LZ

INTRODUCTION

L.Z. is the 17-year-old mother of baby Z.Z. She petitions the court pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.452, to vacate a juvenile court order setting a hearing under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26 to consider termination of her parental rights. Because there is no substantial evidence that L.Z. knew or should have known that Z.Z. was physically abused prior to the diagnosis of the baby’s injuries, we reverse the juvenile court’s decision to deny L.Z. (Mother) reunification services and remand this case to the juvenile court for further proceedings consistent with our opinion.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

These dependency proceedings began when Z.Z. was two months old and suffered unexplained, nonaccidental injuries while in her parents’ care that included a spiral fracture to her left humerus and nine broken ribs. An amended petition asserted juvenile court jurisdiction due to her parents’ failure to protect her from harm as described in section 300, subdivision (b), and multiple instances of severe physical abuse as described in section 300, subdivision (e). At a jurisdictional hearing in November 2009, the court sustained all the…