In re D.S. CA2/5

I. BACKGROUND

A On March 5, 2015, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) petitioned to declare then seven-year-old D.S. a dependent of the court pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b)(1) (failure to protect).1 The Department alleged D.S.’s father, A.S. (Father), was a current abuser of marijuana and methamphetamine, which prevented him from being able to adequately protect D.S. and provide regular care for the child. Father and D.S. generally lived with Father’s mother (Grandmother), but she frequently expelled them from her home. On those occasions, Father would convince a neighbor or friend to take in D.S. temporarily, or the two of them would sleep in the communal laundry room of an apartment complex. Father used illegal drugs, was not regularly employed, and suffered from depression or other emotional disorders. At an initial hearing on the section 300 petition, the juvenile court detained D.S. and removed him from Father’s physical custody. The Department initially placed him in

1 Undesignated statutory references that follow are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

2 foster care, but later moved…