Laurie Q. v. Contra Costa County

• Decision Date: 17 February 2004
• Docket Number: No. C-96-3483 MHP.,C-96-3483 MHP.
• Citation: 304 F.Supp.2d 1185
• Parties: LAURIE Q., by her guardian ad litem, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California

304 F.Supp.2d 1185

LAURIE Q., by her guardian ad litem, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Defendant.

No. C-96-3483 MHP.

United States District Court, N.D. California.

February 17, 2004.

Michael S. Sorgen, Law Offices of Michael Sorgen, San Francisco, CA, Darren Jay Kessler, Law Offices of Darren J. Kessler, El Cerrito, CA, John Houston Scott, The Scott Law Firm, San Francisco, CA, for Plaintiffs.

Peter Obstler, Debra S. Belaga, O'Melveny & Myers, San Francisco, CA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER RE: DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS

PATEL, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs Laurie Q. et al, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, are or were special needs foster children in the care and custody of defendant Contra Costa County ("the County"). Plaintiffs maintain that the County, allegedly the representative payee of Social Security benefits for the children, impeded the adoption process and used the benefits for purposes unrelated to the children. Plaintiffs also allege that defendant engaged in widespread violations of the laws enacted to protect the children. Now before the court is defendant's motion to dismiss portions of the first, third, and sixth causes of action contained in plaintiff's second amended complaint.¹ Defendant argues to the court that the Eleventh Amendment bars plaintiffs' prayers for compensatory monetary relief, that the doctrine of Younger abstention prevents this court from granting injunctive relief on plaintiff's first cause of action, and that named plaintiffs' claims have been mooted because they are no longer within the County's foster care system. Having considered the parties' arguments and submission, and for the reasons set forth below, the court now enters the following memorandum and order.

BACKGROUND²

I. General Factual and Procedural History

Laurie Q., Angel L., Megan W., Christina T., Rebecca T., Jesse B., Kendra G., and Cherida L., the named plaintiffs in this action, are minors who had been or are committed to the custody of the County. Plaintiffs claim that Laurie Q. suffers from attention deficit hyperactive disorder; Angel L. is developmentally delayed; Megan W., Christine T., and Rebecca T. have special needs; Jesse B. is hyperactive; and Cherida J. is diagnosed with Joubert's Syndrome, a massive congenital brain anomaly, and cortical blindness. Plaintiffs submit that all but Cherida J. tested positive for drugs and/or alcohol at birth and that Laurie Q., Angel L., Christine T., and Rebecca T. were subject to sexual and/or physical abuse at some point. As minors, each of the named plaintiffs was taken into legal custody, made dependents of the County, and placed in foster care.

The Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care ("AFDC-FC") program is a cooperative federal-state program authorized by Title IV of the SSA, 42 U.S.C. § 601 et seq. The program includes a foster care provision authorizing disbursements of funds for children placed in foster care upon a judicial determination that the children's homes are not conducive to their welfare. See 42 U.S.C. § 608. The federal government provides financing on a matching fund basis to states that administer the AFDC-FC program. Participation in the program is voluntary, but participating states must comply with the requirements of the Social Security Act ("SSA"). There is no cap on the amount of federal reimbursement. Currently, of the total costs for foster care maintenance in California, the federal government covers 50 percent, the state covers 37.5 percent, and each county's share is 12.5 percent.

Because of their status as indigent disabled persons, plaintiffs are entitled to receive benefits that assist in alleviating expenses incurred as a result of their special needs. These benefits include Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") and Adoption Assistance Program ("AAP") funds. Under the SSA, a qualified individual or organization may be appointed as a representative payee for an SSI beneficiary. 42 U.S.C. § 1383(a)(2)(A)(ii)(I). The payee receives the funds for the use and benefit of the SSI beneficiary. Id. Here, the County served as the representative payee for the minor beneficiaries who were made dependents.

Plaintiffs allege that defendant County has engaged in widespread violation of laws enacted to protect the children and to ensure them a safe childhood in a permanent family. Inter alia, plaintiffs allege that defendant wrongfully delayed the adoption of disabled children, misappropriated government benefits intended for the children and failed to advise potential adoptive parents of the availability of funds for individuals adopting special needs children. According to plaintiffs, defendant's behavior has violated numerous state and federal laws.

