In re Priscilla D.

The juvenile court ordered Cindy C.’s children, Priscilla, Isaiah and David, into a permanent plan of legal guardianship without dependency. Cindy petitioned the juvenile court to modify its order under Welfare and Institutions Code section 388 and to order family maintenance services for her. Following an evidentiary hearing, the juvenile court ruled that section 388 does not authorize the termination of a guardianship and denied Cindy’s petition on legal grounds. Cindy contends the juvenile court’s ruling was error. We reverse.

PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL SUMMARY

The sole issue in this case is whether a legal guardianship can be terminated by a parent under section 388. We conclude that it can.

Dependency proceedings were initiated in June 2010 when the Fresno County Department of Social Services (department) took then 14-year-old Priscilla, 9-year-old Isaiah and 2-year-old David into protective custody after Cindy was arrested for being under the influence of phencyclidine (PCP) and for child endangerment. At that time, she had been using PCP for 30 years.

The juvenile court denied Cindy reunification services and the department placed Priscilla, Isaiah and David in the…