In re W.C.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

W.C. was born in Guatemala in 1997. He lived in Guatemala with his grandparents from an early age, because his mother was dead and his father missing. Eventually, W.C. left Guatemala because of threats to his safety and came to the United States. He arrived in this country alone, with no parental support, in the summer of 2014. At the border, W.C. was taken into protective custody by American officials and eventually placed with a distant relative in Oakland in August 2014. The relative agreed to sponsor W.C. for asylum, but their relationship became difficult and W.C. left that residence, becoming homeless in October 2014. Living on his own in Oakland presented W.C. with several problems. He had difficulty in school and developed behavior issues, including cutting and drug use. He was taken to Children’s Hospital in Oakland for a Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 5150 assessment after cutting himself at school. However, he was denied treatment because he lacked insurance and had no legal guardian available to approve mental assessments. W.C. lived at the Dream Catcher’s Youth Services shelter after February 2015. At the end of the month, he told the…