In re J.C.

Filed 1/2/14; pub. order 1/17/14 (see end of opn.)

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

In re J.C., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

ORANGE COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY, G048720 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. DP020229) v. OPINION L.N.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a postjudgment order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Jacki C. Brown, Judge. Appeal dismissed. Jacob I. Olson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Nicholas S. Chrisos, County Counsel, and Karen L. Christensen, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * *

J.C. was a dependent of the court until she turned 18, at which point, upon her request, the court terminated dependency jurisdiction. The mother, whose parental rights were not terminated, but who was not receiving reunification services, appeals, contending the court failed to determine whether terminating jurisdiction was in the best interest of J.C. We dismiss the appeal for lack of standing.

FACTS

In October of 2010 the juvenile court sustained a petition declaring then minor J.C. a dependent of the court. The court found that J.C. was not attending school, suffered a hospitalization due to serious mental illness, and that she was receiving inadequate medical care. Mother, who is blind, divorced father when J.C. was 4 years old. J.C. had been living with father ever since. The court initially permitted J.C. to continue living with father. But in July of 2011, after father continued to neglect J.C.’s schooling and proper psychiatric care, and after another psychiatric hospitalization, the court took custody of J.C away from the parents in favor of the Social Services Agency and placed her at Orangewood Children and Family Center (Orangewood). The court ordered reunification services. J.C.’s psychiatric condition slowly improved at Orangewood and she was eventually placed with foster parents. Shortly thereafter, the court terminated reunification services, but not parental rights. Although J.C. had two psychiatric setbacks that required hospitalization after moving in with the foster parents, J.C.’s condition continued to improve, particularly after doctors found an improved medication regimen.