In re C.W. CA4/2

I.

INTRODUCTION

M.B. and M.B. (Appellants) appeal the juvenile court’s order denying their request

for de facto parent status of their former child, C.W. With C.W. joining, Appellants

contend the juvenile court improperly denied their request. We agree and reverse.

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

After about a dozen failed placements, C.W. was placed in Appellants’ care in

February 2022. Appellants hoped to adopt C.W.

C.W. had serious behavioral issues at school and at home. While in Appellants’

care, his behavior improved but persisted.

In December 2023, nearly two years after being in Appellants’ care, the Riverside

County Department of Social Services (DPSS) met with Appellants to discuss concerns

with their care of C.W. DPSS had a number of concerns, including that there had been

two substantiated allegations from Community Care Licensing (CCL) in the prior six

months, C.W. inconsistently took his psychotropic medication, Appellants improperly

stored alcohol in the home, and Appellants struggled with deciding what information was

2 appropriate to share with C.W. DPSS asked Appellants to sign a corrective action plan,

but they refused because they…