The named plaintiffs in this action originally filed suit against the Commissioner of the federal Social Security Administration and Contra Costa County in 1996. On May 22, 1997, this court dismissed all claims against the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, leaving only the claims against the County. On December 19, 1997, the named plaintiffs filed a "Second Amended Complaint" that alleged six substantive causes of action against the County. On August 17, 1998, this court dismissed plaintiffs' second, fourth, and fifth causes of action, leaving only the first, third, and sixth causes of action largely intact.

II. Operation of California's Foster Care System

California's foster care system involves an interlocking web of statutes that places responsibility for the care and governance of children with several different public-sector actors. The process of admitting a child into the foster care system begins with the filing of a petition to bring that child "within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court." Cal. Welf. & Inst.Code § 300; see also id. at § 311. The juvenile court is authorized to take jurisdiction over children under a variety of circumstances, such as when "there is a substantial risk that the minor will suffer[ ] serious physical harm inflicted nonaccidentally upon the minor by the minor's parent or guardian." Id. at § 300(a). Upon the filing of a petition, the juvenile court first holds a jurisdictional hearing to address the sole question of whether the child falls into one of the several categories according to which the juvenile court may take jurisdiction according to section 300. Id. at § 355(a). After determining that jurisdiction properly lies, the juvenile court is required to receive evidence regarding the "proper disposition" to be made of the "minor" and must then enter judgment as to that disposition; the court may make the child "a dependent child of the court," order a legal guardianship and appoint a guardian, allow the child to remain in the custody of her parent or guardian under supervision, or make any of several other arrangements to facilitate the child's well-being. Id. at §§ 358, 360.

The children in California's foster care system are those who have been taken from the custody of their parents or guardians and made dependent children of the court; not surprisingly, therefore, the juvenile court retains jurisdiction over all children within the system. Id. at §§ 300, 366. The court reviews the status of each dependent child at least every six months. Id. at § 366.³ At those periodic hearings, the juvenile court must determine, inter alia,"the continuing necessity for and appropriateness of the placement, the extent of compliance with the case plan... and the extent of progress which has been made toward alleviating or mitigating the causes necessitating placement in foster care." Id. at § 366(a). The "case plan" referenced in section 366(a) is a document setting forth the circumstances that caused the child to be placed in foster care, the goals of the child's placement, the services that the state and county are providing for the child, the success of those services in aiding the child, and future plans for placing the child permanently; the legislature has declared the case plan "the foundation and central unifying tool in child welfare services." Id. at § 16501.1(a), (f).

Case plans are prepared by the county agency or individual in charge of administering the foster care program; the county must complete the first case plan within thirty days of the child's "initial removal" from the custody of her parent or guardian, and must update and review the plan at least every six months. Id. at § 16501.1(d). The juvenile court is obligated to review the case plan at each of the periodic hearings it holds, and may modify the plan as it sees fit. Id. at § 16501.1(f)(12). While the caseworker assigned to each child may modify the plan during the interim between court hearings, the court can hear challenges to those modifications and subsequently reverse or alter them. Id.

If the juvenile court adjudges that a child who has been made a dependent of the court cannot be returned home to her parent or guardian, the juvenile court must hold a hearing in order to set forth a plan for that child's long-term care and otherwise determine the "future status of the minor." Id. at § 366.25(a). In some cases, the court may also permanently terminate parental rights in order to establish a subsequent alternative legal guardianship of the child. Id. at § 366.26. A hearing under section 366.25 or 366.26, and a subsequent decision by the juvenile court to seek a long-term solution involving either adoption or permanent guardianship for the child, converts the child's situation into a so-called "permanent plan" case and triggers several other statutory requirements. The court maintains jurisdiction over the child until she is adopted, and the status of the child (including the case plan) must be reviewed every six months "to ensure that the adoption or guardianship is completed as expeditiously as possible." Id. at § 366.3. The use of passive...