L.S. v. Superior Court CA5

Filed 7/6/15 L.S. v. Superior Court CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

L.S., F071411 Petitioner, (Super. Ct. No. 11CEJ300170) v.

THE SUPERIOR COURT OF FRESNO OPINION COUNTY,

Respondent;

FRESNO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES,

Real Party in Interest.

THE COURT* ORIGINAL PROCEEDING; petition for extraordinary writ review. Brian M. Arax, Judge. L.S., for Petitioner. No appearance for Respondent. No appearance for Real Party in Interest. -ooOoo-

* Before Levy, Acting P.J., Gomes, J. and Kane, J.

L.S. (mother) seeks an extraordinary writ (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.452) from a juvenile court’s order denying her reunification services and setting a Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.261 hearing to select and implement a permanent plan for her 20-month-old son Shawn C. Mother claims the court’s order is erroneous because it was made while she was in custody and because she was never found to be an unfit parent. She also would like Shawn and his older siblings to have the chance to become acquainted with one another. On review, we conclude mother’s petition is meritless and will deny relief. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL HISTORY In early January 2015, mother was arrested after she was found breaking the windows of her former partner’s home and became involved in a verbal and physical altercation with law enforcement. All the while, mother left one-year-old Shawn alone at her home. When mother could not identify anyone to care for Shawn while she was in custody, the Fresno County Department of Social Services (department) detained Shawn and initiated the underlying juvenile dependency proceedings. This was not the first time that mother had come to the attention of the department and the juvenile court. In 2011, another child was removed from mother due to her issues of substance abuse, domestic violence and mental health. Although mother received reunification services for that child, the court later terminated those services and, in 2013, terminated mother’s parental rights to that child. The child was later adopted. Although mother was released from jail after her arrest, she made no contact with the department to inquire as to Shawn’s welfare or to request visitation for more than a month. By mid-March 2015, she was once again in custody, where she has since