R.H. v. Superior Court CA1/5

Filed 6/9/16 R.H. v. Superior Court CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

R.H., Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CONTRA A147885 COSTA COUNTY, (Contra Costa County Respondent; Super. Ct. No. J15-01082) CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES BUREAU et al., Real Parties in Interest.

Petitioner (mother) seeks extraordinary writ relief from an order that bypassed reunification services and set this juvenile dependency matter for a hearing pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26.1 Petitioner contends there was not substantial evidence to support the juvenile court’s finding that reunification services should be denied under section 361.5, subdivision (b)(11). We will deny the petition. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The minor was born in October 2015. That same month, a juvenile dependency petition was filed by the Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Bureau (Bureau), alleging that mother failed to protect the minor in that she: (1) has a chronic history of substance abuse that affects her ability to stabilize her living situation and

1 All statutory references herein are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

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provide for the minor’s care and safety, thereby placing the minor at substantial risk of emotional and physical harm, and (2) has a history of mental health issues including a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which when left untreated with psychotropic medication has resulted in a substantial risk of emotional and physical harm to the minor. (§ 300, subd. (b).) The petition further alleged that two of mother’s other children had been abused or neglected, she failed to reunify with them due to her substance abuse and mental health problems, and services had been terminated or bypassed with respect to these siblings or half-siblings of the minor. (§ 300, subd. (j).) In December 2015, the juvenile court sustained the allegations of the dependency petition, found that mother had failed to reunify with the minor’s half-siblings due to ongoing domestic violence and significant mental health problems, and declared the minor a dependent of the court. Although mother does not disclose these facts in her writ petition, the Bureau’s March 2016 report for the dispositional hearing advised that mother refused to provide her address, admitted to using drugs during her pregnancy and experienced paranoid thoughts, returned to drug use, failed to maintain contact with her mental health providers, stopped visiting the minor, presented herself to the social worker as paranoid with language patterns indicative of a person with psychotic thoughts, and mumbled incoherently during a visit with the child. The Bureau recommended that reunification services not be provided in light of the prior removal of mother’s two other children and the termination of her parental rights, as well as mother’s severe chronic mental health problems, substance abuse issues, and problems with domestic violence relationships. The Bureau reported: “Ultimately her inability to overcome her emotional pain and suffering has led to significant mental health and substance abuse issues which present severe safety concerns and limit her ability to provide a safe and stable home for the child. Considering the timeframe that [mother] has to demonstrate that she is able to provide safely for her child and the limited efforts she has made to date, the Bureau does not feel that it is in the child’s best interest to offer [mother] reunification services.” (See § 361.5, subd. (b)(11).)