In re Savannah M. CA2/8

Filed 3/19/21 In re Savannah M. CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 EIGHT

In re Savannah M., a Person B304519 Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County ______________________________ Super. Ct. No. LOS ANGELES COUNTY 19CCJP03749A) DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

Jason M.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Martha A. Matthews, Judge. Affirmed. Mitchell Keiter, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rodrigo A. Castro-Silva, Acting County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Brian Mahler, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_______________________ Jason M., the father of Savannah M., challenges a juvenile court’s monitored visitation order because the order does not say his girlfriend may monitor visits. We affirm. Savannah’s mother and father lived separately and shared custody of Savannah. The Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) received a referral after four-year-old Savannah told a therapist that her father punished her by slapping her face and saying profanities. Savannah told a Department social worker that her father would hit her on her arms and legs. Savannah reported to her therapist that her father made her stand and hold her arms up for long periods of time as punishment. During the Department’s investigation, the father told Savannah not to tell her mother, therapist, or the social worker about the ways he punished her. The father denied physically abusing Savannah. On June 13, 2019, the Department filed a dependency petition under section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code on behalf of Savannah. The petition alleged Savannah was at risk of serious physical harm from the father (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (a)) and alleged the father failed to protect Savannah from serious physical harm (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (b)). The juvenile court detained Savannah from the father, ordered her released to the mother, and granted the father monitored visitation. The father asked the court to allow his girlfriend to monitor visits. The court ordered the Department to assess whether the girlfriend would be an appropriate monitor. The Department believed the girlfriend would not be an appropriate monitor because she and the father lived together and were in a romantic relationship. The girlfriend’s lack of neutrality could diminish her ability to perform the responsibilities of being a