counsel replied that it was, and asked the court to withhold visitation until the parties received feedback from a therapist concerning "what [I.S.] can stand emotionally." Mother objected to the recommendation to suspend visitation pending feedback from a therapist. The juvenile court then stated its decision: [¶] ... [¶] ...
On December 4, the Bureau filed a memorandum detailing statements made by I.S., Mother, their family members, and collateral contacts during the forensic interview and other interviews conducted by the Bureau and law enforcement. Consistent with her statements noted in the detention and jurisdiction report, I.S. explained the events surrounding the sexual abuse in detail, her disclosure to Mother of the abuse and text messages from D.B., the subsequent family meeting, and her family's alienation of her after the disclosure.
Mother denied she knew about the abuse before the dependency proceedings and stated until then, she was only aware of the text messages D.B. had sent I.S. According to Mother, she had asked I.S. if D.B. "had done anything to her" and I.S.’s answer was "no." Mother did not see any text messages that were sexual in nature. Mother, however, stated she herself had been sexually abused in the past and, in light of her experience, D.B.’s text messages were a "red flag." Mother also recalled a time when she heard D.B. was "being creepy" toward I.S. by sitting too close to, and unnecessarily touching, I.S. while playing video games. Mother also stated she called the family meeting to explore the nature of text messages D.B. had sent I.S. At the conclusion of the meeting, D.B. apologized to I.S. for making her "uncomfortable," and I.S. apparently accepted the apology. The family also asked I.S. if D.B. could move back into the house, and I.S. responded he could.
I.S. reported feeling depressed since the molestation. She also expressed she was still uncomfortable seeing Mother due to Mother's denial of the abuse, and was concerned about her emotional well-being were she to visit with Mother. The social worker encouraged I.S. to reconsider visits, stated she would check in with I.S. at the end of the week to set up visits for the following week, and suggested I.S. try communicating with Mother in writing. I.S. was open to that idea.
At the December 4 hearing, the parties notified the juvenile court they had negotiated a jurisdictional resolution whereby the allegation in count d-1 in the petition stating I.S. had been sexually abused by a member of her household would be admitted, and all other allegations would be dismissed. The juvenile court rejected the proposed resolution because it stripped the petition of language describing Mother's "personal responsibility for [Mother's] role in getting us to where we are."
Mother's counsel then requested visitation. I.S.’s counsel objected to the request, explaining I.S. was "simply not ready yet" to see Mother. The juvenile court then stated, No one raised any objections.
The juvenile court continued the contested jurisdictional hearing to January 2, 2020. Due to delays and court closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the hearing took place over the course of several days between January 2 and July 1. Mother, her family members, and social workers testified.
Mother testified along the lines of her previous statements to the Bureau and law enforcement in interviews, including her denial of the abuse. Mother also testified that after D.B. moved back into the family home, she continued living there until December 2019, when her family "kicked [Mother] out."
Social worker Laura Carnagey testified about the interactions between Mother and I.S. during a Child and Family Team (CFT) meeting in January 2020—the first time they saw each other since detention. I.S. expressed her worries to Mother. In response, Mother was "defensive and confrontational, and she denied any responsibility." I.S. ...
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