California Court of Appeal Jul 18, 2014 No. D065571Unpublished
Filed 7/18/14 In re Esteban N. CA4/1
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COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In re ESTEBAN N., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. D065571 SAN DIEGO COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY, (Super. Ct. No. J516955C) Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
ERICA N.,
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Edlene C.
McKenzie, Judge. Affirmed.
Jamie A. Moran, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and
Appellant.
Thomas E. Montgomery, County Counsel, John E. Philips, Chief Deputy County
Counsel, and Patrice Plattner-Grainger, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and
Respondent.
Erica N. appeals following the jurisdictional and dispositional hearing in the
juvenile dependency case of her son, Esteban N. Erica contends the court erred by
denying her reunification services. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
Erica has a longstanding history of mental illness, including a suicide attempt at
age 10 and a suicide attempt as an adult. Erica also has a history of violence toward
others. When Erica was nearly eight years old, she tried to kill her grandmother by
putting rat poison in her grandmother's food. As a child, Erica attempted to throw a girl
off a balcony. Erica has been hospitalized twice for psychiatric issues but has not
received adequate mental health treatment. On at least one occasion, she refused
treatment. Erica also has a history of untreated substance abuse.
In June 2002, when Erica was 17 years old, she gave birth to Isiah W. When Erica
was approximately 18 years old, she began using methamphetamine. Erica reported that
in 2006, Isiah's father killed him by drowning him in a bathtub.
In December 2007, Erica gave birth to S.G., who tested presumptively positive for
methamphetamine at birth. The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency
(the Agency) filed a dependency petition for S.G. The petition alleged Erica had used
methamphetamine and Vicodin since 2004, admitted using methamphetamine during the
pregnancy and had no prenatal care. The court entered a true finding on the petition,
2
declared S.G. a dependent and ordered him removed from Erica's care. The court ordered
six months of reunification services, including substance abuse treatment. In July 2008,
the court terminated services. In November, the court terminated Erica's parental rights
to S.G.
In July 2009, Erica gave birth to a baby girl. The Agency filed a dependency
petition alleging Erica was unable and unwilling to care for the baby. Erica had had little
prenatal care. She and the baby tested positive for methamphetamine. Erica denied using
drugs during the pregnancy but had admitted using methamphetamine while pregnant
with S.G. Erica had failed to reunify with S.G. and her parental rights to S.G. had been
terminated. The court entered true findings, declared the baby a dependent and ordered
her removed from Erica's care. The court did not order reunification services and
terminated parental rights in December.
In June 2011, Erica was convicted of a drug-related offense1 and placed on three
years' probation. Meanwhile, she had become involved with Edward H., who was
verbally and physically abusive. Erica claimed she stopped using drugs because she
planned to become pregnant. When she discovered she was pregnant, she decided to
leave Edward. Edward said he would kill Erica and the baby if Erica left. Erica
separated from Edward in May 2013. She did not seek a restraining order. Esteban was
born in November.
1 The Agency's report states Erica was convicted of "Disorderly Conduct: Intox Drug/Alcohol."
3
By the time Esteban was born, Erica had not attended a drug treatment program.
She claimed to have attended two Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings a week during
most of her pregnancy, but admitted using methamphetamine during the first and ninth
months.
Six days after Esteban was born, the Agency filed a dependency petition (Welf. &
Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (b)).2 The petition alleged he tested positive for amphetamine
and/or methamphetamine and Erica tested positive for amphetamine/methamphetamine.
Erica admitted using drugs and alcohol during the pregnancy. She had little prenatal
care. She had a history of drug use. There had been two prior dependency cases for
Esteban's half siblings who had been exposed to amphetamine/methamphetamine at birth.
Erica denied needing drug treatment. She had not participated in treatment successfully.
Edward had a history of drug use.
Esteban was detained in a foster home. At the November 19, 2013, detention
hearing, the court ordered the Agency to give Erica voluntary referrals. On December 3,
the social worker gave Erica a list of community resources and bus passes and told her
about substance abuse treatment programs. Erica said she was willing to do anything to
obtain Esteban's return, including participating in parenting classes and substance abuse
treatment. In late December, Erica began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
By early January 2014, she had attended 13 meetings. Erica claimed to have started
substance abuse treatment at Casa de Milagros, with negative drug tests, and said Maria
2 All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.
4
Lopez was her counselor.3 Casa de Milagros personnel told the social worker that Erica
was not a client and there was no employee named Maria Lopez. Erica then claimed
Casa de Milagros personnel must have checked only the residential program. The social
worker called Casa de Milagros again and was told there was a DUI program, a men's
program and a residential program, but no outpatient program.
In January 2014, the court made a true finding on the petition and ordered Esteban
removed from Erica's custody and placed in foster care. The court found that Edward
was the biological father and ordered reunification services for him. The court denied
Erica services (§ 361.5, subd. (b)(10) & (11)).
