Moses R. v. Super. Ct. CA6

I. Background

Sylvia E. (the mother) and the father have three children together. In July 2014, the mother gave birth to their youngest child, J.R. Both J.R. and the mother tested positive for methamphetamine at the time of J.R.’s birth. The mother admitted that she had been using methamphetamine for seven years. The father had recently been released from jail when J.R. was born. He admitted that he was a frequent user of methamphetamine and an alcoholic. The mother and the father had used methamphetamine together during her pregnancy with J.R. The father’s brother reported that the father was prone to violence when he was under the influence. The father had been serving a previous jail sentence when their eldest daughter, I.R., was born in September 2013. Their son, M.R., had been born in June 2012. The mother had always been the primary caretaker for the children, and the father had provided no support for them. The family had been living with the father’s father, who was a heroin addict and used drugs frequently. Many of the father’s family members had mental health issues, and the father “would often see and hear things that were not there . . . .” The father’s criminal…