In re T.G. CA1/5

Filed 1/11/23 In re T.G. CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

In re T.G, a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. A164680 MARIN COUNTY HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY, (Marin County Superior Ct. Plaintiff and Respondent, No. JV27156A) v. L.G., Defendant and Appellant.

Appellant L.G. appeals from a juvenile court order placing his son, T.G., in a short-term residential group home instead of appellant’s own care. Under Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 361.2, subdivision (a), appellant argues that no substantial evidence supports the court’s determination that placing T.G. with appellant would be detrimental to the child’s well-being. We disagree and affirm. I. BACKGROUND Respondent Marin County Health and Human Services filed a juvenile dependency petition for T.G. on October 28, 2021. At the time, the

All subsequent references to statute are to the Welfare and 1

Institutions Code, unless otherwise noted.

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10-year-old lived with mother N.S. and for about nine months had been in weekly contact with his father, appellant. In the course of the investigation underlying the petition, police and social workers discovered extensive evidence that T.G. had suffered from his mother’s neglect. He had not been enrolled in school, had recently run away from home and slept outside overnight, and had set fires in the apartment complex where he then resided. When police responded to mother’s home to investigate the fires, they found the apartment “filthy.” The refrigerator held moldy and expired food, and dirt or rodent droppings were visible on the floor. Respondent also learned that T.G. had not been taken to a doctor in years and had never seen a dentist. As a result of the latter, T.G. had “ ‘a very large black cavity in a rear upper tooth, with part of that tooth broken off.’ ” As well, “ ‘two other teeth [had] cavities in them,’ ” something which could “be easily seen by just looking in his mouth.” According to mother, appellant had purchased glasses for T.G. to correct his blurred vision, but those had gone missing more than a year earlier and were never replaced. The dependency petition noted appellant’s admission that “he was concerned about [T.G.’s] well[-]being in [mother’s] care but [had] failed to seek legal custody or take other actions to ensure [T.G.’s] basic needs were met.” T.G. was placed in a confidential Marin County licensed resource home. Although he was “visibly comfortable in the home and with the resource parent,” T.G.’s stay at the resource home was not without incident. On one occasion, when the resource parent set limits on T.G.’s behavior, T.G. “got upset and appeared to have a tantrum by yelling, throwing [a] video game controller at the resource parent, stomping on the floor, running to his room and slamming the door.” The resource parent reported that T.G.