In re M.L. CA4/2

FACTS

A. Jurisdiction and Disposition

Mother and father are a young couple who were in their early twenties when their

two-month-old daughter, M.L., suffered the injuries that brought her to the attention of

the San Bernardino County Children and Family Services (the department). The juvenile

court took jurisdiction over M.L. and her two-year-old sister, Me.L., on October 2, 2019,

finding they were dependent children as described by Welfare and Institutions Code

2 section 300, subdivision (a) (serious physical harm), subdivision (b) (failure to protect),

and subdivision (e) (severe physical abuse of child under five). (Unlabeled statutory 1 citations refer to the Welf. & Inst. Code.)

The evidence before the court at the time of the hearing was that M.L.’s injuries

were discovered when mother took her to urgent care for a bump on her ear that she

thought was a bug bite. The doctor who examined M.L. concluded the bump was a

hematoma (a pooling of blood underneath the skin) and found additional injuries.

Ultimately, several specialists at Loma Linda University Medical Center examined the

infant, and the consensus was that, in addition to the hematoma, she had…