L. A. Cnty. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. v. Ashley W. (In re Jayson W.)

• Decision Date: 03 November 2022
• Docket Number: B314711
• Parties: In re JAYSON W., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. v. ASHLEY W. Defendant and Appellant. LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent,
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

In re JAYSON W., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
ASHLEY W. Defendant and Appellant.

B314711

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Second Division

November 3, 2022

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from the orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, No. 20CCJP06321A, Philip L. Soto, Judge. Affirmed.

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Donna Balderston Kaiser, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Dawyn R. Harrison, Acting County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Kimberly Roura, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

HOFFSTADT, J.

Ashley W. (mother) challenges the juvenile court's orders finding supplemental grounds for exerting dependency jurisdiction over her toddler son and changing the prior disposition order to remove him from her custody. She also challenges the juvenile court's finding that the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), 25 U.S.C. § 1903 et seq. does not apply. Because we conclude that the court's supplemental and dispositional orders are supported by substantial evidence and that any ICWA deficiencies can be addressed in the ongoing dependency proceedings, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Birth of Jayson W.

In August 2020, mother elected to give birth to her son, Jayson W., in the back seat of her car because she did not trust doctors. Jonathen D. (father) was present. When the parents saw more blood than they expected, they called 911 and, over mother's objection, mother and Jayson were admitted into the hospital. Mother tried to sneak out of the hospital with Jayson in

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the early hours of the next morning, but was not permitted to leave. Mother and Jayson were eventually discharged.

When questioned about mother's conduct, Jayson's maternal grandmother reported that mother's "thought process is not logical."

II. The Baby-tossing Incident

Less than a month later, on August 28, 2020, mother and father were riding light-rail mass transit. Mother was holding Jayson. As mother got increasingly upset from a verbal spat she was having with father, she "forcefully handed" the newborn to father and then proceeded to slap father repeatedly while he held the newborn. When the police arrived, mother grabbed Jayson and tried to run from the police while holding the baby. Mother was arrested for child endangerment and domestic battery. Doctors examined Jayson, and determined he was dehydrated.

This was not the first incident of domestic violence between mother and father. On prior occasions, father had poked and pinched mother, pulled her hair, choked her and pulled a gun on her. Mother also had anger issues.

III. Initial Exertion of Juvenile Dependency Jurisdiction

On September 2, 2020, the Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children's Services filed a petition asking the juvenile court to exert dependency jurisdiction over Jayson on several grounds.

Following the transfer of this case to Los Angeles County when mother moved down here, and following hearings held on October 22, 2020, and on November 12, 2020, the juvenile court sustained jurisdiction over Jayson on the grounds that (1) mother was arrested and father was "unable to care for" Jayson, (2) the "parents have a history of domestic violence," which included the

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August 28 incident when mother "forcefully handed the baby to father" and then slapped father "several times" "on his face while . . . father was holding the baby," (3) mother and father have "neglected the infant's basic needs" by intentionally giving birth to the baby in a car and not sufficiently hydrating the baby during his first month of life, and (4) father has "ongoing and untreated mental health issues." This behavior placed Jayson at substantial risk of serious physical harm and serious emotional harm that rendered dependency jurisdiction appropriate under sections (b) and (c) of Welfare and Institutions Code section 300.^[1]

The court ruled that Jayson could stay in mother's custody, but only if mother adhered to her case plan. The case plan required mother to (1) attend parenting classes, (2) participate in domestic violence counseling, (3) participate in single parenting counseling, (4) attend a domestic violence support group, and (5) establish a residence near to the maternal grandparents, so they could have daily face-to-face contact with Jayson to ensure his safety.

