Cesar

Cesar V., biological and presumed father of Anthony and presumed father of Annissa, and Cesar’s mother, Elvia E., seek extraordinary relief from the order of the juvenile court refusing to place the children with Elvia. They claim the social worker failed to assess Elvia properly under the relative placement preference, and the juvenile court should have independently evaluated her as a placement resource rather than merely reviewing the decision of the Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) for an abuse of discretion. We grant the petition.

I. Facts

In September 1999, Annissa and Anthony were declared dependents of the juvenile court. The children, then two and three years of age, had been detained after their mother was arrested. Cesar was unable to take care of the children because he was about to enter a court-ordered residential drug treatment program; Annissa’s biological father was nowhere to be found. After dispositional orders were entered, the court granted Cesar de facto parent status as to Annissa because, although he was not her biological father, he was present at her birth, his name was on her birth certificate, and he had always cared for her and…