Sills v. Linda W.

[870]Opinion

HOPPER, J. These are appeals from orders of the juvenile court that removed custody of a boy and girl from their mother because of the mother’s emotional instability. No physical or mental abuse has been directed toward the children, but the mother apparently suffers from extreme emotional disability.

On February 9, 1977, Mrs. Lampe, a counselor at Thompson Junior High School, had a visit from Carrie W., one of appellant’s children. The child was hysterical and was afraid of the way her mother was acting. On the evening of February 16, 1977, appellant, a pathologist, left for Michigan to look for a job. Appellant had instructed the children not to leave the apartment without someone there. Richard, then 11, was to stay at home from school on the 17th, and Carrie, then 12, was to stay in the apartment on the 18th. Through Mrs. Lampe, appellant’s psychiatrist was made aware of the children’s difficulties and he contacted the Protective Services Division of the Kern County Social Welfare Department. On February 17, 1977, at 3:50 p.m., the children were taken into custody of the juvenile court and admitted to the Kern County Shelter Home.

While at the shelter home, the children told a social worker that they did not want to live with their mother at the present time and that they were afraid of the way she was acting. Carrie told the social worker that her mother “likes to yell, thinks the apartment is being bugged, and blames Dr. Frankhowser,” a former employer in Indiana who had fired her. When asked why their mother wanted them to guard the apartment in her absence, Carrie stated that they were guarding “the notes her mother kept regarding Dr. Frankhowser’s activities.”

The social worker’s report contains descriptions of the mother’s behavior and its effect upon the children. These descriptions are based on notes maintained by appellant and the writer’s observations of and conversations with the children and their mother. The report was read and considered by the trial court.

At the hearing held on March 14, 1977, appellant testified that she had left Carrie and Richard alone at the apartment overnight when she went “interviewing for possible residency positions.” The children were given a list of people to call in case of an emergency and drilled on what to do in case of fire. Appellant trusted only members of her family (the [871]