In re Maria M. CA5

Filed 5/10/13 In re Maria M. CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

In re MARIA M. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

FRESNO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF F065810 SOCIAL SERVICES, (Super. Ct. Nos. 11CEJ300249-1, Plaintiff and Respondent, 11CEJ300249-2)

v. OPINION ELIZABETH C.,

Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Fresno County. Mary Dolas, Commissioner. Jacob I. Olson, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kevin Briggs, County Counsel, and William G. Smith, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

* Before Wiseman, Acting P.J., Levy, J. and Cornell, J.

Elizabeth C. appeals from the dispositional order removing her 17-year-old daughter Maria and three-year-old daughter Jacquelyn from her custody under Welfare and Institutions Code section 361.1 Elizabeth contends the order must be reversed because there was no evidence the children were at risk of harm in her care and there were less restrictive alternatives to removal. We affirm the juvenile court’s order. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL SUMMARY Elizabeth and Dustin are an intact, married couple. Elizabeth is the mother of three daughters, Marissa, an adult, and minors, Maria and Jacquelyn, the subjects of this appeal. Dustin is Jacquelyn’s father.2 He also has a teenage son, Jesse. In November 2011, Fresno police officers were dispatched to Elizabeth and Dustin’s apartment to investigate a disturbance. The reporting party (RP), a neighbor, reported hearing a male yell that he was going to shove food down a juvenile’s throat. The RP also stated it sounded like the juvenile was being hit or slapped. When the officers arrived, the RP confirmed that the disturbance was coming from Elizabeth’s home. She said the father was very abusive to the son and that the son was very quiet. She said even the children in the complex were aware of the abuse. She was concerned the juvenile was in danger of being seriously hurt by his father. Dustin answered the door of his apartment, intoxicated and holding a beer. The officers ran a criminal check on Dustin and discovered he had two warrants, one for a willful cruelty to a child stemming from a report of child abuse in March 2011 and the other for driving under the influence. Then 17-year-old Jesse emerged from a back bedroom, wearing a T-shirt and very short shorts. He appeared extremely emaciated and thin, was dirty and had body odor. He told Officer Christopher Long that he had just taken a shower and took Long to a back