L. A. Cnty. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. v. Ayanna K. (In re Loyalty J.)

In re LOYALTY J., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. AYANNA K., Defendant and Appellant.

B312288

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Seventh Division

February 14, 2022

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County No 20CCJP06773A, Lisa A. Brackelmanns, Juvenile Court Referee. Affirmed.

Christopher R. Booth, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Rodrigo A. Castro-Silva, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Aileen Wong, Senior Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

PERLUSS, P. J.

Ayanna K., the mother of now-two-year-old Loyalty J., appeals the juvenile court's jurisdiction findings and disposition order declaring Loyalty a dependent child of the court after the court sustained a petition pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b)(1).^[1] Ayanna contends the court's jurisdiction findings and disposition order were not supported by substantial evidence and the court abused its discretion by limiting her to monitored visitation. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. The Petition

In late November 2020 the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Department) received a report Ayanna had been stopped at a sobriety checkpoint and arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana while Loyalty was in the car. At the time of the arrest Ayanna also had a large open Mason jar three-quarters full of marijuana in the glove compartment. According to the arresting officer Ayanna had watery, droopy eyes and the car smelled of marijuana. Ayanna and Loyalty were the only occupants of the car.

On December 2, 2020 a Department social worker interviewed Ayanna and observed her with Loyalty. The social worker found Loyalty to be healthy, but she was not current on medical appointments or immunizations.

Ayanna claimed she did not know why she had been stopped at the checkpoint and said she had not been driving erratically. However, she admitted she had smoked a marijuana cigarette one hour prior to arriving at the checkpoint and had a jar of marijuana in the car. Ayanna said another adult had been with her in the car when she was arrested, but she refused to give the person's name.

Ayanna stated she smoked marijuana recreationally once or twice per week. She denied smoking in Loyalty's presence, explaining she smoked in the car while Loyalty was inside the home sleeping. Ayanna told the social worker she did not know her current home address because she was receiving housing assistance and had been at her current residence only a few weeks and could not provide contact information for Loyalty's father, Yeshua J., whom she only contacted through social media. Ayanna said she was no longer in a relationship with Yeshua but he had weekly visits with Loyalty.

Ayanna agreed to an on-demand drug test the day of her interview. She tested positive for marijuana at high levels.

In an interview with a Department social worker on December 22, 2020, Yeshua said he was concerned for Loyalty's health and safety and had been planning to seek custody. He explained he did not think Ayanna fed Loyalty enough and did not clean up after her. Ayanna had not allowed Yeshua to see Loyalty for eight months, and Yeshua had not been able to contact Ayanna because she did not have permanent housing. Yeshua expressed concern that Ayanna chose to be homeless rather than live with him or her family.

Yeshua acknowledged smoking marijuana with Ayanna when they were in a relationship. He denied smoking in Loyalty's presence, but he claimed to have seen Ayanna smoke marijuana in the car while Loyalty was with her. Ayanna had told Yeshua she sold marijuana out of the car while Loyalty was with her.

Ayanna's mother and brother told the social worker Ayanna was a good mother and they did not have any concerns regarding her marijuana use.

On December 28, 2020 the Department filed a two-count petition pursuant to section 300, subdivision (b). In the first count the Department alleged Ayanna placed Loyalty in a detrimental and endangering situation by driving under the influence of marijuana while Loyalty was in the car. The second count alleged Ayanna had a history of substance abuse and was a current abuser of marijuana, which interfered with her regular care and supervision of Loyalty.

At the December 31, 2020 detention hearing the court found a prima facie case for detaining Loyalty and placed her with Yeshua. The Department was ordered to provide services to Ayanna, including referrals for drug treatment, drug testing and individual counseling. The court specifically told Ayanna a missed drug test would be considered a positive test, and Ayanna stated she understood. The court ordered monitored visitation for Ayanna three times per week. The court also ordered visitation could become unmonitored once Ayanna had achieved six consecutive negative drug tests.

