In re Ashley R. CA2/4 ( 2021 )


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  • Filed 7/30/21 In re Ashley R. CA2/4
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for
    publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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
    SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION FOUR
    In re ASHLEY R. et al., Persons                                                    B306895
    Coming Under Juvenile Court Law.
    LOS ANGELES COUNTY                                                                 (Los Angeles County
    DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN                                                             Super. Ct. No.
    AND FAMILY SERVICES,                                                               20CCJP01359A-B)
    Plaintiff and Respondent,
    v.
    L.I.,
    Defendant and Appellant.
    APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los
    Angeles County, Jean M. Nelson, Judge. Affirmed.
    Roni Keller, under appointment by the Court of
    Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
    Office of the County Counsel, Rodrigo A. Castro-Silva,
    County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel,
    and Sarah Vesecky, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff
    and Respondent.
    __________________________________
    INTRODUCTION
    In the proceedings below, the court sustained three
    counts of a petition filed by the Los Angeles County
    Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) under
    Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (a)
    and (b)(1) (Sections 300(a) and 300(b)(1)), and found
    jurisdiction over appellant-mother L.I.’s two children, Ashley
    R. (born October 2015) and Y.R. (born March 2017).1 Two of
    the counts (a-1 and b-1) identically alleged that domestic
    violence between Mother and non-party-father R.R.
    endangered the children, and the third count (b-2) alleged
    that Father’s substance abuse endangered the children.
    After finding jurisdiction, the court removed the children
    from both parents and ordered Mother to participate in
    various services.
    On appeal, Mother argues the court erred in: (a)
    finding sufficient evidence to take jurisdiction under
    1     Undesignated references are to the Welfare and
    Institutions Code.
    2
    Sections 300(a) and 300(b)(1); (b) removing the children
    based on an allegedly erroneous jurisdictional finding
    instead of ordering “[v]oluntary supervision of the family
    under section 301”; and (c) ordering Mother to participate in
    services without evidence she would not participate
    voluntarily. We conclude: (a) sufficient evidence supports
    jurisdiction under Section 300(b)(1), obviating the need to
    analyze whether the court properly assumed jurisdiction
    under Section 300(a); (b) the court could not order voluntary
    supervision under section 301 at the disposition hearing and
    to the extent Mother intended to argue the court should have
    ordered voluntary supervision under section 360, subdivision
    (b), the court did not abuse its discretion in not doing so; and
    (c) the court did not abuse its discretion in ordering Mother
    to participate in the case plan. We therefore affirm.
    STATEMENT OF RELEVANT FACTS
    A.     DCFS Receives a Referral and Mother
    Obtains a Restraining Order
    In January 2020, DCFS received a referral stating that
    Mother had reported a domestic violence incident to the
    police. Three days earlier, Father had allegedly encountered
    Mother at the home of a friend, grabbed her neck, and then
    left with their four-year-old daughter Ashley. Mother had
    also reported a history of prior domestic violence incidents.
    Father was refusing to let Mother see Ashley, and Mother
    was advised to obtain a restraining order.
    3
    Five days after the incident, Mother applied for a
    temporary restraining order. Attached to her application
    was a signed declaration, attesting to a history of violence at
    Father’s hands. Mother declared that Father “initially
    became violent during [her] first pregnancy . . . .” Whenever
    Father would “drink heavily[,] he would come home and hit
    [Mother], punching and slapping [her] with his hands.” On
    some occasions, Father beat her with charging cables. The
    beatings happened as frequently as once a week, and her
    children had witnessed the violence “all their lives.” Mother
    claimed Ashley was afraid of Father and that their
    two-year-old son, Y.R., had been copying Father and striking
    both Ashley and other children. Mother also described two
    recent incidents: In November 2019, Father returned home
    drunk and with another woman. Both Father and the
    woman demanded Mother take the children and leave the
    house, claiming the new woman was Father’s “wife” now.2
    Mother “splashed water” at the woman, and she grabbed
    Mother’s hair. Father then punched Mother in her neck,
    causing pain that lasted several days. The noise awakened
    Ashley, and Father and the woman released Mother.
