Tehama County Department of Social Services v. S.J.

Opinion

NICHOLSON, J. S.J. (grandmother) is the paternal grandmother of R.J. and JJ. (minors), who were adjudicated dependent children of the court. The juvenile court summarily denied grandmother’s request for de facto parent status. Grandmother appeals, contending (1) the juvenile court erred in denying her request without affording her an evidentiary hearing, and (2) the error violated her right to procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 395.) Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Because the issue on appeal is limited, no extensive description of the dependency proceedings is needed.

[222]In March 2007, the Tehama County Department of Social Services filed Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 petitions on behalf of both minors, alleging that mother and her live-in boyfriend were often intoxicated, mother’s boyfriend forced RJ. to hug him and “touched her on her lower back,” mother punched J.J. in the face, and, on another occasion, father did nothing when mother repeatedly punched J.J. At the time the petitions were filed, J.J. was 12 and RJ. was nine.

The minors were ordered detained and placed in a foster home.

Grandmother requested the minors be placed with her. In May 2007, the juvenile court summarily denied her request.

On June 12, 2007, grandmother filed de facto parent requests (Judicial Council form JV-295) and de facto parent statements (Judicial Council form JV-296) on behalf of both minors. The de facto parent statements contained a series of questions. When asked about the amount of time she spent with the minors, grandmother responded that she transported them between their parents’ homes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and weekends. When asked about the activities she did with the minors, she responded that she went to school open houses and took the minors to the fair, dances, potluck dinners, “fly ins,” and baseball games. She also stated that J.J. used her computer to research his homework. When asked about the kinds of information she had about the minors that others may not have, she said that the minors spoke to her about “almost everything, i.e. school, friends, and any problems,” and that J.J. told her “he can’t [keep] secrets from [her].” Grandmother executed both statements under penalty of perjury.