In Re Jonathan M.

Laurence M. Watson, County Counsel, and Gene Axelrod, Deputy County Counsel, for Real Parties in Interest.

Harold LaFlamme and Craig E. Arthur, under appointments by the Court of Appeal, for Minor.

OPINION

CROSBY, J.

(1) In this writ proceeding, [1] we are asked to consider an ongoing dispute between the local public defender and county counsel concerning whether the Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) has a policy regarding arbitrary distance limits beyond which visitation with dependent children need not be provided to incarcerated parents as part of their reunification services. The public defender has submitted evidence to show there is such a policy, and we accept it per Code of Civil Procedure section 909. [2]

The county counsel vehemently denies such a policy exists. But he also argues, and we must agree, that the issue is almost entirely beside the point in any event. The court makes visitation orders, not SSA; and it is rarely, if ever, our role to censor the report writing policies of agencies in the executive branch. Thus, any such policy is only of moment insofar as it may tend to shed light on an allegedly similar impermissible policy of the juvenile…