In re S.P. CA4/2

INTRODUCTION

After C.C. (mother) failed to reunify with her four children, the juvenile court

appointed Gladys C., the maternal grandmother, as the children’s legal guardian under

Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26. Nearly a year later, the juvenile court

granted the San Bernardino County Department of Children and Family Service’s (the

department) section 388 petition to terminate the guardianship because the children had

suffered multiple, nonaccidental injuries in Gladys’s care and Gladys was allowing

mother to have unsupervised contact with the children.

On appeal, Gladys argues that we must reverse the order terminating her

guardianship because the record does not contain sufficient evidence that the department

made “reasonable efforts . . . to prevent or to eliminate the need for removal” within the

meaning of section 361, subdivision (e). Because a juvenile court is not required to make

such a finding before terminating a legal guardianship established under section 366.26,

we affirm.

1 Unlabeled statutory citations refer to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Dependency Proceedings Culminating in Gladys’s Appointment…