2. The Jurisdiction/Disposition Report

The Department filed a jurisdiction/disposition report on February 11, 2021. The report contained a summary of an interview conducted with Ayanna on January 25, 2021. Ayanna again admitted she had smoked a marijuana cigarette prior to driving the car on the night of her arrest, but now stated she had done so two hours prior to being arrested. She said she "got caught up" at the checkpoint and was "a little high." Ayanna denied smoking marijuana while caring for Loyalty or driving with her when under the influence of marijuana. She said she only smoked when the baby was asleep. When the social worker noted the contradiction between Ayanna's statement she did not care for Loyalty when under the influence and her admission she was "a little high" on the night of her arrest while Loyalty was in her care, Ayanna answered, "Yeah." The social worker then asked Ayanna if she felt it was inappropriate to drive while intoxicated with Loyalty in the car, to which Ayanna replied she understood it was wrong but got "caught up."

Ayanna told the social worker she had been using marijuana since she was 16 years old. She used it several times a week but claimed she could stop anytime. Ayanna knew she could have unmonitored visitation with Loyalty after six negative drug tests; however, she said she wanted to use marijuana to celebrate her 21st birthday later that week. She planned to stop using after that. Ayanna missed a drug test on January 21, 2021. As of mid-February Ayanna had not yet enrolled in a drug treatment program or begun individual counseling.

The social worker also interviewed Yeshua in late January 2021. Yeshua said he had often seen Ayanna smoke five to six marijuana cigarettes a day until she was too intoxicated to function. On one occasion he witnessed Ayanna driving with Loyalty in the car while Ayanna appeared under the influence of alcohol and had an open alcohol container with her.

Ayanna's car often smelled of marijuana, and Yeshua believed Ayanna smoked marijuana in Loyalty's presence.

According to the Department social worker, Loyalty appeared to be bonded to Yeshua. She was healthy and developmentally appropriate.

As of late January 2021 Yeshua reported Ayanna's visits with Loyalty had been infrequent and she sometimes stayed only 15 minutes. However, as of mid-February Ayanna had been visiting twice per week for several hours at a time.

The Department recommended the court sustain the petition and close the case with a custody order granting Yeshua sole legal and physical custody. The social worker explained Ayanna had shown little to no remorse for driving under the influence of marijuana and she did not appear to understand the danger of continued marijuana use while caring for Loyalty.

In a last minute information report filed April 2, 2021 the Department stated Ayanna had tested positive for marijuana three times between February 11, 2021 and March 15, 2021, although the levels of marijuana in Ayanna's system had decreased from the high amount in December 2020 and had decreased slightly over the three tests in February and March. Ayanna claimed she had not used marijuana since late January and believed she was still testing positive as a result of being around her friends when they smoked.

3. The Jurisdiction/Disposition Hearing

The jurisdiction/disposition hearing was held on April 13, 2021. Ayanna submitted a letter from her substance abuse counselor stating Ayanna had commenced treatment on March 25, 2021 and "is showing commitment to her recovery already." The letter identified "cannabis dependence" as one of the "specific areas that need improvement" and would be addressed in Ayanna's counseling sessions. Ayanna tested negative for marijuana on April 2, 2021. The Department, Yeshua and Loyalty objected to the letter on timeliness, authentication and hearsay grounds. The juvenile court admitted the letter into evidence, stating it would accord it the appropriate weight.

Proceeding to argument Ayanna's counsel sought to dismiss the petition in its entirety, arguing there was no evidence of substance abuse and the arrest for driving under the influence had been an isolated incident. If the court were to sustain the petition, Ayanna's counsel requested the case remain open and Loyalty be released to her and Yeshua. Loyalty's counsel concurred with the request to dismiss the substance abuse count but argued the court should sustain the allegation regarding driving under the influence. Loyalty's counsel also argued for the case to remain open and for release of Loyalty to both parents.

The juvenile court found by a preponderance of the evidence that the...