IV. Mother's Subsequent Endangerment of Jayson

In the ensuing months, mother became increasingly obsessed regarding a dental surgery she had as a teenager, expressing that the metal pieces the surgeons left in her mouth gave her a "negative energy." Mother became increasingly agitated, especially with the maternal grandparents for allowing that surgery to happen. Mother would curse at the maternal grandparents in person and in text messages. Mother would also call father from the maternal grandparents' house and put him on speakerphone, where he would "yell and curse" at them and

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even threaten to "rape and kill" the maternal grandmother. Sometime in early to mid-March 2021, mother's ever-escalating agitation boiled over into violence: As the maternal grandparents were driving away, mother hit their car with her hand and may have also thrown objects-all while holding Jayson. A few weeks later, when the person mother was living with asked the maternal grandparents to come to the house to help mother care for Jayson when mother was sick, mother yelled at the maternal grandparents and called the police. As a result of mother's outbursts and "aggressive behavior" toward the maternal grandparents, the maternal grandparents ceased their daily visits with Jayson.

During those same months, mother also started engaging in increasingly erratic behavior. After mother traveled to San Jose with Jayson in violation of the juvenile court's order not to leave Southern California, the social worker who approached mother in San Jose observed she was like a "zombie," was "talking to herself" and seemed "obsessed with the father's girlfriend." Jayson also "appeared tired and hungry," and mother was not tending to his needs. A few days later, mother was still "zone[d] out," staring unblinkingly at the wall, while ignoring that Jayson was putting several choking hazards in his mouth, including a toothbrush. A few weeks after that, mother again had an "unusual[ly] flat affect," would take "irregular long pauses" during conversation, and "frequently made contradictory statements" and appeared "slightly paranoid." Throughout this time, mother repeatedly denied that she had any mental health issues.

Mother completed almost none of her case plan. Mother attended parenting classes for a month but stopped in November

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2020 and the certificate of achievement she produced for completing a program in April 2021 had yet to be verified; mother attended only four sessions of a drop-in domestic violence class; mother attended only four individual therapy sessions in October and November 2020; and the maternal grandparents stopped the daily check-ins with Jayson due to mother's erratic behavior. Mother on her own signed up for "family preservation services," but was terminated from that program for nonattendance. Mother justified her noncompliance on the grounds that she "has no mental health needs or trauma" and hence needs no therapy, that she and father have a "great relationship" and that domestic violence counseling as well as the family preservation services were a "waste of time."

Mother also started to deny that she did "[any]thing wrong" during the light-rail incident with father.

V. Supplemental Jurisdictional Grounds, and Removal of Jayson from Mother's Custody

In May 2021, the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) filed a supplemental petition. In the operative, first amended supplemental petition filed in June 2021, the Department asked the juvenile court to exert dependency jurisdiction over Jayson on the additional grounds that (1) mother "engaged in violent and assaultive behavior" with the maternal grandparents in March 2021, and (2) mother "has a history of unresolved mental and emotional problems" that "render[ her] unable to provide regular care for" Jayson; both grounds, the petition alleged, placed Jayson at substantial risk of serious physical harm, thereby warranting jurisdiction under subdivision (b) of section 300. The Department also filed a supplemental petition alleging that the prior dispositional order

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placing Jayson with mother is no longer effective and asking the juvenile court to remove him from her custody.

Following a July 2021 hearing, the juvenile court sustained the two new allegations in support of dependency jurisdiction, found that its prior dispositional order was ineffective, and removed Jayson from mother's custody.

VI. ICWA

Mother repeatedly denied have any American Indian heritage. The Department also asked the maternal grandmother about mother's heritage, and she denied any American Indian heritage. Father also denied any American Indian heritage. The Department also asked the paternal grandmother, who denied any Indian heritage.

Based on this information, the juvenile court found that it had no reason to believe Jayson was an Indian child.

VII. Appeal

Mother timely appealed the order finding supplemental jurisdiction and removing Jayson from her custody.

DISCUSSION

Mother challenges the sufficiency of the evidence (1) supporting the juvenile court's exercise of supplemental jurisdiction, (2) supporting the finding that the prior disposition order was ineffective, and (3) supporting the removal of Jayson from her custody. Mother also argues that the trial court's ICWA finding violates ICWA.

I. Supplemental Jurisdictional Findings

A juvenile court may exert...