San Francisco Human Services Agency v. S.J.

Opinion

LAMBDEN, J. —S.J. (mother) appeals from orders terminating her parental rights over seven-year-old twins Z.N. and Za.N., and selecting adoption as their permanent plan after a hearing under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26.1 She does not challenge the merits of the rulings but claims reversible error in (1) denials of motions, late in the hearing, to relieve and substitute counsel, and (2) failure to comply with notice mandates of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.). We. affirm the orders.

Background

Mother has five children: the twins (bom in Apr. 2002), their half siblings L. and Dexter M. (bom in 1995 and 1992), and another half sibling, Benjamin J. (bom in 1994). All but Benjamin were in mother’s custody when [286]removed and detained in November 2006 on information that she was incarcerated and, during months of being homeless before then, had left them in the care of others.

The San Francisco Human Services Agency (HSA) filed an original petition that same month, and the twins were eventually declared wards (§ 300, subds. (b) [failure to protect], (g) [no provision for support] & (j) [abuse of sibling]) on amended allegations regarding mother that she was on felony probation for grand theft and was convicted of battery on a police officer; she was under investigation for welfare fraud in receiving aid in more than one county for Benjamin; she had a history of domestic violence, with incidents witnessed by the children; her transience left her unable to meet the children’s medical, dental, educational and emotional needs; she was currently incarcerated for a probation violation, her second incarceration since an arrest on a warrant in November 2006 for noncompliance with community service; half siblings Dexter and L. and Benjamin were subjects of pending dependency petitions; mother had refused to reveal the location of Benjamin so that a health and safety evaluation could be done; mother continued to conceal the whereabouts of Benjamin, who had not been seen since he was six months old; and mother had given conflicting accounts of his whereabouts, telling family members that he lived with his father, telling HSA that he was voluntarily placed with a paternal aunt, and saying he had been with an unidentified family since he was very young.

The twins entered foster care immediately, in November 2006, with a family that mother chose. They remained together in the same home throughout these proceedings, bonded quickly and made great progress, transforming from children with emotional problems to children who thrived physically, emotionally and socially, and excelled academically. By the time of the proceedings we review here, nearly two and a half years later, the foster parents were committed to adopting and were completing a home study.