A.R. v. Superior Court of Del Norte Cnty., A154959

• Decision Date: 29 October 2018
• Docket Number: A154959
• Parties: A.R., Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF DEL NORTE COUNTY, Respondent; DEL NORTE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES ET AL., Real Parties in Interest.
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

A.R., Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF DEL NORTE COUNTY, Respondent;

DEL NORTE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES ET AL., Real Parties in Interest.

A154959

COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE

October 29, 2018

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

(Del Norte County Super. Ct. No. JVSQ17-6067)

A.R. (mother) petitions this court for extraordinary writ review of a juvenile court order setting a selection-and-implementation hearing under Welfare and Institutions Code¹ section 366.26 for her son, one-year-old N.R. Mother claims that insufficient evidence supports the court's finding that she received reasonable reunification services. In this abbreviated opinion, we deny the petition.²

N.R. first came to the attention of real party in interest Del Norte County Department of Health & Human Services (Department) in March 2017, when he wasborn prematurely and tested positive for THC and morphine. That May, mother brought him to the emergency room with a skull fracture, stating that she had fallen asleep and accidentally dropped him. She "admitted to using . . . [m]orphine the night of the injury" and to waiting until the next day to take the baby to the hospital because she was afraid the Department would get involved. At the time, N.R.'s father (father) was in jail due to domestic violence against mother.

The Department filed a petition seeking juvenile court jurisdiction over N.R. under section 300, subdivisions (a) (serious physical harm), (b) (failure to protect), and (g) (no provision for support) based on his injury while in mother's care, mother's substance abuse and "unmet mental health needs," domestic violence between the parents, and father's incarceration. The juvenile court sustained allegations under section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b), adjudged N.R. a dependent child, and ordered that the parents receive reunification services.

At the January 2018 six-month review hearing, the juvenile court found that mother had not been provided with reasonable reunification services. It was undisputed that she had "some underlying mental issue," such as a learning disability, and the court found that the case plan did not adequately address that issue. The court ordered that both parents receive additional services. Six months passed, and in July 2018, the court terminated both parents' services. The court also scheduled a selection-and-implementation hearing under section 366.26 for November 5, 2018.

Mother, who has been represented by counsel throughout the proceedings below and in this court, filed a writ petition that consists of the standard Judicial Council form and less than three pages of briefing. Mother points to evidence that she complied with parts of her case plan, and we agree that she made some progress. But she seeks relief only on the ground that the Department "failed to provide meaningful psychological help to her knowing that she has a learning disability."³ The record on this point reflects thatthe Department was never made aware of a specific diagnosis, but after the six-month review hearing, it attempted to have mother evaluated for a learning disability. Though it could not locate any...