Becerra

Plaintiffs, the mother and siblings of a child who was murdered on the grounds of an elementary school, brought suit against defendant County of Santa Cruz (County), alleging negligence and breach of mandatory duties. Plaintiffs claimed that the County acted improperly in its placement of the child in a foster home, and in its subsequent supervision of the child’s situation. The trial court granted the County’s motion for summary judgment, and the child’s mother appeals from the resulting judgment. We affirm.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

The following facts, taken from the factual showings made by the parties during the summary judgment proceedings, are essentially undisputed.

Mariana Zavala, who was bom in April 1977, was the daughter of appellant Rosemary Becerra, and the sister of Carlos, Juanito and Anthony Becerra. In December 1991, Rosemary Becerra went to Mexico and left Mariana with a neighbor. On January 14, 1992, the neighbor contacted the County of Santa Cruz Child Protective Services (CPS), stated that she was no longer prepared to care for the child, and asked CPS to take custody of Mariana. On January 14, 1992, Mariana was placed in the protective…