In re G.L. CA3

BACKGROUND

I. In March 2021, the Agency filed a section 300 petition on behalf of M.C., who was then three years old. The Agency alleged, among other things, that it had received a call reporting that mother was threatening to kill M.C. by slitting her throat with a pair of scissors and stating that she wished M.C. were dead or had never been born. The petition further alleged that when M.C.’s maternal grandmother, with whom mother and M.C. were living, took M.C. to a separate room for protection, mother went outside and urinated on the porch; when police responded, mother barricaded herself in a second- story bedroom and threatened to jump out the window. As a result of this incident, mother was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold for one day, and M.C. was taken into protective custody pursuant to a protective custody order. The petition further alleged that mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder for which she was not taking medication or receiving mental health services and that mother abused marijuana. The Agency asserted that mother’s substance abuse and serious mental health issues impaired her ability to care for M.C. (§ 300, subds. (b)(1) & (g).) M.C.’s father’s…