    Because Mother feared they would continue the violence if
    she stayed, she took the children and left.
    Mother claimed she did not see Father again until
    January 10, 2020, when she learned from her babysitter that
    Father was coming to take the children. Mother hurried to
    2    Mother and Father were not married.
    4
    retrieve the children from the babysitter’s home, but Father
    arrived as they were leaving. Father approached Mother,
    who was carrying Y.R. and holding Ashley’s hand, grabbed
    Mother by the neck with one hand, and took Ashley with the
    other hand and left. Mother went to the police station the
    next day and was advised to apply for a restraining order.
    Mother concluded that she needed a restraining order
    “because I am afraid for my daughter’s safety, I am afraid
    that [Father] will continue his violence against me, and I
    want to protect my children from witnessing any more
    violent behavior by [Father].” Mother also attested that she
    did not give notice of the application for a TRO to Father
    because she “was afraid that the violence and/or harassment
    would reoccur/occur” if she gave notice. The court granted
    the TRO.
    B.   DCFS Investigates
    Four days after receiving the referral, a children’s
    social worker (CSW) interviewed Mother in Spanish, as she
    indicated this was her primary language. Mother confirmed
    the incident described in the referral, as well as obtaining a
    TRO. She also “reported [a] history of multiple prior
    domestic violence incidents with father,” stating he would
    become aggressive toward her while under the influence of
    alcohol, and had repeatedly assaulted her while she was
    pregnant with Ashley. She additionally reported an incident
    in which she and Father’s girlfriend had a physical
    5
    altercation while the children were present. Mother denied
    using drugs or alcohol.
    One month later, a CSW interviewed Father, who was
    living with the paternal grandmother (PGM). Father
    admitted he and Mother verbally argued, but denied their
    disputes ever became physical. When asked about Mother’s
    statement that she fought with Father’s girlfriend, Father
    explained that PGM had allowed one of her friends to stay in
    the house, and Mother became upset and physically fought
    with the woman in front of the children. When asked if he
    had hit Mother during that altercation, Father stated he was
    so drunk that night he might have, but did not recall.
    Father denied having a problem with alcohol abuse, but
    admitted to getting drunk on the weekends. Father then
    stated people told him that Mother drank excessively. When
    asked when he last saw the children, he said he had seen
    them the previous day in court for the restraining order
    hearing, but otherwise had not seen them since October or
    November.
    When PGM was asked when Mother and the children
    had been in the home last, she answered they had eaten
    dinner with Father and her the previous day. PGM stated
    that Mother had been in and out of the home several times
    since the restraining order had been issued, and Mother and
    the children had once spent the night.
    The CSW then spoke with both Father and PGM, and
    after persistent questioning by the CSW, Father admitted
    both that he knew the restraining order required him to
    6
    have no contact with Mother and the children, and that
    Mother and the children had returned to the home the
    previous day, and they had eaten a meal together. When
    asked why he had violated the restraining order, Father
    stated that Mother had insisted on seeing him. He also said
    Mother would simply “show[] up at his home sometimes.”
    Another CSW spoke with Mother that same day (again
    speaking in Spanish), and Mother claimed that since Ashley
    was returned after service of the restraining order, she had
    seen Father only at court. The next day, the CSW
    confronted Mother with the information from Father and
    PGM regarding Mother visiting Father with the children.
    Mother continued to deny that she had seen Father other
    than at court.
    On March 3, 2020, the court signed an order authori-
    zing DCFS to remove the children from their parents’
    custody. DCFS detained the children the next day.
