Sacramento County Department of Health & Human Services v. Tracy S.

Opinion

ROME, J. Tracy S. (appellant), the mother of Daisy D. (the minor), appeals from the juvenile court’s order terminating her parental rights. (Welf. & [290]Inst. Code,1 §§ 366.26, 395.) Appellant contends the juvenile court erred by failing to find an exception to adoption based on interference with the minor’s sibling relationships. (§ 366.26, subd. (c)(1)(E).) We shall affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In April 2004, Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services filed a juvenile dependency petition concerning the 18-month-old minor, as well as her two half siblings (ages four and seven), alleging in part that appellant had a substance abuse problem for which she had received family maintenance services and yet continued to use controlled substances. Later reports explained that the minor tested positive for methamphetamine at birth and the family accepted informal supervision at that time. According to the jurisdictional report, between August 2002 and the filing of the petition, appellant completed numerous services in conjunction with informal supervision.

The juvenile court sustained the petition and ordered reunification services.

Initially, the minor was placed in a foster home with her half siblings but, a little over a month later, she was moved to the home of her paternal grandparents, where she had lived for three months after her birth. Her half siblings were placed in the home of their maternal uncle, where another sibling was already residing.

In November 2005, after over one year of reunification services, the juvenile court found appellant had failed to regularly participate and make substantive progress in her case plan and terminated reunification efforts. According to the report for the review hearing, the minor “clearly ha[d] a bond with her grandparents and fe[lt] a sense of security in their care.” The minor visited her half siblings every other weekend, often for the day at the maternal uncle’s home, and the children “interacted] well and g[o]t along perfectly” during visits. The matter was set for a hearing pursuant to section 366.26 to select and implement a permanent plan.

According to the report for the section 366.26 hearing, the paternal grandparents were committed to adopting the minor, and the social worker recommended a permanent plan of adoption. The minor had continued to visit her half siblings at the maternal uncle’s home, usually once a month for an all-day visit. In an addendum report, the social worker stated that the minor’s half siblings “sharefd] a significant bond” with the minor, and it was noted