In re Elijah O. CA5

Filed 1/16/26 In re Elijah O. CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

In re Elijah O. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

KERN COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN F090157 SERVICES, (Super. Ct. Nos. JD146978-00, Plaintiff and Respondent, JD146979-00)

v. OPINION CRYSTAL O.,

Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Kern County. Susan M. Gill, Judge. Susan M. O’Brien, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, and Crystal O., in propria persona, for Defendant and Appellant. No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Hill, P. J., Franson, J. and Guerra, J.† † Judge of the Fresno Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.

Crystal O. (mother) is the mother of Elijah O. and Oliver O. (collectively, the children), who were the subjects of this dependency case. Mother appealed from the juvenile court’s orders issued at a disposition hearing on July 17, 2025, which resulted in the children being placed in the custody of their father, Alexander O. (father). After reviewing the juvenile court record, mother’s court-appointed counsel informed this court she could find no arguable issues to raise on mother’s behalf. This court granted mother leave to personally file a letter setting forth a good cause showing that an arguable issue of reversible error exists. (In re Phoenix H. (2009) 47 Cal.4th 835, 844 (Phoenix H.).) Mother filed a letter brief but failed to make such a showing. Consequently, we dismiss the appeal. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In March 2025, the Kern County Department of Human Services (department) received a referral alleging general neglect and incapacity by mother. Mother’s friend found mother passed out on the couch while then eight-year-old Elijah and then five-year-old Oliver were home. There was no food accessible to the children, and an excessive amount of alcohol bottles and dirty clothes were observed in the home. The children had excessive absences from school, and Oliver told his class that mother was drunk. Mother had a known history of alcohol abuse, and the terms of her probation required her to abstain from alcohol consumption. Mother’s friend was watching the children after mother was placed on a voluntary psychiatric hold. The friend became concerned after mother checked herself out of the psychiatric facility. Law enforcement and a department social worker responded to the home of mother’s friend on March 7, 2025. The children were placed into protective custody by law enforcement. Father was stationed overseas in the military, and the social worker notified father of the referral. On March 9, 2025, father expressed his intent to obtain custody of the children during his next change of duty in June 2025.