In re I.A. CA2/2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

I. Exertion of Dependency Jurisdiction

A. Family Father and D.O. (mother) are the parents of I.A., who was born in November 2017. B. Conduct giving rise to jurisdiction Father engaged in domestic violence. He regularly argued with mother, and those arguments would erupt into physical violence. This violence endangered I.A.: Father slammed mother into a wall while she was pregnant with I.A. and, after I.A.’s birth, on more than one occasion, slapped mother’s face or punched her in the upper body with I.A. nearby.

2 Father also used drugs. In 2020, he used marijuana daily and methamphetamine weekly. At first, father freely admitted his marijuana use, but denied his use of methamphetamine. C. Initial assertion of dependency jurisdiction The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) filed a petition asking the juvenile court to exert dependency jurisdiction over I.A. due to father’s domestic violence and substance abuse, which placed I.A. at substantial risk of serious physical harm and rendered jurisdiction appropriate under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b).1 On…