Alameda County Social Services Agency v. S.O.

Opinion

NEEDHAM, J. S.O. (father) appeals from an order that terminated the dependency jurisdiction of the juvenile court over his children, T.H. and V.O., and placed them in the physical custody of their mother, S.S. (mother). (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 362.4.)1 The judgment included an exit order allowing supervised visitation by father “to be determined by the parents.” We agree with father’s claim that for all intents and purposes, this improperly delegated to mother the discretion to allow visitation.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Father and mother are now separated. Father has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and has committed acts of domestic violence against mother. The children were the subjects of a prior dependency that terminated in January 2008, at which time father was given primary custody and mother was allowed visitation on Wednesdays and holidays.

On June 30, 2008, father threatened mother and the children as mother was taking them away from his house for a visit. Father was arrested, and respondent Alameda County Social Services Agency (Agency) filed a new dependency petition. The juvenile court determined that the children were persons described in section 300, subdivision (b) because (1) mother and father were involved in a verbal confrontation that terrified the children; (2) police found a 19-inch knife in father’s home in the presence of the children; and (3) father’s home was unsafe and uninhabitable. The children were removed from their parents’ custody and their parents were given reunification plans that included visitation.

Father attended his scheduled visits with the children and acted appropriately during those visits. On December 18, 2008, he tested positive for [1122]cocaine. At the six-month review hearing held in April 2009, the court ordered that the children remain in their out-of-home placement and continued reunification services for both parents.

Following positive and missed drug tests in May and June 2009, the court ordered father’s visits to be supervised. At the 12-month review hearing held in July 2009, the Agency reported that father was visiting the children consistently, but appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the visits and could not properly transport or supervise the children. Another man, a friend of father’s, was present for many of the supervised visits. Mother, who was living with her boyfriend and their child in a one-bedroom apartment, had complied with her plan and intended to move to a larger unit and arrange for childcare. The court continued the children as dependents and maintained them in out-of-court custody.