In re Faith R. CA3

BACKGROUND

In July 2011, the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency (the Agency) placed the then two-year-old minor and her then five-year-old half brother into protective custody after their parents got into a fight and were arrested for public intoxication. The children had been left at home alone, and when they were placed into custody, 16 marijuana plants were observed in the home within their reach. Both parents tested positive for THC and cocaine the next day. Mother also admitted to past and current mutual domestic violence between herself and father. The Agency filed a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 300. The juvenile court found the allegations of the petition true and declared the children dependents. The children remained in a foster home from July 26, 2011, to July 3, 2012, when a trial home visit began with mother. Initially, the children needed constant supervision in the foster home, but by April 2012, they had adjusted well, and had “come a long way in regards to their behavior. At the beginning of their placement the children ran around out of control and would not listen. [Brother] would scavenge for food throughout the house and…