In re Terrell O. CA1/5

Filed 4/1/21 In re Terrell O. CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

In re TERRELL O., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. A159003 TERRELL O., (Contra Costa County Defendant and Appellant. Super. Ct. No. J0101545)

In his third appeal, Terrell O. challenges the juvenile court’s denial of his request to reenter foster care as a nonminor dependent. While this appeal was pending, Terrell turned 21 years old. Nonminor dependency cannot continue after a nonminor’s 21st birthday. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 303, subd. (a), 11400, subd. (v)(1).)1 Because we cannot grant effective relief, we dismiss the appeal as moot.

Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions 1

Code. We incorporate by reference our unpublished opinion in one of Terrell’s prior appeals, In re Terrell O. (Feb. 25, 2021, A158205). Terrell’s 21st birthday was on March 27, 2021. We requested and received supplemental briefs on mootness.

1

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Terrell was born in late March 2000. He was declared a dependent and later, a ward of the court. Shortly before Terrell turned 18 years old, the court declared him a nonminor dependent and he began receiving Assembly Bill No. 12 benefits. (See California Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2010; Assem. Bill No. 12 (2009-2010 Reg. Sess.); Assem. Bill No. 212 (2011-2012 Reg. Sess.).) Eventually, the court designated Terrell a nonminor dependent within the court’s transition jurisdiction. In 2019, Terrell was arrested, charged with several crimes, and detained in county jail. While Terrell was incarcerated, the court terminated Assembly Bill No. 12 benefits and transition jurisdiction. The court retained general jurisdiction (§ 303) to permit Terrell to petition to resume jurisdiction. Terrell appealed.2 After being released from jail, Terrell filed a request to return to juvenile court jurisdiction and foster care. The court denied the request. It concluded Terrell was not living in an approved foster care placement and that reentering foster care was not in his best interest. Terrell appealed. While the appeal was pending, Terrell turned 21 years old. DISCUSSION The juvenile dependency scheme “provide[s] that ‘[t]he court may retain jurisdiction over any person who is found to be a ward or a dependent child of the juvenile court until the ward or dependent child attains the age of 21 years.’ ” (In re Shannon M. (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 282, 292.) Jurisdiction