DISCUSSION
"Reunification services need not be provided to a parent . . . when the court finds,
by clear and convincing evidence," that the court terminated reunification services for a
sibling or half sibling because the parent failed to reunify after the sibling's or half
sibling's removal (§ 361.5, subd. (b)(10)), or the parent's rights over a sibling or half
sibling were terminated (id., subd. (b)(11)), and, in either situation, the parent "has not
subsequently made a reasonable effort to treat the problems that led to removal of the
sibling or half sibling . . . ." (Id., subd. (b)(10) & (11).) "The 'reasonable effort to treat'
standard 'is not synonymous with "cure." ' [Citation.] The statute provides a 'parent who
has worked toward correcting his or her problems an opportunity to have that fact taken
into consideration in subsequent proceedings.' [Citation.] To be reasonable, the parent's
3 Erica was apparently referring to an outpatient program. 5
efforts must be more than 'lackadaisical or half-hearted.' " (K.C. v. Superior Court (2010)
182 Cal.App.4th 1388, 1393.) We review the court's findings for substantial evidence.
(See A.A. v. Superior Court (2012) 209 Cal.App.4th 237, 242.)
As noted above, after S.G. was removed from Erica's care, she failed to reunify
with him and the court terminated reunification services in July 2008. (§ 361.5, subd.
(b)(10).) The court terminated Erica's parental rights to S.G. in November 2008 and to
the baby girl in December 2009. (Id., subd. (b)(11).) Erica does not challenge these
facts, but asserts she "made significant progress leading up to her pregnancy [with
Esteban] and through most of it[,] falling down near the end of that period."
Substantial evidence supports the conclusion that after the termination of services
in S.G.'s case (§ 361.5, subd. (b)(10)), and after the termination of parental rights in his
case and in the baby girl's case (id., subd. (b)(11)), Erica did not make reasonable efforts
to treat the problem that led to the removal of those two children, substance abuse. (In re
Lana S. (2012) 207 Cal.App.4th 94, 99, 108.) Erica has a long history of drug abuse.
She received six months of reunification services in S.G.'s case, and after those services
and parental rights were terminated, Erica continued to use drugs and made no effort to
treat her substance abuse. Then, for more than four years after parental rights were
terminated in the baby girl's case, Erica continued to use drugs and made no effort to treat
her substance abuse, aside from her claimed attendance at NA meetings during her
pregnancy with Esteban. Approximately six weeks after Esteban was detained, Erica
began attending 12-step meetings. By the time of the jurisdictional and dispositional
hearing in the instant case, she had been attending the meetings for less than a month and
6
had attended a total of 13 meetings. Erica said she was willing to participate in substance
abuse treatment, then falsely claimed she had begun a treatment program. She did not
stay in contact with the social worker and did not keep her promise to do better.
Erica contends it would have been in Esteban's best interests for her to receive
reunification services because she had ongoing visits with Esteban, and Edward was
receiving reunification services. Even if section 361.5, subdivision (b)(10) and (11)
apply, the court may order services if a parent proves, by clear and convincing evidence,
that reunification is in the child's best interests. (Id., subd. (c); In re William B. (2008)
163 Cal.App.4th 1220, 1227.) "In determining the children's best interests, the 'court
should consider "a parent's current efforts and fitness as well as the parent's history";
"[t]he gravity of the problem that led to the dependency"; the strength of the bonds
between the child and the parent and between the child and the caretaker; and "the child's
need for stability and continuity." ' [Citation.] '[A]t least part of the best interest analysis
must be a finding that further reunification services have a likelihood of success. In other
words, there must be some "reasonable basis to conclude" that reunification is possible
before services are offered to a parent who need not be provided them.' [Citation.] [¶] 'A
juvenile court has broad discretion when determining whether . . . reunification services
would be in the best interests of the child under section 361.5, subdivision (c). [Citation.]
An appellate court will reverse that determination only if the juvenile court abuses its
discretion.' " (In re G.L. (2014) 222 Cal.App.4th 1153, 1164-1165, quoting In re William
B., at pp. 1228-1229.)
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The court did not abuse its discretion by failing to conclude that Erica had shown
that reunification with her was in Esteban's best interests. The order for services for
Edward did not oblige the court to order services for Erica. (See In re Jesse W. (2007)
157 Cal.App.4th 49, 60.) Erica's efforts to ameliorate her drug abuse were trivial in light
of her history. In the more than two months between the date of detention and the date of
the jurisdictional and dispositional hearing, Erica visited Esteban only four times, and the
visits were supervised.
The court did not err by denying Erica reunification services.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
IRION, J.
WE CONCUR:
BENKE, Acting P. J.
HUFFMAN, J.
8
AI Brief
AI-generated · verify before citing
Holding. The court properly denied the mother reunification services under Welfare and Institutions Code section 361.5, subdivisions (b)(10) and (11), because she failed to make reasonable efforts to treat the substance abuse issues that led to the removal of her previous children.
Issues
Did the juvenile court err in denying the mother reunification services under section 361.5, subdivisions (b)(10) and (11)?
Did the juvenile court abuse its discretion in finding that reunification services were not in the child's best interests?
Disposition. Affirmed
Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion
“The 'reasonable effort to treat' standard 'is not synonymous with "cure." '”
“The court did not err by denying Erica reunification services.”