In re A.L. CA3

BACKGROUND

The minor was born in 2016. Y.C. (mother) and father separated when the minor was three months old, and father did not contact or financially support the minor over the next several years. In 2018, when the minor was two and a half years old, mother began dating stepfather, who acted as a father figure to the minor and helped support her. In 2019, mother and father agreed that mother would have full physical and legal custody of the minor with supervised visitation for father while he completed parenting classes, attended Alcoholics Anonymous, and enrolled in random drug testing. Although father and the minor began having some telephonic and in person visits, father did not adequately address his substance abuse, and he had been jailed for various criminal matters. Since March 2022, father had no contact with the minor and provided almost no financial support. Mother and stepfather married in March 2022. In March 2023, stepfather filed a petition under Family Code section 7822 to declare the minor free from father’s parental custody and control and to terminate father’s parental rights so that stepfather could adopt the minor. Father objected to termination of his…