In re L.M. CA4/3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

I.

BACKGROUND

Father and N.C. were together for 17 years, until approximately 2015 or early 2016. L.M. is one of their five children. Father and N.C.’s involvement in juvenile dependency proceedings dates back to 2017, when N.C. left all five children alone overnight in a motel room and they became dependents of the court. In 2019 and 2021, two other panels of this court issued decisions detailing the extensive history of issues involving Father and N.C., including criminal allegations against Father of stalking and making criminal threats; both parents’ incarceration, as well as mental health and substance abuse issues; and domestic violence.4 As of February 2023, when the children were removed in the current proceedings, Father had full custody of them.

3 The following summary is limited to certain background information and facts relevant to the juvenile court’s finding of reasonable reunification services as to Father and L.M. made at the 18-month review hearing. Our recent unpublished decision in the related child welfare proceedings involving certain of L.M.’s siblings contains more detailed facts relating to the proceedings. (See S.M. et al.…