E.K. v. Superior Court CA2/6

Filed 11/26/13 E.K. v. Superior Court CA2/6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SIX

E.K., 2d Civil No. B251142 (Super. Ct. No. J069423) Petitioner, (Ventura County)

v.

VENTURA COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT,

Respondent;

VENTURA COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY,

Real Party in Interest.

E.K. (Father) challenges an order of the juvenile court bypassing family reunification services and setting a permanent plan hearing regarding his minor child. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 361.5, subds. (b)(11) & (c), 366.26, subd. (c).)1 We deny his petition for extraordinary writ. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY In June 2013, Ventura County Human Services Agency (HSA) detained Father's five-year-old, female child and removed the child from her mother's custody.

1 All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

HSA filed a petition alleging neglect under section 300, subdivision (b) against both parents, based upon (1) their respective substance abuse and domestic violence histories, (2) the mother's failure to meet the child's medical and dental needs, (3) Father's significant history of violent crimes, (4) the mother's abuse of the child by duct taping her ankles, wrists and mouth and (5) the parents' history with the juvenile dependency system in San Diego County, which resulted in termination of parental rights to the child's older sibling. Father's history of "violent arrests" includes charges of spousal abuse, battery, resisting arrest, committing a felony with a weapon and possession of a firearm. The parents denied the allegations. The parents stopped living together approximately nine months before the detention, when the mother and child moved to Ventura County. The mother was awarded primary physical custody of the child and obtained a restraining order against Father, who remained in San Diego County. Father was granted visitation. After the child was detained, she was found to have yeast and urinary tract infections and significant dental needs, including missing and capped teeth. The child's caregiver reported that when the child first arrived, "she was like a little animal. She growled, scratched, hit, and used very foul language. She would meet a new person and show her teeth." HSA determined the child had "suffered significant medical neglect and emotional trauma under the care of her parents." The juvenile court found a prima facie case on the petition, authorized placement of the child and scheduled a jurisdiction and disposition hearing. The assigned social worker, Lana Powers, prepared a disposition report recommending that the child be declared a dependent of the juvenile court and that she continue to be placed out of home. The report noted that both "parents are clearly eligible to be bypassed for [family reunification] services" under section 361.5, subdivision (b)(11), based upon the earlier termination of parental rights to the child's older sibling.2 Citing the child's apparent emotional bond with her parents and her