In Re LB

173 Cal.App.4th 562 (2009) ___ Cal.Rptr.3d ___ In re L.B., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

A.R., Defendant and Appellant.

No. B210574. Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Five.

April 28, 2009. [563] Grace Clark, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Raymond G. Fortner, Jr., County Counsel, James M. Owens and Tracey F. Dodds, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION

ARMSTRONG, J.—

Appellant A.R. (Father) is the father of two boys, L.B. (born in September of 2005) and A. (born in September of 2007). This case came to the attention of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (the DCFS) when, on November 2, 2007, DCFS received a referral that M. (Mother), the children's mother and the mother of their half sister, six-year-old J., had been evicted from a residential substance abuse program due to a positive drug test. Mother left the drug program on October 29, 2007, with the two younger children, a newborn and a two year old.

DCFS was not able to locate Mother or the two boys. J. was located at her elementary school, and was taken into protective custody on November 5, 2007. A petition was filed pursuant to section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code[1] on November 8, 2007, alleging that Mother had a long history of substance abuse which rendered her incapable of providing regular care for her three children. Neither Mother nor Father appeared at the [564] November 8 hearing, and arrest warrants were ordered for each parent. Additionally, the court ordered protective custody warrants to be issued and held for the two boys. The court found a prima facie case for detaining the children, the existence of a substantial danger to the physical or emotional health of the children, and that there were no means of protecting the children short of removal from the parents.