In Re Catherine S.

230 Cal.App.3d 1253 (1991) 281 Cal. Rptr. 746 In re CATHERINE S. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

HUMBOLDT COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

PAUL S., Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. A051442. Court of Appeals of California, First District, Division Five.

May 31, 1991. [1254] COUNSEL

Charles Bush, under appointment by the Court of Appeals, for Defendant and Appellant.

James P. Lough, County Counsel, and Stephen R. Nielson, Assistant County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

KING, J.

In this case we hold that a juvenile dependency order denying reunification services based on the father's status as a pedophile was [1255] unsupported by the statutorily required testimony of two experts, since one of the testifying psychologists was unlicensed.

In 1983, Paul S. was convicted of molesting children between the ages of five and seven over a period of about three years. The victims included his daughter Catherine, his son Steven, and a niece. The molestations involved some sodomizing. Paul served nearly five years in prison and was paroled in 1988.

Catherine was adjudged a dependent child in 1983. Steven and a third child, Lori, were adjudged dependent children in 1987. A dispositional hearing in 1990 addressed the issue whether Paul should be provided with reunification services.

Reunification services need not be provided when the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that "the parent is suffering from a mental disability that is described in Section 232 of the Civil Code and that renders him or her incapable of utilizing those services." (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 361.5, subd. (b)(2).) Subdivision (a)(6) of Civil Code section 232 defines "mental disability" as "any mental incapacity or disorder which renders the parent or parents unable to adequately care for and control the child." This subdivision of section 232 requires evidence from any two experts — either a physician, a surgeon, or a "licensed psychologist" — to support a finding of mental disability. (In contrast, subdivision (c) of Welfare and Institutions Code section 361.5 merely requires "competent evidence from mental health professionals" to establish that the mental disability renders the parent unlikely to be capable of adequately caring for the child within 12 months.)