In re M.G. CA4/3

Filed 5/7/21 In re M.G. CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

In re M.G., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

ORANGE COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY, G059701 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 19DP1306) v. OPINION R.G.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Jeremy D. Dolnick, Judge. Affirmed. Rich Pfeiffer, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Leon J. Page, County Counsel, Karen L. Christensen and Aurelio Torre, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Defendant R.G. (mother) appeals from an order terminating her parental rights over her daughter M.G. Mother contends the court erred by refusing to apply Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26, subdivision (c)(1)(B)(i) (the parental bond exception to adoption) in her favor. We affirm. FACTS M.G., born in May of 2015, is the daughter of mother. Mother was arrested in October of 2019 on charges related to methamphetamine use. Mother has four older children who were previously removed from her custody due to her substance abuse history. After mother’s arrest, M.G.’s maternal uncle gained access to mother’s apartment and found various methamphetamine pipes throughout the home, in places easily accessible to M.G. While mother was incarcerated, M.G. was temporarily placed with her maternal aunt and uncle. When interviewed by social services workers after her arrest, mother admitted long term methamphetamine use. Mother claimed she stopped using methamphetamine approximately three years before her arrest, but had smoked methamphetamine on the day of her arrest at the urging of a neighbor. When asked about the methamphetamine pipes in her apartment, mother claimed she was cleaning the apartment and discovered the pipes left behind by her ex-boyfriend, who she claimed she kicked out because of his methamphetamine use. In later interviews, M.G. told social workers she saw mother’s boyfriend hit mother. In another later interview, mother told a social worker the methamphetamine pipes were in her room put away in a bag, and claimed her brother (maternal uncle) “set [her] up.” Orange County Social Services Agency (the Agency) filed a juvenile dependency petition, seeking M.G.’s removal from mother’s care. At the jurisdictional hearing, mother pled nolo contendere to the allegations of the petition for purposes of jurisdiction. After the hearing, mother expressed reluctance to drug test via a patch, stating she feared false positives. The maternal uncle (M.G.’s caregiver) reported to the