In re C.A. CA5

INTRODUCTION

C.A., then five years old, was taken into protective custody in January 2024 by the Kern County Department of Human Services (Department) following receipt of a referral for possible physical abuse by the boyfriend of her mother, M.A. (Mother). The juvenile court subsequently sustained one count under Welfare and Institutions Code, section 300, subdivision (b)(1)(A);1 declared C.A. a dependent of the court; removed her from Mother’s physical custody; awarded Mother and Father joint legal custody and Father S.A. (Father) sole physical custody; ordered two-hour visits between Mother and C.A. twice a week to be supervised by Father as he deemed necessary; and terminated dependency jurisdiction. Mother timely appealed from the jurisdictional and dispositional orders, and she advances two claims. First, she argues the juvenile court’s jurisdictional finding against her is not supported by substantial evidence that she had failed to protect C.A. or that, at the time of the jurisdictional hearing, there was a substantial risk of serious future harm based on Mother’s failure or inability to adequately supervise or protect her. (§ 300, subd. (b)(1)(A).) Second, she argues the…