In re W.L. CA6

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2

A. The November 2024 Incident

In late November 2024, law enforcement responded to multiple reports that mother was behaving erratically at a retail store late at night and appeared to be either under the influence or experiencing a mental health crisis. Several witnesses reported mother yelling, tipping her stroller over with then three-year-old W.L. inside, and causing the child to fall to the ground at least twice. When the witnesses approached mother, they observed that she threw W.L. into the stroller, left the store, and shoved W.L. into her car. Mother then drove off at high speeds, swerved off the road, and passed through stop signs. When law enforcement stopped mother’s car, they saw W.L. unbuckled in her car seat. Mother appeared “[s]uper manic,” disheveled, and had difficulty speaking in coherent sentences. When she spoke, mother exhibited brief moments of clarity but would then lapse into episodes of uncontrollable sobbing, hyperventilation, and anger. Mother stated that she had been driving for the past day to flee a domestic violence situation, during which W.L. had not eaten. Law enforcement observed that W.L.…