    C.   DCFS Files a Petition
    Two days later, DCFS filed a petition under Sections
    300(a) and (b)(1). Counts a-1 and b-1 identically alleged that
    Mother and Father had a history of engaging in ongoing
    violent verbal and physical altercations in the children’s
    presence, stating generally that Father struck Mother with
    his hands and with electrical cables on multiple occasions,
    and also referencing the two specific incidents Mother had
    reported in the TRO application. The counts additionally
    alleged that the January incident led to a protective order,
    7
    which Mother and Father both violated. Count b-2 alleged
    that Father was an abuser of alcohol, and had been under its
    influence while caring for the children; it also alleged Mother
    failed to protect the children from Father’s alcohol abuse.
    Count b-3 alleged that Mother was an abuser of alcohol, and
    had been under its influence while caring for the children; it
    also alleged Father failed to protect the children from
    Mother’s alcohol abuse.
    The court held its initial detention hearing the next
    court day. Both Spanish and K’iche’ interpreters were on
    hand to help Mother and Father.3 Mother submitted a
    notarized affidavit to the court, apologizing for
    demonstrating “non-willful negligence towards the laws of
    this state,” but still claiming she had never returned to the
    family home after leaving it in October 2019. Both Mother
    and Father requested the court release the children to
    Mother. Father’s counsel acknowledged the evidence that
    Mother violated the TRO by visiting Father, but wondered
    whether Mother had received “all of the information she
    needed,” due to the language barrier. Counsel for DCFS
    pointed out that if Mother simply had not understood the
    TRO, “there would [have] be[en] no reason for her to be
    dishonest with the social worker when she was confronted.”
    The court agreed that Mother’s statements indicated
    deception rather than misunderstanding, and ordered the
    children detained from both parents. Subsequently, the
    3    The K’iche’ interpreter was present for Mother.
    8
    court ordered that Mother was to be interviewed with a
    K’iche’ interpreter. At Mother’s request, the court also
    ordered DCFS not to interview her about domestic violence
    allegations. At some point, DCFS filed a last minute
    information disclosing concerns regarding PGM’s “protective
    capacity” because PGM had told Mother not to disclose
    domestic violence incidents when interviewed by the CSWs.
    D. DCFS Continues to Investigate
    In further interviews, Mother confirmed that Father
    drank, but stated he had alcohol only every 15 to 20 days.
    Mother did not know how much he drank, because Father
    would stay in the car when he was drinking to prevent the
    children from seeing him intoxicated. Mother denied Father
    ever cared for the children when intoxicated. She also
    denied any alcohol use herself. Mother agreed to test for
    drugs and alcohol and tested negative on March 26, May 4,
    and June 3, 2020, but was a “[n]o [s]how” to tests scheduled
    for April 21 and May 18, 2020.
    Father again confirmed he had verbal altercations with
    Mother while the children were present, but denied any
    physical altercations. Father confirmed his previous
    statement that he had violated the TRO by having contact
    with Mother and the children, but claimed this had occurred
    only once; although Mother visited his home multiple times,
    he claimed to have been there on only one occasion when she
    came. Father admitted he would become “significantly
    intoxicated” once or twice a month, but would sleep in his car
    9
    or stay with others so the children would not see him
    intoxicated. Father agreed to test for alcohol and drugs and
    tested negative on April 7 and May 29, 2020, but was a “[n]o
    [s]how” on April 10, April 30, and May 15, 2020.
    DCFS also spoke with the children’s foster mother, who
    expressed concern about Ashley’s mental and emotional
    state, because “Ashley will make random statements about
    father striking mother without anybody asking her,” but
    could not elaborate on her statements. Ashley mentioned
    one incident in which “mother had blood on her hands and
    there was mention of a knife,” but the foster mother could
    not understand Ashley any further.
    In April 2020, Mother and Father stipulated to dismiss
    the TRO.4 The TRO was dismissed on May 12, 2020.
    In early May 2020, Mother and Father received
    referrals for services from DCFS. However, neither had
    enrolled in any services by late June 2020, due to the
    COVID-19 pandemic.
