Jerry D. v. County of Stanislaus

Opinion

STONE, P. J.

Appellant is the mother of Neal D. and Leola D., aged 4 and 3, respectively, who were made wards of the juvenile court on June 24, 1970, following a hearing based upon a petition alleging that the parent was not providing a suitable place of abode for the two minors in that the place of residence was a condemned dwelling. At the hearing, appellant admitted the allegations in the petition, advising the court that she had been unable to secure a more suitable home due to her lack of financial resources and the critical housing shortage in Stanislaus County. At the dis-positional hearing it was ordered that the children be placed in suitable homes, and the court stated that the orders were made “with the view towards seeing if the parents can find suitable quarters and give the children back to the parents, we want the children back to you as soon as we can get them back to you, that’s what we are trying to do.”

About six months later, appellant filed a petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 778, to dismiss or terminate the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, alleging changed circumstances, that is, that she had obtained a suitable home. The petition was supported by the affidavit of a social service supervisor for the county welfare department, who attested that the new residence of the mother was “adequate in size and furnishings for two children and that it would be appropriate to return them to their mother at this time as they will be provided with a suitable place of abode.”

The petition was set for hearing on December 18, 1970. At the hearing

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appellant presented no additional evidence, and none was necessary as the allegations of the petition were not denied. However, in response to the petition, a social service worker’s report (welfare department) dated December 17, 1970, was filed with the court. The hearing was continued to December 21, at which time the court, over the objection of appellant’s counsel, received the social service worker’s report in evidence, read it, and on the basis of the report denied appellant’s petition to- terminate jurisdiction.

The report did not dwell upon the suitability of the home, that is, the jurisdictional facts upon which the original order was based; rather, the social service worker’s report dealt with completely new circumstances. Physical, mental, emotional and social problems, none of which were considered in the original hearing, were related in the welfare department’s subsequent report. It recommended that the minors be continued as dependent children of the Stanislaus County Juvenile Court, and that they remain in “suitable placement.”