In re C.W.

Filed 3/29/19 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

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

SONOMA COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, Plaintiff and Respondent, A152993 v. (Sonoma County HEATHER B., Super. Ct. No. 4203DEP) Defendant and Appellant.

Heather, the mother of a 16-year-old boy, C.W. who entered the child dependency system at age 10, appeals the juvenile court’s orders terminating this dependency case and awarding sole legal and physical custody of C.W. to his father, Rusty, who lives in Louisiana. We reverse. The orders appealed from here were the culmination of a series of rulings by the Sonoma County juvenile court that Heather asks us to review. After it terminated reunification services early for both parents and adopted a permanent plan, the juvenile court returned a minor to the custody of a parent who is an admitted, convicted child sex abuser, failed to reunify with his son, participated in barely any reunification services, engaged in no sexual abuse counseling, and lives on the other side of the continental United States, far away from the watchful eye of even the most conscientious local child welfare officials. This began, without notice, as a “trial home visit” with the boy’s father after reunification had already failed. The visit then transformed into a new permanent

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plan of “family maintenance” with his father, again with no notice or hearing. Regrettably, while living with his father C.W. deteriorated on virtually all fronts, including trouble in school and at home, conflict with his father, sexual misbehavior and ultimately trouble with the law. Eventually, C.W.’s father kicked C.W. out of his own home and sent him to live in a children’s group home in Louisiana at the urging of local law enforcement officials. Meanwhile in California, C.W.’s mother felt ready herself to regain custody of C.W., having through her own efforts overcome a pernicious cycle of homelessness and drug addiction and become gainfully employed. But rather than order C.W. returned to California where effective supervision over him could resume, and where his mother pleaded ceaselessly for his return, the juvenile court eventually closed the book on these dependency proceedings. It terminated its jurisdiction over C.W., who by then was still living in the out-of-state group home, and it awarded sole legal and physical custody of the boy to his father—who had not made any demonstrated progress toward overcoming his past behaviors as a child sex abuser or the risk they posed to his son. While this appeal was pending, C.W.’s father then removed C.W. from the group home after again having been accused of child sexual abuse. Louisiana child protection authorities then removed C.W. on an emergency basis from his father’s custody, resulting in a Louisiana dependency court asserting competing jurisdiction over C.W. Eventually, the Louisiana court sent C.W. back to California to live with his mother and very recently it terminated its own case. We hold, first, that this appeal is not moot in light of these post-judgment developments, because under the Uniform Child Custody Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), California has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the permanent disposition to be made concerning C.W.’s custody. On the merits, we hold the juvenile court abused its discretion in awarding custody of C.W. to his father under all of the circumstances (not including those that transpired after the entry of judgment). Accordingly, we will reverse both the custody award entered by the juvenile court and its termination of jurisdiction.