    E.    Adjudication and Disposition
    No witnesses testified at the adjudication and
    disposition hearings. The children’s counsel asked the court
    to sustain counts a-1 and b-1 (alleging Mother and Father’s
    domestic violence endangered the children) and b-2 (alleging
    Father’s alcohol abuse (and Mother’s failure to protect the
    4     The TRO had originally been scheduled to lapse on March
    16, 2020, and Mother had indicated she would no longer be
    pursuing it, but the hearing date was continued several times.
    10
    children from that abuse) endangered the children), but
    dismiss count b-3 (regarding Mother’s alleged alcohol abuse).
    Mother’s counsel requested the court dismiss counts a-1 and
    b-1 because there was no evidence the children were ever
    harmed or placed in harm’s way during the domestic
    violence incidents, dismiss Mother from count b-2 because
    there was no evidence she failed to protect the children from
    Father’s alcohol abuse, and dismiss count b-3 for lack of
    evidence. Father’s counsel requested the court dismiss the
    petition in its entirety, arguing insufficient evidence, and
    lack of a nexus between the petition’s allegations and harm
    to the children. DCFS’s counsel stated it had nothing to add
    beyond what was in the reports submitted to the court. The
    court dismissed count b-3 for lack of evidence, sustained
    counts a-1 and b-1, and sustained count b-2 after striking
    the allegations regarding Mother. The court found both
    children to be dependents of the court.
    Counsel for the children argued they should remain in
    foster care, but asked the court to order DCFS to assess
    Mother for overnight visits. Mother’s counsel asked that the
    children be returned to her care. Father’s counsel asked
    that the children be released, without specifying to whom.
    DCFS’s counsel made no request. The court ordered the
    children removed from both parents due to a “long history of
    domestic violence with the parents and a failure to abide by
    the restraining order by both parents.” Recognizing the
    difficulty of enrolling in programs due to the pandemic, the
    court nevertheless found that “the risk of further domestic
    11
    violence remains until they address these issues . . . .” The
    court ordered Mother to attend a support group for domestic
    violence, to participate in conjoint counseling with Father if
    the two were reconciling, and to undergo individual
    counseling regarding the case issues. The court also ordered
    Mother to test for substances upon reasonable suspicion of
    substance abuse. Mother timely appealed.
    DISCUSSION
    “On appeal, the ‘substantial evidence’ test is the
    appropriate standard of review for both the jurisdictional
    and dispositional findings.” (In re J.K. (2009) 
    174 Cal.App.4th 1426
    , 1433.) Under a substantial evidence
    review, “‘we view the record in the light most favorable to
    the juvenile court’s determinations, drawing all reasonable
    inferences from the evidence to support the juvenile court’s
    findings and orders. Issues of fact and credibility are the
    province of the juvenile court and we neither reweigh the
    evidence nor exercise our independent judgment.’” (In re
    Joaquin C. (2017) 
    15 Cal.App.5th 537
    , 560.) “Evidence from
    a single witness, even a party, can be sufficient to support
    the trial court’s findings.” (In re Alexis E. (2009) 
    171 Cal.App.4th 438
    , 451.)
    12
    A.      The Court Did Not Err in Finding
    Jurisdiction
    “When a dependency petition alleges multiple grounds
    for its assertion that a minor comes within the dependency
    court’s jurisdiction, a reviewing court can affirm the juvenile
    court’s finding of jurisdiction over the minor if any one of the
    statutory bases for jurisdiction that are enumerated in the
    petition is supported by substantial evidence. In such a
    case, the reviewing court need not consider whether any or
    all of the other alleged statutory grounds for jurisdiction are
    supported by the evidence.” (In re Alexis E., supra, 171
    Cal.App.4th at 451.) Because we conclude substantial
    evidence supports the court’s jurisdictional finding under
    Section 300(b)(1), we do not consider the propriety of the
    jurisdictional finding under Section 300(a).
