In re A.C. CA3

Filed 8/18/22 In re A.C. CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Butte) ----

In re A.C., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court C094807 Law.

BUTTE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF (Super. Ct. No. 21DP00083) EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

D.C. et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

D.C. is the half-brother of the minor’s mother. He is married to K.C. The juvenile court denied the requests of K.C. and D.C. for appointed counsel and de facto parent status (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 395),1 and they appeal. D.C. joins in, and adopts, the appellate contentions asserted by K.C. Finding no error, we will affirm the juvenile court’s orders.

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

1

BACKGROUND K.C. filed three previous and related appeals: one from an order issued by the juvenile court in Siskiyou County (In re A.C. (Mar. 22, 2022, C093887) [nonpub. opn.], review denied June 15, 2022) and two from orders issued by the juvenile court in Butte County (In re A.C. (Mar. 24, 2022, C094217) [nonpub. opn.] & In re A.C. (C094859), dismissed Mar. 28, 2022). We take judicial notice of the record in each of K.C.’s related appeals, as well as this court’s prior orders and opinions in these cases. (Evid. Code, § 452, subd. (d).) The minor’s mother (hereafter mother) had an extensive child welfare history and reportedly did not feel she could provide for the minor. Because K.C. was willing to care for the minor, mother stated she intended for the minor to live with K.C. and D.C. K.C. arrived at the hospital shortly after the minor was born and was permitted to take the minor pursuant to a safety plan prohibiting D.C. from living in the family home due to his substance abuse, mental health concerns, and criminal history. The probate court in Siskiyou County subsequently issued an ex parte order appointing K.C. the temporary guardian of the minor, but a social worker informed K.C. that the Siskiyou County Health and Human Services Agency (Agency) would not support K.C.’s request for guardianship and would be seeking to place the minor into protective custody. (In re A.C., supra, C094217.) At a detention hearing, the juvenile court in Siskiyou County appointed counsel for K.C. Later, at a continuation of the hearing, K.C. said she considered herself to be the minor’s mother. She said she had been told that if the father was unknown and she treated the minor as her own she could complete a voluntary declaration of parentage (VDOP) form. She obtained a VDOP form, had mother’s signature notarized, and mailed the signed form to the Department of Child Support Services. K.C. said there was an upcoming hearing on her request for guardianship and she hoped to become the minor’s permanent guardian. But the juvenile court ordered the minor detained, finding among