P.A.

STATEMENT OF FACTS2

The minor, B.H., born August 1998, was being cared for by her legal guardian,

T.L., in April of 2011. However, the latter became drunk and abusive during an

“exchange/pick up” of B.H.3 and police were called. When interviewed by a social

worker for Children and Family Services (CFS), B.H. stated that her guardian was

physically and verbally abusive, and that she wished to live with a family friend,

petitioner P.A. P.A. then told the social worker that she was preparing guardianship

paperwork for B.H., and that she had been willing to care for the minor after her mother

died, but was superseded by family members. B.H. was first placed in foster care; the

trial court eventually found her to be a dependent child.

Eventually, after the matter was transferred to Los Angeles County (the county of

T.L.’s residence), T.L. was removed as the minor’s guardian. In August of 2011, B.H.

1 All subsequent statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise specified.

2 Due to the nature of the issue before us, only the briefest synopsis of the history of the case is necessary.

3The social worker’s report is far from clear, but…