Department of Children & Family Services v. Derek S.

Opinion

VOGEL (C. S.), P. J. Appellant has taken the law into his own hands. He has absconded with his daughter, a minor and dependent child, who was placed in a foster home pursuant to an order of the juvenile court. We conclude that appellant may not obtain review of the juvenile court’s order and at the same time be in contempt of the very order from which he appeals'. We therefore will dismiss the appeal.

Summary of Facts and Proceedings

We summarize the factual background of this appeal simply as a prelude to its dismissal. Appellant Derek S. is the father of Kamelia S., bom in January 1997. The minor’s mother, Sonya C., is manic-depressive. A psychiatrist had prescribed medication for her condition. On November 18, 1997, Sonya C. suffered a manic episode, which resulted in injuries to Kamelia S. On December 4, 1997, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) took Kamelia S. into custody and placed her with appellant.

A petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 was filed.1 Later a dispositional social study was submitted. On January 6, 1998, the court sustained the petition as amended pursuant to In re Malinda S. (1990) 51 Cal.3d 368 [272 Cal.Rptr. 787, 795 P.2d 1244]2 and appellant submitted to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. On March 3, 1998, the court declared the minor a dependent of the court pursuant to section 300, subdivision (b). The court ordered that the minor reside with appellant and the mother, Sonya C., was to have monitored visits with the child.

Appellant and the paternal grandmother reside in the same household and assumed custody of Kamelia S. DCFS reported that appellant had not [1226]cooperated in allowing Sonya C. to visit the minor. Thereafter, the court ordered the mother be afforded weekly three-hour visits, provided that she was taking her medication. DCFS was given discretion to permit her monitored visits to take place out of the presence of appellant or the paternal grandmother.

On February 9, 1999, DCFS filed a section 387 petition to remove Kamelia S. from appellant and placed her in a foster home. The petition was predicated on allegations of medical neglect of the minor.3 The court ordered her placement to be kept confidential from appellant and paternal grandmother. Thereafter, further dispositional studies were prepared and DCFS filed an amended section 387 petition. The amended petition alleged that appellant had subjected the minor to unnecessary medical treatment and interfered with the minor’s reunification with the mother.