    “Exposing children to recurring domestic violence may
    be sufficient to establish jurisdiction under section 300,
    subdivision (b).” (In re T.V. (2013) 
    217 Cal.App.4th 126
    , 134;
    see also In re Heather A. (1996) 
    52 Cal.App.4th 183
    , 193-194
    [jurisdiction under Section 300(b)(1) supported by
    substantial evidence of ongoing domestic violence, where one
    incident occurred in front of the children]; In re Daisy H.
    (2011) 
    192 Cal.App.4th 713
    , 717 [physical violence between a
    child’s parents may support jurisdiction under Section
    300(b)(1) “if there is evidence that the violence is ongoing or
    likely to continue and that it . . . placed the child at risk of
    physical harm”].)
    13
    Here, substantial evidence supported the finding of
    ongoing domestic violence that placed the children at
    substantial risk of serious physical harm. In January 2020,
    Mother submitted a declaration along with her application
    for TRO, in which she averred that Father initially became
    violent during her first pregnancy and, on a weekly basis
    when drunk, would punch and slap her with his hands, or
    beat her with charging cables. Mother attested that the
    children had witnessed this violence “all their lives.” Mother
    also related two recent incidents: one in November 2019 in
    which Father punched her in the neck, inflicting lasting
    pain, and one in January 2020 when Father grabbed her by
    the neck while she was holding her four-year-old daughter
    by the hand and her two-year-old son in her arms. Apart
    from the declaration, Mother made similar statements
    directly to CSWs. She confirmed the incident in which
    Father grabbed her by the neck, and also “reported [a]
    history of multiple prior domestic violence incidents with
    father,” stating he would become aggressive toward her
    while under the influence of alcohol, and had repeatedly
    assaulted her while she was pregnant with Ashley. Ashley’s
    foster mother reported that Ashley would “make random
    statements about father striking mother without anybody
    asking her,” and once related an incident in which “mother
    had blood on her hands and there was mention of a knife.”
    This constitutes substantial evidence of ongoing domestic
    violence in the presence of the children; Father’s willingness
    to grab Mother by the neck while she was carrying Y.R. and
    14
    holding Ashley’s hand is substantial evidence that the
    domestic violence placed the children at substantial risk of
    serious physical harm.
    Mother argues the court erred in finding jurisdiction
    under Section 300(b)(1) because: (a) the children suffered no
    physical abuse or substantial risk of physical abuse; (b)
    Father only grabbed Mother’s neck without closing her
    airway; (c) the police did not arrest Father; (d) the minors
    were in Mother’s care when Father drank; and (e) the
    declaration accompanying Mother’s request for a TRO has no
    probative value because there is no evidence a K’iche’
    interpreter helped Mother with it.
    We briefly dispose of Mother’s first four contentions.
    First, “[t]he parent need not be dangerous and the minor
    need not have been harmed before removal is appropriate.
    The focus of the statute is on averting harm to the child.”
    (In re T.W. (2013) 
    214 Cal.App.4th 1154
    , 1163.) In other
    words, that the children had yet to suffer physical harm is
    not dispositive. Father’s regular infliction of physical abuse
    on Mother in the children’s presence placed them at
    substantial risk of harm.
    Second, no authority provides that jurisdiction cannot
    be assumed when one parent grabs the other by the neck
    without cutting off the latter’s air supply. Father’s actions
    could easily have caused Mother to raise her arms reflexively
    in defense, dropping her infant son.
    15
    Third, that Father was not arrested does not negate
    domestic violence. No authority equates police inaction with
    the nonoccurrence of an event.
    Fourth, Mother’s point is unclear when she notes that
    the children were in her care when Father was drinking. To
    the extent she suggests the court could not find jurisdiction
    over the children based on an allegation that she failed to
    protect them from Father’s alcohol abuse, the court did not --
    it specifically struck that allegation from count b-2. To the
    extent she contends the court could not find jurisdiction
    under count b-2 because Father’s alcohol abuse allegedly did
    not harm the children, Father has not appealed, and Mother
    lacks standing to pursue this claim. (Code Civ. Proc., § 902
    [“Any party aggrieved may appeal in the cases prescribed in
    this title”]; In re Nachelle S. (1996) 
    41 Cal.App.4th 1557
    ,
    1560 [applying this section to dependency proceedings].) In
    any event, evidence that Father regularly assaulted Mother
    while drunk sufficed to find Father’s alcohol abuse placed
    the children in danger.
