In re S.T. CA2/8

Filed 12/18/13 In re S.T. CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

In re S.T., a Person Coming Under the B249356 Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. CK 58795)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

TERRY T.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Elizabeth Kim, Juvenile Court Referee. Affirmed. Daniel G. Rooney, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. John F. Krattli, County Counsel, James M. Owens, Assistant County Counsel, and William D. Thetford, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ******

Terry T. (father) appeals the juvenile court’s order denying his request to change a court order denying him reunification services. Father contends the juvenile court abused its discretion in finding father failed to show changed circumstances. We reject this challenge, and affirm the order. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 1. 2004 Dependency Proceedings S.T., father’s nine-year-old daughter, first came to the attention of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in November 2004. DCFS received a referral alleging general neglect “after [S.T.] was born prenatally exposed to cocaine and marijuana.” On April 15, 2005, S.T. was declared a dependent of the court pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b).1 The petition, as later sustained, alleged Caroline G. (mother) and father’s use of illicit drugs, their respective criminal histories, and their failure to cooperate with DCFS’s maintenance contract placed S.T. “at risk of physical and emotional harm and damage and create[d] a detrimental home environment.” Father’s criminal history included “being [on] a register[y] of . . . controlled substance offender[s] and multiple felony convictions [for] possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana for sale, transport[ation]/[sale] of a controlled substance, and inflict[ion] [of] corporal injury to a spouse.” Reunification services were ordered for father on April 15, 2005. However, the services were terminated on December 1, 2005. On February 6, 2007, S.T.’s maternal grandmother, I.S., was granted legal guardianship of S.T. S.T. remained in I.S.’s care and custody until her death on July 2, 2012. 2. Current Dependency Proceedings On September 12, 2012, social worker Lia Jones visited S.T. at the home of her paternal grandmother, Anne H. Father, Anne H. and S.T. were present at the time.