In Re Steven A.

In this opinion we dispose of two related appeals and one petition for writ of mandate. The first appeal (No. E009742) presents the arguments of appellant father, Steven A., concerning orders rendered on March 19 and May 8, 1991, which cut off reunification services and provided for the placement of the minor, Steven A., Jr., in a fos-adopt home. The second appeal (No. E010699) attacks an order terminating visitation which was rendered on or about December 4, 1991, in the course of a permanency planning hearing which resulted in the issuance of an order authorizing the commencement of proceedings to free the minor from parental custody. The petition for extraordinary relief (No. E011343) challenges the authorization order itself.

We affirm the orders in the first appeal, dismiss the second appeal as moot, and grant the petition.

Statement of Facts

We will set out the minor’s, history in conjunction with the legal proceedings to some extent, but will defer a detailed recital of some of the critical procedural points to the next section.

The minor was born on August 26, 1987. On June 2, 1988, a petition was filed by the Department of Public Social Services (hereinafter…