A.M. v. Superior Court CA1/2

Filed 9/25/23 A.M. v. Superior Court CA1/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

A.M., Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF A168385 ALAMEDA COUNTY, (Alameda County Respondent; Super. Ct. No. JD03532901) ALAMEDA COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY et al., Real Parties in Interest.

A.M., the mother of one-year-old D.M., petitions for a writ of mandate to overturn the juvenile court’s order terminating her reunification services after six months and setting this case for a hearing under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.21 on December 1, 2023.1 Her sole argument is the juvenile court committed legal error under section 366.21, subdivision (e)(3), by failing to consider whether there was a substantial probability that her child would be returned to her within another six months before terminating her reunification services.

1 All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

1

Mother was not prejudiced by any such error, and we will deny her petition. BACKGROUND In September 2022, the Alameda County Social Services Agency (“agency”) filed a dependency petition alleging newborn boy D.M. was at risk due to mother’s methamphetamine abuse, including daily during her pregnancy, and domestic violence between mother and D.M.’s alleged father. D.M. tested positive for methamphetamines at birth, was taken into protective custody and ordered detained as a one-week old infant. Both parents were homeless, and mother had several outstanding arrest warrants. The infant was placed in the home of his maternal grandfather and maternal great grandmother, where he would remain throughout the proceedings. In October 2022, a few weeks after proceedings commenced, mother availed herself of a referral from hospital staff and enrolled herself in an outpatient drug treatment program, along with a women’s treatment program that included a parenting support group and a domestic violence support group. But then she skipped a number of random drug tests and tested positive multiple times, including on days she had visitation with D.M. She stopped participating in the program altogether after only a month. The agency tried repeatedly to contact her over the next month and a half, but she didn’t respond to any messages. The combined jurisdiction/disposition hearing took place on December 14, 2022. The juvenile court sustained the petition’s allegations and adjudged the child a dependent. By that point, mother had been visiting D.M. regularly. But she did not appear for the hearing, and her counsel implied it was due to her continued struggle with substance abuse (“there’s