ARLENA M. v. Superior Court

Petitioner Arlena M. (Mother) seeks review of an order setting a hearing under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26 with respect to her children Alicia F. and Destiny M. We deny the petition.

Because Mother’s argument is wholly procedural, no detailed recitation of the facts is necessary. The minors' were taken into protective custody on May 14, 2003, when two-year-old Destiny was found unattended in the parking lot of the motel where the family was staying; Mother and Father were “passed out” in the motel room with the infant Alicia. The trial court found that the minors were dependent children (§ 300, subds. (b) and (g)) on June 10, 2003, with reunification services ordered for both parents.

Mother did not make progress on her plan, and at the six-month review hearing (§ 366.21) on January 21, 2004, the trial court terminated reunification services and directed that a permanency planning hearing be set.

The sole contention raised in this petition is that the trial court committed fatal error when it failed to advise her at the jurisdictional/dispositional hearing that if she failed to participate regularly in any court-ordered treatment programs, the court…