Margaret M. v. Superior Court CA5

STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND FACTS

Detention/Jurisdiction/Disposition In November 2013, a section 300 petition was filed and J., then three years old, and Z., then 14 months old, were removed from petitioner’s care after it was reported that petitioner was using methamphetamine and was unable to provide her children with food, housing and a safe environment. Petitioner was ordered to receive family reunification services consisting of parenting classes, a mental health assessment and recommended treatment, a substance abuse evaluation and recommended treatment, random drug testing, and a domestic violence evaluation and recommended treatment. The Fresno County Department of Social Services (department) was given discretion to advance petitioner’s visits to unsupervised and overnight. Mental health assessments and recommended treatment were ordered for J. and Z.

All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise indicated.

2. J. and Z. were placed with their maternal relatives. At the time of disposition, J. appeared to have a fear of having food taken from him, and he cried at visits. He did better with the relative care provider.…