In re J.H. CA2/2

Filed 1/29/15 In re J.H. CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

In re J.H., a Person Coming Under the B256522 Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. CK89625)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

JONATHAN H. et al.,

Defendants and Appellants. APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. D. Zeke Zeidler, Judge. Affirmed. Christopher R. Booth, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Jonathan H. Christy C. Peterson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant Ashley H. Mark J. Saladino, County Counsel, Dawyn R. Harrison, Assistant County Counsel, and Peter Ferrera, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. No appearance for Minor. ******

Jonathan H. (father) appeals the termination of his parental rights over his biological son, J.H. He acknowledges that he first appeared nearly three years after J.H’s birth and after the conclusion of 18 months of reunification services to Ashley H. (mother), but says his late arrival in the dependency proceedings was mother’s fault. Specifically, he contends that (1) the juvenile court erred in terminating father’s parental rights without a showing that placing J.H. with him would be detrimental, (2) the juvenile court did not sufficiently ask mother about J.H.’s parentage, and (3) the Department of Family and Children’s Services (Department) did not use reasonable diligence in tracking him down and giving him notice of the proceedings. We conclude there was no error, and affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Mother gave birth to J.H. in August 2011. One month later, the Department 1 detained J.H. and filed a petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 alleging mother abused alcohol and marijuana, and suffered from emotional problems. Whether by design or by accident, mother made it difficult for the Department to identify J.H.’s father. Before J.H.’s birth, mother said she was raped by a “black guy named Jonathan” in a group home in Lancaster. Immediately after the birth (and ostensibly based on the baby’s physical appearance), mother expressed some uncertainty as to the father’s identity, but eventually and definitely named the father as David I. (David) and provided his last name and telephone number. Mother thereafter refused to discuss the issue with the Department. The Department eventually notified David. In February 2014, mother took the stand and testified that the father was not David, and was possibly a man named “Jonathan” whose last name she did not know because she had just met him at a party. Mother recounted that she had visited “Jonathan’s” parents’ house, but they could not locate him. Within a month, the Department used the information mother provided about “Jonathan’s” parents to locate father; he appeared in the