In re S.S. CA4/1

BACKGROUND

On October 8, 2013, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency

(the Agency) detained three-year-old S.S. in a foster home. On October 9, S.S.'s mother,

S.G., told the social worker that Carlton was S.S.'s biological father; Carlton was

incarcerated in Florida; and he would be incarcerated for the next three years. S.G. did

not know if Carlton was named on S.S.'s birth certificate and did not know Carlton's birth

date. A maternal great-aunt told the social worker that she would provide Carlton's

address and obtain his birth date and Social Security number from his grandmother in

Florida. On October 10, the Agency filed a dependency petition based on S.S.'s exposure

to violence between S.G. and S.G.'s boyfriend, Miguel L. The petition named Carlton as

an alleged father. At the October 11 detention hearing, the court deferred ruling on

paternity, found reasonable efforts had been made to locate Carlton and set a

jurisdictional and dispositional hearing for October 30.

By October 25, 2013, the Agency had located Carlton in jail in Florida. On

October 30, the court appointed counsel for Carlton. At counsel's…