In re A.O. CA2/8

Filed 11/3/21 In re A.O. CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 A.O. et al., Persons Coming B311552 Under the Juvenile Court Law.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY (Los Angeles County DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN Super. Ct. No. 20CCJP06739A-B) AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

A.W.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Pete R. Navarro, Juvenile Court Referee. Affirmed. Matthew I. Thue, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rodrigo A. Castro-Silva, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and O. Raquel Ramirez, Senior Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ___________________________

Mother A.W. appeals the juvenile court’s dispositional order removing then seven-year-old Ameer O. and three-year-old A.O. from her custody due to mother’s substance abuse and lack of adequate supervision. She does not challenge the juvenile court’s jurisdictional findings. Mother contends no substantial evidence supports the finding that the children were in substantial danger, or that there were no reasonable means to protect them other than removal. We affirm. BACKGROUND This family came to the attention of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Department) following a December 2020 referral that then two- year-old A.O. was found wandering the streets alone at night, wearing only a dirty shirt and diaper. Mother called 911 at 10:00 p.m. to report A.O. missing, more than an hour after the Sheriff’s Department received the 911 call about the child. Mother told deputies she and A.O. were sleeping together at approximately 8:20 p.m. She later woke up and discovered A.O. was missing. Mother believed A.O. unlocked the door and left through an open gate. Mother admitted this was not the first time A.O. had unlocked the door and gone outside. The family lived in a high crime neighborhood, with gang members next door, and multiple shootings on the street where A.O. was found. Mother was arrested for child endangerment. At the time of the incident, father was at work. Father was employed as a forklift driver. Mother told the social worker that she had smoked marijuana that afternoon. She smoked a “blunt” while maternal great-grandmother was watching the children. Mother denied that smoking marijuana affected her ability to care for the children. Mother admitted to feeling depressed and