In re. Ella S. CA1/2

STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND FACTS

Ella S. was removed from her mother’s custody in September 2007, when she was three years old, after her mother was arrested for shoplifting and briefly incarcerated. There were no known relatives available for placement and Ella was placed in appellant’s foster home.1 She was subsequently declared a dependent of the juvenile court. The

1 The mother refused to cooperate with providing basic information to the Alameda County Social Services Agency (Agency), including her address and the child’s birth certificate. She stated that the child was born in a village in Sudan. The Agency

1 mother’s reunification services were terminated in November 2008 and a section 366.26 hearing was set for February 2009. Appellant was interested in adopting Ella and the Agency recommended a permanent plan of adoption. The mother had been visiting regularly and the court, on March 26, 2009, declined to terminate parental rights and ordered a plan of legal guardianship.2 By early August 2009, however, the mother’s previously consistent visiting had stopped and on September 4, the court suspended the mother’s visitation, set aside its order appointing a legal guardian,…