    Finally, we reject Mother’s contention that we should
    disregard her TRO declaration because she lacked the help
    of a K’iche’ interpreter when she signed it. First, that
    argument is forfeited because she failed to raise it below. (In
    re Dakota H. (2005) 
    132 Cal.App.4th 212
    , 221 [“A party
    forfeits the right to claim error as grounds for reversal on
    appeal when he or she fails to raise the objection in the trial
    court”]; id. at 222 [“Forfeiture . . . applies in juvenile
    dependency litigation and is intended to prevent a party
    16
    from standing by silently until the conclusion of the
    proceeding”].)5 Even were we to consider the argument, we
    would find it unpersuasive. Mother points to nothing
    evidencing her ignorance of the contents of her declaration.
    Moreover, she told DCFS her primary language was
    Spanish, and spoke to multiple CSWs in Spanish. Finally,
    even were we to disregard Mother’s declaration in its
    5      In her reply brief, Mother argues “[i]ssues regarding
    intervention are not subject to the doctrine of waiver or
    forfeiture,” citing In re Brian P. (2002) 
    99 Cal.App.4th 616
     (Brian
    P.); In re Chantal S. (1996) 
    13 Cal.4th 196
    , 210 (Chantal S.); and
    In re Tommy E. (1992) 
    7 Cal.App.4th 1234
     (Tommy E.). None of
    these cases supports her argument. Brian P. held that a party
    who fails to object on grounds of insufficient evidence does not
    forfeit a substantial evidence challenge on appeal. (Brian P.,
    supra, at 623 [“‘Generally, points not urged in the trial court
    cannot be raised on appeal. [Citation.] The contention that a
    judgment is not supported by substantial evidence, however, is
    an obvious exception to the rule’”].) We do not hold Mother
    forfeited any argument that her declaration is insufficient to
    support jurisdiction; rather, we hold Mother forfeited the
    argument that the court should not have considered the
    declaration. Tommy E. held that a parent did not forfeit the right
    to challenge a jurisdictional finding by submitting the matter on
    the social worker’s report; that has no bearing on Mother’s
    argument. (Tommy E., supra, at 1236-1239.) And Chantal S.
    has nothing to do with forfeiture. (Chantal S., supra, at 200
    [court considered whether “a juvenile court, when terminating its
    dependency jurisdiction, [may] issue an order conditioning
    visitation on a parent’s participation in a counseling program”
    and if so, whether “the juvenile court [is] bound by the
    requirements of Family Code section 3190, which governs
    counseling orders issued by a family court”].)
    17
    entirety, the statements Mother made to DCFS as well as
    Ashley’s unprompted references to domestic violence would
    still constitute substantial evidence of domestic violence,
    supporting the finding of jurisdiction over the children.
    B.     The Court Did Not Err in Removing the
    Children; Voluntary Supervision Under
    Section 301 Was Unavailable
    Mother argues that the court erred in removing the
    children from her because “the jurisdictional findings fail for
    lack of substance,” and because “[v]oluntary supervision of
    the family under section 301 would have [been] less drastic”
    and sufficient. As discussed above, the jurisdictional
    findings do not fail for lack of substance.
    Section 301, subdivision (a), provides: “In any case in
    which a social worker, after investigation of an application
    for petition or other investigation he or she is authorized to
    make, determines that a child is within the jurisdiction of
    the juvenile court or will probably soon be within that
    jurisdiction, the social worker may, in lieu of filing a petition
    or subsequent to dismissal of a petition already filed, and
    with consent of the child’s parent or guardian, undertake a
    program of supervision of the child.” By the disposition
    hearing, the section 300 petition had already been filed and
    had not been dismissed; accordingly, the voluntary program
    of supervision contemplated by section 301 was no longer
    available. Mother provides no authority to the contrary.
