In re S.M. CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

C.M. (father) appeals from the dependency court’s dispositional order regarding his daughter, S.M. (born in 2012). Father contends the court erred in removing S.M. from his custody pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 361, subdivision (c)(1).1 We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Initial Investigation and Detention Father and S.M.’s mother, M.B. (mother) are separated and have no other children.2 The family came to the attention of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on May 1, 2014 based on a report of drug abuse by mother and her current significant other, N.V. The reporting party alleged that mother would lock herself in the bathroom to consume methamphetamine, either leaving S.M. unattended or consuming the drugs in the child’s presence, and that N.V. was “affiliated with street gangs and sells drugs.” When DCFS informed mother of the allegations, she admitted to consuming marijuana in the past and to currently using methamphetamines. Mother stated that she was “attempting to stop using methamphetamines” and that she had let S.M. live with father and the maternal grandparents for several weeks so that she could “focus on…