In re Jaden E.

I. BACKGROUND2

In early 2012, the San Mateo County Human Services Agency (Agency) received a series of referrals involving Jaden E. (born May 2004), the minor who is the subject of these proceedings. The information obtained indicated that, during the current school year, then seven-year-old Jaden had been chronically tardy and absent from school and was routinely picked up late by his mother from his after-school program. Moreover, since February 2012, the minor’s school behavior was reported to have deteriorated rapidly, including: refusing to go to class; hiding; being continually disruptive; throwing chairs, tables, and stored games in a lunch room; failing to complete class assignments; grinding against another student in music class; leaving school grounds; peeing in a bathroom sink; growling and clenching his fist when confronted for misbehaviors; and having altercations with other students. Unsurprisingly, due to his behavior at school, Jaden had no close friendships. He refused to eat at his class table in the cafeteria, saying the smell of other foods made him gag. According to school staff, Jaden was exhibiting symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as “an…