In re B.M. CA1/5

I. BACKGROUND

Father and A.M. (Mother; together, Parents)2 left their two daughters (B.M., born 2009, and M.M., born 2011; together, Children) in the care of their maternal grandmother

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code. 2 Mother is not a party to this appeal.

1 for an extended period of time, even though the grandmother had a history of methamphetamine abuse, untreated mental health problems, child welfare referrals, and a conviction for willful cruelty toward a child. In April 2013, the older child was molested by one of her grandmother’s roommates. Parents learned of the abuse and did not take any protective action. Other roommates of the grandmother reported the abuse, and the Sonoma County Human Services Department placed the girl in emergency foster care and filed a juvenile dependency petition on her behalf. The Sonoma County Superior Court sustained the petition under section 300, subdivisions (b) (failure to protect) and (d) (sexual abuse), issued a restraining order against the grandmother and others, and transferred the case to Alameda County where Parents resided. After the older child’s removal, it was believed that…