In re B.P. CA6

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Father and Mother are married and have four children involved in this dependency proceeding: B.P., also known as N.P. (born 2007),3 Jk.P. (born 2009), Ja.P. (born 2012), and H.P. (born 2020). Although the family—Mother, in particular—has been involved in prior dependency cases, the family’s last dependency case was dismissed in 2019 after the parents completed their reunification plan.

A. Events Leading Up to Dependency Proceedings In late 2023, the Department received a referral concerning N.P. after he was hospitalized for attempting to harm himself. N.P. reported the following to hospital staff: his home was littered with animal and rodent waste, contained mold, his bedroom and the kitchen were infested with rats, Father smoked methamphetamine in the garage, Father and Mother argued, Mother’s friend used drugs in front of the children, Father made statements threatening to kill Mother and urinate in her drinks, and his parents kept his youngest sibling, H.P., in her high chair for up to 10 hours a day. N.P. stated that he did not want to go home and, if forced to do so, he would kill himself. The Department started an…