    18
    In its respondent’s brief, DCFS suggests Mother may
    have intended to argue that the court should have proceeded
    under section 360, subdivision (b). (Welf. & Inst. Code,
    § 360, subd. (b) [“If the court finds that the child is a person
    described by Section 300, it may, without adjudicating the
    child a dependent child of the court, order that services be
    provided to keep the family together and place the child and
    the child’s parent or guardian under the supervision of the
    social worker for a time period consistent with Section
    301”].) “Whether to exercise this option under section 360,
    subdivision (b), is a discretionary call for the juvenile court
    to make; it may opt to do so, but it need not.” (In re N.M.
    (2011) 
    197 Cal.App.4th 159
    , 171.) “A court exceeds the
    limits of legal discretion if its determination is arbitrary,
    capricious or patently absurd. The appropriate test is
    whether the court exceeded the bounds of reason.” (Ibid.)
    Mother never asked the court to proceed under this
    section. “[I]f the law does not require the juvenile court to
    act in a certain way, the parent bears the responsibility to
    care for his or her own interests by asking the court to
    exercise its discretion in a manner favorable to the parent.
    In such circumstances, the courts have not permitted the
    silent parent to argue that the juvenile court erred in not
    being psychic.” (In re Lorenzo C. (1997) 
    54 Cal.App.4th 1330
    , 1339.) Mother has therefore forfeited this argument.
    Even were we to consider her argument, the evidence
    shows that Mother willfully disobeyed the TRO several
    times, and then attempted to deceive DCFS and the court
    19
    about her actions. Further, neither parent had yet
    addressed the domestic violence issues that led to
    jurisdiction in the first place. Given this history, even had
    Mother requested this course of action, we would find the
    court was well within the bounds of reason to decline to
    order informal supervision.
    C.     The Court Did Not Err in Ordering Mother to
    Participate in Her Case Plan
    If a child is declared a dependent, “the juvenile court
    may direct any reasonable orders to the parents . . . of the
    child who is the subject of any proceedings under this
    chapter as the court deems necessary and proper to carry out
    this section . . . . That order may include a direction to
    participate in a counseling or education program . . . . The
    program in which a parent or guardian is required to
    participate shall be designed to eliminate those conditions
    that led to the court’s finding that the child is a person
    described by Section 300.” (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 362, subd.
    (d).) We will not reverse the court’s order “‘absent a clear
    abuse of discretion.’” (In re Briana V. (2011) 
    236 Cal.App.4th 297
    , 311.)
    Here, the court ordered Mother to attend a support
    group for domestic violence, to participate in conjoint
    counseling with Father if the two were reconciling, and to
    undergo individual counseling regarding case issues. The
    court also ordered Mother to test for substances if there was
    a reasonable suspicion of substance abuse. Mother argues
    20
    these orders were “unfounded and an unnecessary invasion
    of privacy . . . because there was no indication that the
    mother would not voluntarily participating [sic] in
    treatment.” In other words, Mother does not question the
    propriety of the case plan, or the court’s authority to make
    reasonable orders; she contends only that that the court
    abused its discretion in ordering her to enroll in services
    without evidence that she would refuse to do so voluntarily.
    Mother provides no authority requiring a court to find a
    parent recalcitrant before issuing an order under section
    362, and we find the court’s orders well within the bounds of
    reason.
    21
    DISPOSITION
    We affirm the court’s jurisdictional and dispositional
    orders.
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL
    REPORTS
    MANELLA, P. J.
    We concur:
    WILLHITE, J.
    CURREY, J.
    22
    

Document Info

Docket Number: B306895

Filed Date: 7/30/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 7/30/2021