L.A. Cnty. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. v. K.O. (In re T.T.)

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

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

B323839

California Court of Appeals, Second District, Eighth Division

December 21, 2023

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

APPEAL from findings and orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, No. 20CCJP01355C Hernan D. Vera, Judge. Conditionally reversed and remanded with directions.

Paul A. Swiller, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Dawyn R. Harrison, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Stephen Watson, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

STRATTON, P. J.

INTRODUCTION

Appellant K.O. (Father) challenges the juvenile court's jurisdictional and dispositional findings and orders over his minor son T.T. for failure to comply with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) (Fam Code,^[1] § 3400 et seq.). Mother is not a party to this appeal. Father contends the California juvenile court lacked jurisdiction over T.T., and this error prejudiced Father. Father asks us to reverse and remand with instructions to comply with the requirements of the UCCJEA.

We find the juvenile court erred and the error requires conditional reversal of the underlying findings and orders with directions to the juvenile court to undertake the process that the UCCJEA requires.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Events Leading to Filing of Petition

On May 30, 2022, the family came to the attention of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) when the reporting party disclosed Mother called law enforcement following a domestic violence incident. It was reported Father pushed Mother, and Mother pushed Father and struck his face. Four-year-old T.T. was in his bedroom during the incident. Reporting party disclosed no one was arrested due to "not being able to determine a dominant aggressor." Father agreed to leave home for the night.

Throughout the following month, a children's social worker (CSW) made multiple attempts to contact Mother by visiting her home and calling her with no response. On June 28, 2022, the CSW blocked her own telephone number and called Mother, who answered. The CSW asked Mother when she would be available to meet; Mother said, "Umm" and ended the call. The CSW attempted to call Mother back, but she did not answer.

On July 14, 2022, the CSW and Los Angeles Police Department made an unannounced visit to Mother's home to execute an Investigative Search Warrant. They observed Father outside of the property. Father reported he was "put out of the home" by Mother following a verbal argument that morning. He could not leave because Mother withheld his backpack inside the apartment, which he needed to return to his home in Washington state. Father reported he "has been sleeping on the street because [M]other frequently puts him out of the home." He denied any physical altercation between himself and Mother but stated Mother "has mood swings and exercise[s] her rights to put him on the street for ridiculous reasons."

Father stated he has two children with Mother: T.T. (born February 2018) and Tyson (born June 2015). Father has been traveling between his home in Washington State and Mother's home in Los Angeles since December 2021; he recently returned from Washington on May 9, 2022. Father stated T.T. was currently inside the home with Mother and Tyson was in Washington with paternal grandmother (PGM). Father stated he came to Los Angeles because Mother had made him believe she could add him to her housing assistance. He believed Mother lied to "get him to agree to come to Los Angeles with the children." He explained T.T. would remain with Mother in Los Angeles until Father returned to Washington and "get[s] back on his feet." He planned to seek a modification of the custody agreement and parenting plan in Washington. He expressed concern about Mother's parenting-"Her normal is zero structure. She lets [T.T.] do what he wants. There is no bedtime; he uses the tablet too much; and he eats junk. All the things that are not good .... [T.T.] has regressed in some areas since being back here." Father reported he had completed a parenting program, substance abuse program, and anger management in the past.^[2] He has been "[c]ompletely clean" since then.

The CSW found Mother's home to be "unorganized and cluttered." The windows were painted brown; both the front and back doors were damaged. There was food on the countertop of the kitchen with flies swarming over it. The refrigerator had food inside and while the home was "messy," there were no visible safety hazards.

Mother stated she has been in an on-again off-again relationship with Father since 2009. They are currently not in a relationship but are "trying to co-parent." She reported having called the police "to get [Father] out but he breaks back in." She stated Father managed to break back into her home by removing the deadbolts from her doors. She said Father "threw a brick through the window yesterday." She stated Father keeps a notebook of things he writes down about Mother to utilize against her in court for custody. Mother admitted she threw a cup of bleach at Father; T.T. was in the home at the time but did not witness the interaction.

Mother confirmed their older son Tyson resides in Washington with PGM "because that is where he is most familiar" as he has been in Washington "most of his life." Mother explained that a parenting plan was put in place in the Washington case where she was awarded 50/50 custody of the children. Per Mother, Father and the children came to live in Los Angeles in December 2021, but Father left Los Angeles with the children in February 2022 while Mother was in jail for a domestic violence incident with Father. Father and T.T. remained in Washington and returned to Los Angeles following her release from jail.

On July 15, 2022, the CSW interviewed PGM via telephone. PGM reported she has no legal guardianship of Tyson, and she has had Tyson in her care since he was three weeks old. He is doing well in school and will soon start first grade. PGM stated Father has always acted responsibly when working with PGM in caring for the children. She was worried about T.T. having necessities when with Mother. PGM stated T.T. has a speech impediment and has regressed. She received a voicemail from T.T. asking for help and the voicemail recorded Mother yelling at someone. PGM cared for T.T. in the past; he is "returned to [her] care every few months." T.T. receives all his medical and dental care in Washington via the same providers as Tyson. PGM reported Mother manipulates the children into believing Father does not love them. PGM is aware of Mother's and Father's history of methamphetamine use. Per PGM, Father completed rehab. In the past, T.T. was removed from Mother's care when she was under the influence. PGM also stated Mother was arrested in 2021 for domestic violence against Father in the children's presence. PGM expressed concern about maternal grandmother (MGM) impeding DCFS's investigation because MGM is a DCFS employee.

The CSW next interviewed MGM, who stated she was willing to take T.T. into her care. MGM had not seen T.T. often and was concerned about his "getting . . . back on track academically." MGM was concerned about "what [T.T.] has experienced in the home with [M]other and [F]ather" and their "arguing and fighting." She reported Father used methamphetamine in the past and Mother currently smokes weed but did not know if Mother does any other drugs. MGM stated Mother and Father had a family law case in Washington.

On July 19, 2022, Mother informed the CSW she called the police that morning because Father "trespassed into [her] home at 5 [a.m.] asking [M]other's permission to use her restroom." Mother stated T.T. has been with MGM since July 15, 2022 because she is "worried about [F]ather trying to take the child . . . to Washington."

On July 20, 2022, Father informed the CSW he was on his way back to Washington and that he would try to get T.T. back in Washington to be with his sibling Tyson.

On July 21, 2022, the CSW reviewed referrals about the family to Child Protective Services (CPS) in Washington-there were 30 referrals from August 18, 2018 through March 3, 2022. The majority of the referrals were reports of domestic violence and methamphetamine use by both parents. The CPS documents received by the CSW did not include information about open cases.

On July 22, 2022, Mother submitted to a drug/alcohol test, which came back positive for marijuana, methamphetamine, and amphetamine.

On August 2, 2022, the children were detained from Mother and Father via a removal order.

B. Petition and Detention

On August 4, 2022, DCFS filed a Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 petition on behalf of T.T. and Tyson. (Tyson's case was later dismissed.) The petition alleged: (1) Mother and Father have a history of engaging in violent physical altercations, including prior occasions where both parents sustained marks and bruises; (2) Mother has a history of and is a current abuser of methamphetamine, amphetamine, and marijuana which renders her incapable of providing the children with regular care and supervision and Father "knew or reasonably should have known" of Mother's substance abuse and failed to protect T.T. by allowing Mother to have unlimited access to him; (3) Father has a history of substance abuse including methamphetamine and marijuana which renders him incapable of providing children with regular care and supervision and places the children at risk of serious physical injury.

At the initial hearing on ...