M.M.

BACKGROUND

In February 2013, the Agency filed a petition alleging that Y.M. (age 9), his older brother, J.M. (age 16), and three of his younger siblings were subject to the juvenile

1 All statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code. court’s jurisdiction under section 300. The petition alleged that mother failed to protect J.M. against physical abuse by father, who, after accusing J.M. of stealing money, threw a knife at him, slammed his head against a wall, and further assaulted him. The petition also alleged that Y.M. and his younger siblings were at risk of physical and emotional harm due to J.M.’s abuse. A detention report filed by the Agency later that month noted that the family had been involved in 19 previous referrals and 11 prior dependency cases and that two older daughters refused to return home in 2010 and 2011 upon the closure of their cases. At the detention hearing, the court ordered all five children to be detained in out-of-home placements pending a further hearing. In a May addendum report to its March 2013 jurisdiction/disposition report, the Agency stated it had discovered mother coached Y.M. to fabricate a story to cover up the assault.…